Prof Chrisna du Plessis, Head of Department of Architecture, delivered a keynote address at the SBE16:Sustainable Built Environment conference in Zurich organised by ETH as part of a worldwide conference series hosted by the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB), the United Nations Environment Programme’s Sustainable Building and Climate Initiative (UNEP-SBCI),the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and the international initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment (iiSBE). The title of her address was Thriving in the Symbiocene: A message of hope