Professors Ali and Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini launched GDI in Auckland in 2025 on a record of international conference organisation that began a decade earlier. Between June 2016 and January 2018 they convened the four NZAAR event series in Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, which published 118 peer-reviewed papers by more than 250 authors from 26 countries, with the 2017 and 2018 volumes indexed in the Web of Science Conference Proceedings Citation Index.

The three words in the name set the scope. Green asks whether an intervention reduces carbon and strengthens resilience. Digital asks what data, automation and AI actually change in design, delivery and operation. Intelligent asks whether the result serves the people who live with it.

The inaugural edition, GDI 2025, ran from 1 to 3 December 2025 at Beca House and AUT City Campus. It brought more than 200 peer-reviewed papers into 17 scientific streams across five themes, scheduled 209 presentations in 16 paper sessions and 12 parallel tracks, and heard nine keynote and inaugural addresses. Technical workshops, laboratory tours and the first GDI Awards completed the programme, supported by twelve professional, academic and industry bodies with Beca as primary partner and sponsor. The response settled the founders’ decision to run GDI every year.

The second edition confirmed that the model travels beyond the paper session. On 11 September 2026 the GDI 2026 Industry Chapter filled the WG Wave Room in the Sir Paul Reeves Building with more than 300 delegates, the full capacity of the room, for a complimentary day of plenaries, panels and workshops led by more than 20 industry and academic speakers and opened by Professor Frederick Marks of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture. The same evening the AUT School of Future Environments hosted, for the first time, the exhibition and public programme of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, in collaboration with His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Australia and New Zealand, with an opening conversation led by Farrokh Derakhshani, Director of the Award. The main conference, held jointly with DigiBUILT 2026, follows online on 7 and 8 December 2026, and GDI 2027 moves to Kuala Lumpur with the Chartered Institute of Building in Malaysia as local organiser.

How the Series Works

One edition each year. Host city, institution and format change from year to year. Every edition keeps its own permanent record on this site: GDI 2025, GDI 2026, DigiBUILT 2026 and GDI 2027.
Academic and industry strands. Peer-reviewed papers sit alongside industry contributions, panels, the Industry Showcase and in-person Industry Chapters.
A sister series. DigiBUILT covers the digital frontier and runs alongside GDI when the two programmes gain from sharing a stage.
A publication pathway. Proceedings, journal special issues and edited books, each subject to its publisher’s own review.
Standing policies. Terms, publication ethics, privacy and conduct rules are set once for the series and apply to every edition.