Inaugural Edition · Concluded

GDI 2025

Where the series began.

1 to 3 December 2025Auckland, New ZealandIn person, with recorded presentations

Programme and Papers Gallery

GDI Awards 2025

Award Recipients

13 awards in 8 categories, presented at the gala dinner in Te Iringa, AUT, on 3 December 2025. Names, affiliations and titles are given as printed on the certificates.

GDI Best Paper Award (Academic)3 Recipients

Aaliya Azeem & Albert Thomas

PaperAssessing the Carbon Footprint of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) Façades: A Lifecycle Approach for NZEBs

Paper 447, Session R3 in the programme

Kanchuka Thilakshana Withanage, Stephen Kajewski & Melissa Teo

PaperIntegrated Governance Model for Smart City PPPs; A Conceptual Framework

Paper 438, Session C in the programme

Levin Daniel JV & Terry-Ann Berry

PaperEstablishing Material Recovery Potential and Embodied Carbon Savings in Residential Deconstruction: A Case Study from Auckland, New Zealand

Paper 515, Session F in the programme

GDI Best Paper Award (Industry)

Glenn Jowett (Beca Ltd), Adam Donaldson (Neuflow Projects) & Parvati Patel (Hamilton City Council)

ProjectWaiora WTP Digital Asset Handover

GDI Best Presenter Award (Academic)

Herath Mudiyanselage Samadhi Nayanathara Samarasekara

PaperValidating a Whole Life Costing Framework for Residential Buildings in New Zealand: A Stakeholder-Based Evaluation

Paper 563, Session J in the programme

GDI Digital Transformation Award

Janet Molyneux (Wellington City Council), Jonathan Navarette (McConnell Dowell), Lasse Damhus (HEB) & David Ellis (Beca Ltd)

ProjectThe Wellington Sludge Minimisation Facility: Digital Transformation in Action

Paper 856, Session B in the programme

GDI Intelligent Futures Award2 Recipients

Sergio Trejo Rodriguez & Farzad Pour Rahimian

Omar Owais, Mani Poshdar, Kamal Jaafar & Saad Sarhan

GDI Sustainability & Climate Adaptation Award2 Recipients

Priscila Besen, Ann Morrison, Stacy Vallis, Paola Boarin, Magdalena Jensen, Andrew Burgess, Amanda Yates, Mohsen Mohammadzadeh, Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Imelda Piri, Zahra Jalali, Francisco Carbajal, Kyle Paala, James Pearson & Aline Besentt

Related GDI 2025 paperRetrofitting Existing Suburbs for Enhanced Resilience: Envisioning Future Scenarios of Decentralisation and Sufficiency in Low-Density Neighbourhoods

Paper 571, Session D in the programme

Vali Shishebori, Nima Izadyar, Elmira Jamei, Keivan Bamdad & Mahsan Sadeghi

GDI Impact & Leadership Award2 Recipients

Farzam Farzadi (Beca)

Mahesh Babu Purushothaman

GDI Organizing Award

Sameer Srinivas, Deependra Pourel, Zaw Zaw Tun Kyaw, Zin May Aung and team

About the GDI Awards

Award domains, eligibility and the application process are set out on the GDI Awards page. Awards are made under the Awards Terms, and decisions of the judging panel are final.