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The third edition of the Construction Hackathon, held on 25–27 March 2026 as part of the Festival of Architecture and the Brno Building Fair, has its winners. After two days of intensive coding, modelling, and designing without a single sheet of paper, the main prize – a top-tier Prusa CORE One 3D printer – was awarded to a team from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Brno University of Technology, consisting of Maximilian Szotkowski, Denisa Kazíková, Dagmar Sukopová, Vojtěch Kudláček, Kristýna Rotreklová, and Ondřej Šlapák.
The goal of this year’s edition was to find a recipe for affordable housing. Competing teams were tasked with bringing new inspiration and the courage to view the traditional construction sector in a fresh, modern, and unbiased way.
The Construction Hackathon is open to university teams from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Each team may have up to six members, with a maximum of two doctoral students. The remaining participants must be enrolled in bachelor’s or master’s programmes.
This year’s challenge, organised under the auspices of the National Centre for Construction 4.0, was uncompromising: design, within 48 hours, a building for affordable housing using prefabrication, ensuring the entire process is carried out purely digitally. The aim of a paperless process is primarily to reduce errors and provide clearer information for everyone involved in the project.
The winning BUT team designed a residential building and secured victory with a significant lead. They relied on algorithmic optimisation and a precise division of roles within the group. The result is a digital twin, where BIM data are integrated with augmented reality directly for implementation and sustainability, as the design incorporates the recycling of elements at the end of the building’s lifecycle and low energy consumption. The team also paid close attention to practical feasibility within current regulations.
The FAST BUT team consisted of students from various fields – Building Construction, Construction Management, and Environmental Advanced Buildings. “The format and quality of the output clearly demonstrated the team’s comprehensive composition. The project was well-balanced and thoroughly substantiated across all evaluation criteria,” commented Lukáš Daněk, jury member and Chair of the Building Structures Committee of the Czech Chamber of Authorised Engineers and Technicians.
“A hackathon is about intense pressure, improvisation, and the ability to present a vision that makes both technical and economic sense. The students showed they are not afraid to rethink established approaches within just a few dozen hours. In their hands, modular construction is not about stacking boxes, but about smart use of data. Their win was well deserved,” summarised David Bečkovský, informal coach of participating teams and one of the organisers.
This year, the BUT team was mentored by the modular construction system manufacturer KOMA Modular, which promotes high structural and functional quality as well as flexibility of solutions. “I am very pleased with the atmosphere of the entire competition and the commitment of all participants. Our faculty can be justifiably proud of its students. They demonstrated not only a high level of expertise, but also the ability to collaborate in a team that barely knew each other before the hackathon. This ability to quickly align and jointly seek solutions is crucial for today’s construction industry,” said Karel Šuhajda, Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at BUT, who followed the competition in person.
The victory confirmed that civil engineering students are innovators with the courage to transform technological approaches across the entire sector. The jury particularly appreciated the exemplary teamwork and the integration of modern technologies into real regulatory requirements.
Congratulations to the FAST BUT team on their victory, and thank you for the excellent representation!
Responsibility: Bc. Tereza Kučerová