UpCodes, a searchable platform for building codes, is making code compliance easier for architects, designers, and engineers. Accessible via website and mobile application, UpCodes provides resources for 40 states (with additional information for New York City), with specific code amendments, organizing them into a single database. The platform streamlines the code into a library, organizing research around specific projects, helping to clarify requirements, and avoid delays. Launched in 2015, the company says its database, which it calls “the most advanced search engine built for the construction industry,” has more than 45,000 active monthly users as of July and has seen an 11 percent week-over-week growth this year.
The company, which is now working with Y Combinator—a seed accelerator which provides funding for early-stage startups—provides an affordable option for firms that cannot afford code consultants, and was founded by brothers Scott, who previously worked as an architect, and Garrett Reynolds, a former software engineer and current CTO of UpCodes.
Basic access to the construction codes is free, and for a small subscription fee, the platform provides full search capability, section bookmarking, project page collaboration, mobile optimized viewing, and local amendments. This simplifies the research process, and real-time updates of building codes ensures that all information is accessible and up-to-date.
Firms including Foster + Partners, FxFowle, and Skidmore, Owings & Merril are already utilizing the platform.
"We are putting our heads together to reduce all friction in locating code. Construction codes are a large corpus of information. Increasing access and simplicity to the system provides the stimulus for innovation." –UpCodes
“According to McKinsey, construction is the second least productive industry in the US. But with access to UpCodes, construction companies will save time, prevent errors and reduce the overall cost of building.” –Y Combinator
“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.” –Tech Crunch
