Justyna Szychowska, Quoc Dang, Yuntan Sun, and Junling Zhuang participated in the 26-hour event, showcasing their programming skills and earning awards along the way.
The Hackathon is part of AEC Tech’s annual conference, a multi-day program with a symposium, masterclasses, and tours of engineering and architecture offices. KPF Director and Global Head of Design Technology Luc Wilson spoke at a symposium roundtable about the work of the firm’s Urban Interface team. For the hackathon, four KPF employees worked on multiple teams with fellow architects, engineers, and developers to create platforms and plugins.
Software Developer Justyna Szychowska was part of the Rhino.Anywhere team, which took home the Best Collaboration Hack award. Her team developed a pixel streaming solution that brings Rhino into your browser, phone, or tablet. Utilizing the Rhino plugin and JavaScript SDK, users can stream the full Rhino experience anywhere. Read more about the program on Rhino’s blog here.
Environmental Performance Computation Specialist Quoc Dang worked to develop FindIt, a tool to simplify satellite imagery analysis for architects and engineers. The program extracts geometry from GIS data and satellite images using computer vision and AI. This project aims to make sophisticated, open-source technologies more accessible in the architectural and engineering industries, enhancing digital technology utilization.
Computational Urban Designer Yutan Sun worked on the Architectural Response of Wa$teD. The tool uses reality capture, AI, and parametric design to define repurpose and reuse in end of service buildings. This tool helps to reduce waste by unlocking value in existing and underutilized projects, helping to identify adaptive reuse strategies.
Software Developer Junling Zhuang’s team AECademy received an honorable mention for their creation, which offers a streamlined virtual hub for AEC students to share and find resources such as 3D models and scripts. Users can scan the QR code for a Rhino Plugin and gain access to relevant resources from the database, with ChatGPT and Elasticsearch enhancing the retrieval and integration process within their design software. The tool aims to seamlessly pass wisdom between AEC generations.
The Hackathon took place from November 4 to 5. Learn more here.