The New Zealand Architectural Design Conference 2026, the ADNZ National Conference, runs 28–31 October 2026 at the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland, with the main two days on 29–30 October. Organised by Architectural Designers New Zealand under the theme 'People. Story. Place… by Design', the 2026 edition doubles as ADNZ's 60th-anniversary gathering and culminates in the Resene Architectural Design Awards Gala Dinner.
The New Zealand Architectural Design Conference 2026 — the national conference of Architectural Designers New Zealand (ADNZ) — runs from Wednesday 28 to Saturday 31 October 2026 at the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) in Auckland, with the two main conference days on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October (ADNZ, adnzconference.co.nz). The programme opens with a Mix and Mingle on the Wednesday evening and closes with an optional architectural walking tour on the Saturday, according to the NZICC event listing.
The 2026 edition carries the theme "People. Story. Place… by Design" and coincides with ADNZ's 60th anniversary, marked by a themed birthday celebration during the week (ADNZ).
The conference is run by Architectural Designers New Zealand (ADNZ), the professional body that describes itself as "Champions of New Zealand Design & Architecture" (adnz.org.nz). ADNZ represents architects, architectural designers and building professionals nationwide and, per its own history, has operated since the 1960s. It also runs the long-standing Resene Architectural Design Awards, whose Gala Dinner forms the centrepiece of the conference week (ADNZ).
The event is aimed at architectural designers, architects and professionals across the architecture and construction sectors, framed by ADNZ around "connection, korero and celebration" (adnzconference.co.nz). The two-day speaker programme features a cross-disciplinary line-up that ADNZ lists as including Andrew Hoyne, Greg Cross, Nathan Fa'avae, Brad Olsen, Arena Williams and Julie Stout, among others spanning architecture, sustainability and design. Around the sessions sit networking functions, the anniversary party, the ADNZ Resene Architectural Design Awards Gala Dinner, and a walking tour of University of Auckland architecture on the final day.
The NZICC sits at 101 Hobson Street in the Auckland CBD (adnzconference.co.nz), New Zealand's largest purpose-built convention centre, placing delegates in the heart of the central city. The CBD location puts a dense cluster of hotels and serviced accommodation within walking distance, and Auckland Airport lies roughly 20 kilometres south of the centre, connected to the city by motorway and airport bus services. The compact CBD footprint means conference sessions at the NZICC, the evening functions and the Saturday university tour are all within short reach of one another, keeping delegate movement across the multi-day programme largely on foot.
As a recurring national conference anchored to an established 60-year professional body and its flagship awards, the ADNZ conference is a dependable multi-day, multi-function booking for Auckland's business-events calendar. Its use of the NZICC for both plenary content and a gala dinner, combined with offsite networking and a city tour, showcases the kind of whole-of-CBD programme the venue and surrounding precinct are built to host — a useful marker of returning association-conference business for the New Zealand MICE sector.
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