How can design last longer, be more meaningful, perform better, and do more for people, cities and ecologies? This issue we look around the Asian region – and at our home ground – to probe how architects and designers are responding the realities of our time, addressing the value of endurance, and thinking ahead to potential futures.

Resilience has multiple ingredients and can take many definitions, but its universal characteristics are plurality and fitness. To survive shocks, of which there are an ever-increasing number, and to retain relevance is to have the right balance of meaningful foundations and agility. The ability to change and the flexibility to cope with a range of contexts will perhaps be the defining features of designers, architects and their work from now on.

It’s a reality that many in our region have already faced. China-based Turenscape, for example, is a leader in the development of landscapes that combat flooding while repairing ecological damage. Similar steps are being taken in Singapore, as we find out in this issue’s ‘In Conversation’ feature. We also zoom in on community-focused disaster relief efforts in the Philippines, the benefits of bamboo as a building material, a Singaporean childcare centre that connects kids with landscape, and houses that are fused with their climates and sites.

And of course, we are thrilled to present the much-anticipated Official Shortlist for the INDE.Awards 2018.  There is an incredibly rich and diverse body of work and practitioners vying for top honours in this year’s awards. Congratulations to all who have been shortlisted!

Do join us on 22 June when we announce the INDE.Awards 2018 winners at the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore, and rub shoulders with the region’s leading lights in design. Tickets are on sale now!