The Healthcare Facilities Planning and Design Conference, which took place in Singapore and held between December 16th through 18th, was organized by the Singapore Institute of Architects, and supported by institutions including IE Singapore, Singapore’s National Healthcare Group, Singhealth, National University of Singapore and the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau. The main purpose of the conference was to bring together architects, planners, designers, institutions, academia and industry in the healthcare services sector in the region, and to provide an opportunity for stimulating discussions, sharing and exchanging information and networking among these professionals.The topics covered during the three-day event included discussions on the latest trends in healthcare designs and management in the region, challenges and constraints encountered in designing healthcare institutions, climate and environmental considerations in healthcare architecture, and opportunities in healthcare planning and development in Asia. The conference ended with a half-day tour of a choice of healthcare facilities in Singapore. Since the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park will be established with a medical center at the core, we found the conference to be very relevant, informative, and inspiring. Of course, meeting with other conference delegates, many of whom are prominent leaders and business professionals in the healthcare field in Asia was also an invaluable experience for us as members of the HBSP preparatory team. It is important both for us to meet with others in the industry, as well as for these professionals to have the chance to get to know what the HBSP is all about. The conference in Singapore created the perfect situation to do so.There were four major areas of discussion covered at the conference, namely: (1) Designing Facilities for SARS and Infectious Diseases; (2) Health Systems; (3) Total Building Performance; and (4) Hospitals of the Future. We focused on attending the lectures pertaining to the latter two topics, since the medical center will be a crucial, if not the major component within the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park.In essence, planning and design are the imposing of presently held values on the future, with the hope of creating a future setting in which those values may be realized.