Using augmented reality to project 3D building renderings onto everything from tabletops to land sites; extracting emotional data to inform the design of an interior buildout; creating artificial intelligence (AI) bots to pull data stored on multiple servers; and utilizing dating-site algorithms to “match” commercial tenants with landlords. These are just some of the cutting-edge ideas conceptualized at CREforge, a first-of-its-kind commercial real estate hackathon hosted by Taylor Johnson client Transwestern. Seeking to ‘forge’ a mutually beneficial relationship between the tech and real estate communities, Transwestern organized CREforge to illustrate how everyone from architects and developers to brokers and service firms could utilize technology to realize cost savings and deliver a higher level of service to clients. GlobeSt.comand Bisnow were among the media outlets that covered the three-day event.

More than 150 people, including speakers, exhibitors and programmers, participated in CREforge, a three-day hackathon that took place Aug. 26-28 at Transwestern’s Midwest headquarters in downtown Chicago.