The International Forum “Construction 2050: Innovation, Transformation, New Paradigm”, organized by Tongji University, undertaken by the Department of Construction Management and Real Estate of the School of Economics and Management, Tongji University and the Tongji University Center of Innovation and Development in Construction and co-organized by the Construction Management Research Sector of the Architectural Society of China, was grandly held online from December 16 to 17, 2022. With a focus on the innovation, transformation and green development strategies of the construction industry in 2050, the forum brought together experts and scholars from North America, Europe and Asia to discuss the technological innovation, production organization model change and transformation of the future construction industry toward low-carbon development.

At the beginning of the forum, Gu Xianglin, Vice President of Tongji University, gave welcoming remarks. The COVID-19’s impact on the global economy, the rising demand for project construction, and the promotion of national policies such as the Belt and Road Initiative and new infrastructure, according to Gu, have all led to new development opportunities for China’s construction industry. Internet Plus technologies such as prefabricated buildings, BIM, cloud computing, IoT and big data are driving changes in the global construction sector. The forum gathered experts to examine, analyze and investigate the future and innovation in the field of engineering construction and discuss changes in the production organization model of engineering construction in the future.

The international forum had three keynote forums, with all keynote speeches delivered online. Professor Jesus M. de la Garza from Clemson University, Professor Chimay Anumba from University of Florida, Associate Professor Ryan Qi Wang from Northeastern University, Professor Shankar Sankaran from University of Technology Sydney, Professor Shi Qian from Tongji University, Professor Martin Fischer from Stanford University, Professor Liu Guiwen from Chongqing University, Professor Wang Yuhong from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Professor Timo Hartmann from Technical University of Berlin, Professor Graham Winch from University of Manchester, Professor Li Yongkui from Tongji University, Professor Fang Dongping from Tsinghua University, Professor Zheng Zhanpeng from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Professor Daniel Castro-Lacouture from Purdue University, Associate Professor Young Hoon Kwak from George Washington University, Associate Professor Tang Pingbo from Carnegie Mellon University, and Associate Professor Wang Jialiang from Pennsylvania State University made presentations in the keynote forums, and the participants had in-depth exchanges around the forum theme.