As we close off this exciting special edition of Indesign which focuses on the workplace, our INDE.Awards 2021 Call For Entries is also coming to a close. Our Jurors are preparing to adjudicate hundreds of gold dot-standard projects, and I cannot wait to see what this year’s shortlist reveals.

The INDE.Awards have become our barometer for the region. Our key to how our part of the world is adapting and innovating to progress and change. The INDE.Awards remains the only awards programme that embraces the entire Indo-Pacific, and it is a vital platform for celebrating local design on the regional and global stage.

This year the INDEs will welcome the inaugural INDE.Summit, bringing together the best practitioners to discuss architecture and design in all its manifestations. A prime opportunity for us as a community to extend our knowledge and connections. The INDE.Summit takes place 5 August. Find out more at indeawards.com

We’ve collectively been through so much in the past year. In putting together the ‘Workplace Progress’ issue of Indesign it became increasingly clear that we are in a period of adaptation and transition.

For years we’ve pioneered change through design. But the last 12+ months has upset that status quo. We’ve been forced into a reactionary relationship with change. Adaptation and transition are no longer just a philosophy, they are a daily practise.

The work-from-home phenomenon has precipitated a dramatic shift in expectations among workers – ourselves included. The goal posts of workplace design have shifted. And I think architect Kellie Payne of Bates Smart sums it up so well when she says: “I like to think of the past year as an evolution, not a revolution… Evolution requires persistence.

We shouldn’t ever be at a place where we’ve finally ‘solved’ workplace.” (Responding to Change, page 148).

On that note, welcome to this ‘Workplace Progress’ issue. We have many valuable perspectives and insights within. I’d love to hear your thoughts and responses, after you’ve finished reading, alice@indesign.com.au.

Alice Blackwood | Editor