Legal development capacity
Use as much of the parcel’s permitted FAR (where it applies), coverage, height or storeys, and unit allowance as the rules permit.
DASH Configurator Hackathon · Phase 1
Help make standardized housing easier to design.
DASH is an open, standardized kit-of-parts for multi-unit housing. This public challenge asks teams to turn DASH design rules into working software: a configurator that produces a valid housing design on any parcel we hand it. There’s a $7,000 prize purse for the winners. Spots are limited, and not every application will be accepted.
$7,000prize purse
For the winners
Limitedspots
Not every application will be accepted
10parcels
Five at release, five more in the final 12 hours
3scored measures
Capacity, programme and efficiency
Apply with your teamHow scoring works
October 16–18, 2026 · Starts Friday, October 16, 3:00 pm PT · Ends Sunday, October 18, 8:00 pm PT
Hackathon partner · DASH
BC Housing is a partner of the DASH Configurator Hackathon.
acceleratedhousing.ca (opens in a new tab)About DASH
DASH (Digitally Accelerated Standardized Housing) is BC Housing’s set of ready-to-use digital building tools and permit-friendly designs for multi-family homes. By combining standardized designs, prefabricated parts and a coordinated supply chain, it helps architects, designers and housing providers build faster, lower costs and deliver consistent quality.
This hackathon builds on the DASH design rules. DASH is a BC Housing program; Open Housing Canada runs the hackathon.
Explore DASH at acceleratedhousing.ca (opens in a new tab)Hackathon partner and sponsor
More and Better Housing Canada is the partner and sponsor of the DASH Configurator Hackathon.
moreandbetterhousing.ca (opens in a new tab)“Canada needs to relearn how to build quickly and smartly in order to address the twin challenges of housing and climate. Because their work shows great promise in speeding up the transformation of the planning and construction industries, we are proud to support Open Housing Canada in their efforts to bring the DASH configurator to engineers, builders and municipalities nationwide. We believe that Canadians everywhere will benefit from smarter and more efficient ways of planning and delivering high-quality, resilient and affordable housing.”
The challenge
Build a design assistant that knows the DASH rules.
Instead of designing every building from scratch, DASH assembles housing from repeatable components that more than one manufacturer can supply. Today, applying those rules depends on expert designers reading drawings. Your job is to put that knowledge into software.
“Can I build a valid DASH housing configuration here, and what could it look like?”
How you get there is up to you. Generate designs automatically, let a designer arrange units by hand, or combine the two. What matters is that the tool understands and applies the rules.
What your configurator does
- Read a parcel supplied by Open Housing Canada.
- Place or arrange DASH housing units within it.
- Check the design against the supplied mandatory DASH rules.
- Tell the user what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change.
- Export the configuration in the common format, with a matching 3D model.
This isn’t a floor-plan generator. DASH units have deliberately standardized dimensions and relationships, and that is what makes a kit-of-parts manufacturable.
How it runs
Five parcels to build on. Five more to prove it works.
The final round tests whether your configurator generalizes to sites it has never seen, not just whether it was tuned to the first five.
- 01
Initial release
Five parcels are issued with the DASH catalogue and Phase 1 ruleset. Build and test your configurator on these sites.
- 02
Final 12 hours
Five new parcels are issued. Run the same configurator on sites you haven’t seen before.
- 03
Final ranking
All ten parcel outputs are validated and scored. Your team score is the average across the ten.
- Hackathon
- October 16–18, 2026
- Starts
- Friday, October 16, 3:00 pm PT
- Ends
- Sunday, October 18, 8:00 pm PT
How it’s scored
A $7,000 prize purse for the top-scoring valid entries.
Validity comes first. A design that breaks a mandatory rule scores nothing, however ambitious it is.
- 1
Become eligible
Generate one complete configuration for each of the ten parcels. Every JSON is checked against the parcel, the catalogue and the Phase 1 requirements. If an applicable mandatory check fails, that parcel is invalid and scores nothing.
- 2
Maximize your score
Each valid parcel is scored 0–100 on every measure that applies to it. The measures carry equal weight, and any that don’t apply to a parcel are left out of its average.
- 3
Submit the exact final design
For every parcel, send the configuration JSON and a matching 3D model from the same design state. Include the source code, algorithm or base file needed to run your configurator. Export the JSON from your configurator; don’t edit it by hand.
What is scored
Programme performance
Meet the unit-type and category-mix targets while satisfying any mandatory category floors.
Building efficiency
Increase catalogue net dwelling area relative to gross building area.
Your final team score is the average of your ten parcel scores. Current targets and calculation details are set out in the ruleset issued with the parcels.
What we give you and what you deliver
What we give you
Everything you need, and no guesswork.
- Parcels in several sizes and proportions
- A dimensionally accurate catalogue of DASH-derived unit types and variants
- Target unit mix and Phase 1 programme parameters
- About 10–15 mandatory DASH rules
- Machine-readable inputs: GeoJSON parcels, JSON catalogue and ruleset
- A common output schema, so every entry is checked the same way
You won’t need to reverse-engineer DASH or invent missing rules. Anything that can’t be stated as a clear, reliable rule by release is left out.
What you deliver
Three kinds of deliverable, all from one final design state.
- submission_<team-name>_<site-id>.json for each parcel, following the supplied schema
- A matching 3D model for each final design, with any files needed to open it
- Source code, algorithm, base file or other runnable materials, with brief run instructions
The JSON is what gets validated and ranked. Your configurator materials are kept as a reproducibility record and aren’t scored directly. Open Housing Canada owns everything submitted, including configurations, models and code.
Keep it focused
A working prototype, not a whole design platform.
Phase 1 deliberately sticks to simple building forms, real DASH-derived units and a bounded set of rules.
In scope
- Rectangular, orthogonal parcels and linear/bar building forms
- Unit-envelope geometry based on real DASH modules
- Validation against the supplied mandatory rules
- A prototype that helps users understand and act on validation results
Not required
- Permit-ready documentation or certified code compliance
- Full mechanical, electrical or plumbing resolution
- Panel- or connection-level production detailing
- Production-ready software
- L-shaped, U-shaped, courtyard or non-orthogonal forms
Choose your workflow
CAD, BIM or desktop parametric
Work in the design tools you already use.
- Build guide
- 01_CAD_Workflow / CONFIGURATOR_BUILD_GUIDE_CAD
- Parcel file
- site_local.dxf
Browser, map or web geometry
Build a configurator that runs in the browser.
- Build guide
- 02_Web_Workflow / CONFIGURATOR_BUILD_GUIDE_WEB
- Parcel file
- site.geojson
Apply
Apply with your team.
Every team member must be 18 or older. Apply once per team. We review every application and email the team lead to let them know whether their team has a place.
Limited spots
Places in Phase 1 are limited, and not all applications will be accepted.
Tell us about your team and how you plan to approach the challenge.
What happens next
- 1. You get an email confirming we’ve received your application.
- 2. We review applications and let each team lead know whether their team has been accepted.
- 3. At release, accepted teams receive the first five parcels, the DASH catalogue, the ruleset and the submission schema.
- 4. Five more parcels follow for the final 12 hours.
Hackathon: October 16–18, 2026 · Starts: Friday, October 16, 3:00 pm PT · Ends: Sunday, October 18, 8:00 pm PT
Questions about the challenge? Email the organizers.