Innovate UK hackathon to launch ‘performance gap’ dataset and website

Digital Catapult, an Innovate UK-funded organisation set up to drive future economic growth in the digital economy, is hosting a hackathon to mark the launch of the Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) programme final reports and the launch of the Building Data Exchange website.

The £8m Innovate UK-funded BPE programme was launched in 2010 to monitor buildings’ performance from concept to post occupancy, by tracking and studying 100 new and refurbished buildings.

Two final reports from the programme, one focused on domestic projects and the other on non-domestic, will be launched at the hackathon on 5-7 February. Along with the reports, the Building Data Exchange website will also be officially launched at the event.

Simon Hart, innovation programme leader for the built environment at Innovate UK, told BIM+ that a website was needed to disseminate the huge amount of data collected in the BPE programme.

“The volume of information we collected is much deeper that what could be contained in a report, which is why we are making the data available on the Building Data Exchange,” says Hart. “There may be numerous applications for the data that we aren’t even aware of, both for the built environment and other industries.

“Around six months ago we realised we had a data problem. We asked ‘what do we do with this vast amount of data?’ The Building Data Exchange turns this vast repository of data into a meaningful useful resource. Not only is it something that allows construction firms to access data, but also we want them to engage with the digital innovators at Digital Catapult.”

At present the website contains extensive (140-page) reports on each of the projects that took part in the BPE programme. However, participants at the hackathon will have access to the full set of data, which will be made available to the public on buildingdataexchange.org.uk shortly after the event.

At the hackathon teams from the built environment and digital innovators will be invited to “unlock new data driven solutions for the management of building performance”.

The teams will each be presented with a challenge, based around using the data contained on the Building Data Exchange website. They will have 24 hours to develop, research and test their ideas, before presenting to the other hackers and our panel of expert judges.

Hart explains: “The idea is that what they develop will go back into the Building Data Exchange, to enhance it and make it better for future users.” 

The hackathon marks the beginning of a three-year programme being run by Digital Catapult based around the BPE data that will encourage interaction between the construction industry and digital innovators.

Around six months ago we realised we had a data problem. We asked ‘what do we do with this vast amount of data?’ The Building Data Exchange turns this vast repository of data into a meaningful useful resource.– Simon Hart, Innovate UK