Archinect - News

Code compliance platform UpCodes launches AI assistant and raises $3.5 million

2023-06-01T12:43:00-04:00

The code compliance platform UpCodes has raised $3.5 million in funding. The San Francisco-based company describes itself as a “platform for architects, engineers, GCs, tradespeople, building owners, and homeowners” to provide a “searchable library of the adapted codes, updates, amendments, and errata across most major US jurisdictions.”

Archinect reported on UpCodes in 2018, where it was being used by firms including Ennead and FXCollaborative as a compatible plug-in for Revit. Today, the platform is used by over 650,000 monthly users, and claims to host over 5 million code sections (updating over 7,000 per month), and 1,700 state and city codes.

In tandem with the latest funding results, the company has unveiled an AI-powered code research assistant named UpCodes Copilot. Utilizing GPT-4, Copilot’s UI will feel familiar to users of ChatGPT. The AI interface can answer user questions about its dataset of over 5 million code sections. In addition to answering the question directly, ...

Supreme Court rules that building codes cannot be copyrighted

2020-04-28T17:40:00-04:00

In a split decision with wide-ranging implications, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that states are not allowed to copyright their building codes or the annotations that provide guidance for those regulations.

The New York Times reports that the 5-4 ruling, transcended the typical liberal-conservative split of the court in articulating a broader reading of existing judicial guidance establishing that laws and legislative work cannot be copyrighted.

The decision could help make these codes more widely available for users, including architects, and might help advance the proliferation of design assistance services that use automated processes to plug building codes into Building Information Models and other design review software.

In the decision, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, states, “If everything short of statutes and opinions were copyrightable, then states would be free to offer a whole range of premium legal works for those who can affo...

Who owns building codes?

2019-12-23T14:49:00-05:00

A copyright infringement lawsuit filed in 2017 against building industry startup company UpCodes by the International Code Council (ICC) is getting ready to head to court next year.

UpCodes is a for-profit company that dubs itself as a "searchable platform for building codes" by providing a variety of code-related services for designers and other building industry professionals, including a Revit plug-in that can scan building models for code compliance. This for-profit use of the ICC-generated code information is what's at issue in the lawsuit.

Samples of UpCode's desktop and mobile code software systems. Image courtesy of UpCodes.

Although International Building Code (IBC) guidelines are written into the building codes specified by nearly all municipalities in the country, the codes themselves are considered to be under copyright by the ICC. ICC, a non-profit entity, does the work of researching, writing, and periodically updating the codes itself, a service that is funded throug...

Founders of UpCodes, the spellcheck for construction, sued for republishing building codes

2019-04-10T16:28:00-04:00

The non-profit organization responsible for developing building codes has sued the startup UpCodes, alleging the company of copyright infringement for republishing the many laws and regulations around buildings.

UpCodes is a searchable platform for building codes intended to make the labyrinthine layers of regulations easier to navigate for architects. Last year, they also released a second product, described by its founders as the spellcheck for construction, that uses AI to help the construction industry manage compliance.

The application pulls from various sources, including government websites, the ICC's website and their various code books. The founders, brothers Scott and Garrett Reynolds, believed the platform's ability to pull this information into their database was covered by fair use doctrine, arguing that these laws should be part of public domain.

However, the ICC, which sells code books and runs accreditation programs and makes $78 million per year, sees differently...

UpCodes wants to make building regulations less tedious by becoming the 'spellcheck for buildings'

2018-06-21T14:25:00-04:00

American counties and municipalities alone have nearly 93,000 different building codes. If you are an architect, that can be an overwhelming amount of requirements to navigate, which is why Upcodes has been working on what it describes as a 'spellcheck' for construction.

Started by two brothers—one, an architect and the other, a software engineer—UpCodes uses AI to help the construction industry manage compliance. Currently compatible with Revit (though they are looking to apply it to Sketchup, ARCHICAD, and IFC models in the future), the plug in analyzes BIM data to make sure the project is meeting the necessary standards. It also automatically syncs with the latest updates, ensuring code checks are working with the most current data.

By using Upcodes, the code review process becomes instantaneous, highlighting code errors in realtime. So far, the founders say that on average, the plugin has identified 27 violations per project, most of which have revolved around egress and access...

Having difficulty navigating those building regulations? There is an App for that!

2017-07-28T19:08:00-04:00

For architects, complying with building codes means navigating labyrinthine layers of regulations that vary between municipalities. Sorting through different codes and keeping track of updates is a daunting task and, in a worst-case scenario, a mistake can cost thousands or even millions of dollars to tear out and fix. Firms that can afford it hire building code consultants, but a startup called UpCodes wants to make code compliance easier for all builders.

Started by two brothers—one, an architect and the other, a software engineer—UpCodes provides an accessible platform for construction codes and works to consolidate building regulations into a single searchable database.

Beyond making codes and regulations easier to navigate, the app simplifies coordination by allowing users to hyperlink to sections of code and create project folders to share with other team members. So far, the start up has amassed building codes for about 40 states, as well as New York City, with regulations for Seattle, Los Angels, and Denver next on the horizon.