Whilst 20th century was mostly about starchitects, 21st century is about synergies and the relevant complex dynamics that these allow to grow. This shift happens in parallel to others; reusing, retrofitting, and giving a new life to the existing places, buildings and neighbourhoods, in an environmentally and socially resilient manner, developing ways for the existing communities to grow in a symbiotic relationship with new ones, designing processes of circular economy and upcycling, which allow people to collaborate and find viable solutions. Participation in architecture is a notion that continuously evolves, even more so in recent years. Knowledge and innovation that contributes to social justice and responsible design practices, emerges from complex networks and agile cross-disciplinary collaborations.

In this context, this conference aims to discuss the link between social and environmental resilience, by looking into designed projects, cross-disciplinary research and investigations, participatory and collaborative design methods. It welcomes architects, designers, artists, planners, academics, educators, who have addressed some of the above themes through their work. Projects on adaptation and retrofitting of places in an environmentally and socially responsible way, as well as participatory projects, are particularly welcome. It also welcomes presentations of ongoing projects and collaborations, which will drive the relevant conversations forward.