Editorial

This journal like others seeks to advance knowledge and understanding in all the interconnected areas that focus on intelligent buildings and their role in the planning of intelligent cities. But how far can we go in reaping new knowledge? Will we ever have a complete template of knowledge? Einstein set out to discover a unified field theory which would explain how the universe worked but today at astronomical or atomic scales this still eludes us. The more we discover the more questions appear. There seems to be an asymptotic state of knowledge with no finite end in sight. In 1931, an Austrian mathematician Kurt Gődel proposed his incompleteness theorem in which he demonstrated that with any mathematical system there will always be true statements which cannot be proved. To all those mathematicians that, like Einstein had in physics, sought to develop a complete mathematical system this was devastating news. So yes perfect unified systems of knowledge are beyond us but the discovery of those steps in the process such as the discovery of new particles in the atom or nearer home seeking to understand the role of artificial intelligence in developing intelligent buildings for example, these evolutionary steps remain challenging and exciting. The origins of chess began in India some 1500 years ago and have been mentioned by the United Nations as a game like others that can improve mental health by letting the player enter a mental flow state of complete immersion and absorption. Chess requires logic and reasoning and these can stimulate mental agility which may lead on to a more creative deliberation about alternative solutions. I wonder if more offices, hospitals and schools should make chess sets easily available to encourage mental wellbeing. The downside may be people become too absorbed and reluctant to leave the game and this would not be favoured by office managers but a ‘chesslunch’ might offset that energy low point in the early afternoon. The need to understand creativity in a deeper way is crucial and is as important as the much-used word productivity so why not let us explore all the possibilities to make this happen. A recent study from the Paris Brain Institute (ICM) explains why daylong cognitive work drains one’s energy and can affect decision-making (see article by A. Wiehler et al., in Current Biology 2022, 32(16), 3564–75). Does concentration, memorising, multi-tasking and problem-solving cause the brain to tire and hence decrease its efficacy in making decisions? They describe how nerve cells in the brain break down nutrients to release energy to think but during this process, toxic by-products are accumulated called metabolites and one of these that proliferate is glutamate. Incidentally one function of sleep is to clear these toxins. During the day, this build-up of toxins occurs in the lateral prefrontal cortex area of the brain but is particularly prevalent in subjects that are employed in high-demand jobs. Should we rearrange the working day? For example, air traffic controllers work for 2 hours then break for 30 minutes but should we consider this work pattern for other jobs requiring sustained concentration like doctors, nurses and others? In general, this highlights the importance of mental wellbeing a topic which has been neglected for far too long. A recent study from the US is reported in the October 2022 issue of the Journal of the Building and the Environment entitled Impact of WELL Certification on Occupant Satisfaction and Perceived Health, WellBeing, and Productivity: A Multi-Office Pre-Versus Post-Occupancy Evaluation and concluded that occupants in WELL certified office spaces reported improved satisfaction, productivity, health and productivity (see Nasim Ildiri et al., Building and Environment, Volume 224, October 2022). No doubt replica studies will follow in other countries. This research study might spike interest in other laboratories such as the impressive PEARL – Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory – which is part of University College London which I visited recently. Other topics worth a read and consideration are: