We begin with blocks and words, move onto Legos and sentences, and perhaps eventually aspire to design buildings and cities, or write articles and books. Creative work builds new futures to meet ever-changing and more than occasionally destructive social, political and cultural conditions.

This week we look at what it means to build across fields, methodologies, and practices including architecture, art, curating, transnationalism, and design. Our global and conceptual journey begins in New York. There, by way of the rural Milpa Alta region outside of Mexico City, we review an exhibition including Fernando Palma Rodríguez's innovative robotic sculptures.

We turn to Thailand to hear how leading artist Rirkrit Tiravanija has built a relational curatorial practice alongside his art before considering how the field of neuroarchitecture can positively shape our built environment. We then look to two possible futures.

First, we hear about a recent summit intended to build bridges across cultures in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, and then we reflect on 3daysofdesign festival in Copenhagen where creative directors of design brands 'Dare to Dream'. Collectively, we wonder how to build better in uncertain times.