Editorial

Abstract

The Journal is international and this issue contains papers from Australia, The Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Sweden. It is vital that our knowledge base is universal so that we learn and share our research and experiences. The work of the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization is pivotal in this respect. Our knowledge sharing has to transcend any political barriers there may be. Illankoon Chethana (she is from Sri Lanka but not connected to the Sri Lankan researchers I write about later) and her team describe how they developed a scoring model to ensure that the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are achieved in practice. The U.S.A. established the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) as a credit system to achieve sustainability in design, and version 3 of this was used to study the interlinks between SDGs and LEED credits. A Comprehensive Contribution to Development was developed as a baseline guide to effect SDGs in practice. Professor Philomena Bluyssen heads the research in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at the University of Technology in Delft. Her team contributes two papers in this issue: both concerned with environmental conditions in school classrooms and their effect on children. The questionnaire survey of 1145 children and teachers showed that noise and smell were significant issues. Pupils asked teachers to open or close windows, but this alone did not necessarily satisfy the various perceptions the children had about their environment. Individual perceptions vary widely, and their complexity can only be fully solved by using systems that offer the individual control of their immediate surrounding conditions so each person has a personal environmental hub. The other study with 335 primary school children was carried out in an air quality test chamber. Stuffy conditions in rooms are often reported and are associated with stale or smelly air. Using a smell bar – reminiscent of the research by Fanger in 1970–2000 – pupils could rank different sources of smells. You sniff the bouquet of a wine before tasting it and so here sniff the air around different sources like various materials, for example, that you are going to breathe in. Another aspect was the impact of plants on the smell environment. No firm conclusions are reached as yet but research is continuing. Work in the UK on the biophilic design of classrooms in London by Clare Bowman at RCZM Architects is showing very positive results in terms of the total perception so not one confined to smell alone. However, the types of plant and the density of planting are critical factors to consider and could affect smell possibly. Diyani Sirimewan and her team at the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka have carried out a research programme on sustainable irrigation water management and propose guidelines to make it more efficient and effective. They involve improving aspects of engineering, management, operation and the need for tighter regulations. Water scarcity is a problem in many countries, so any attempts to decrease wastage and make systems more efficient can hold lessons for many to learn from. Pia Schőnbeck and her team at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm explore new ways of information management by applying a configuration of the information approach. Construction projects are dogged by so much information from many different sources, and it is not surprising things go wrong. Digital technology is helping to overcome this problem by the