What if sustainability wasn’t only about carbon, materials, and energy — but also about the human brain?

In this second episode of the mini-series about neuro-sustainability, neuroscience and architecture meet in a conversation that feels both urgent and surprisingly practical.

We investigate the work of Cambridge scholarship student, Mohamed Hesham Khalil, which we believe should be integrated into planning and architecture around the world.

“We can change diet, can change habits, but we cannot change a built environment. It’s built once and it lasts for tens of years.” Mohamed Hesham Khalil

In this episode, he is joined by Burçin Ikiz, who brings a climate-and-health lens to brain wellbeing across the lifespan.

Mohamed Hesham Khalil brings a design-and-research lens focused on environmental enrichment — and what our homes, streets, workplaces, and neighbourhoods are doing to us every day, whether we notice it or not.

This is not a theoretical chat. It’s about how we design environments that help brains thrive — especially as heat, pollution, and chronic stress become part of daily life for millions.

We like to think of brain health as something personal: sleep, diet, exercise, mindset. But the built environment is a long-term exposure — and it’s stubbornly permanent.

If your surroundings make movement hard, keep you indoors, overwhelm your senses, trap heat, or load the air with pollution — you don’t just “feel it.” Your brain does too.

1) What “environmental enrichment” means in the real world

This conversation translates neuroscience into design language: environments that support movement, stimulation, connection, and recovery.

“Don’t use it, you lose it. Just kind of like our muscles in our bodies.” Burçin Ikiz

2) The indoor reality we rarely talk about

If buildings are designed mainly for convenience and comfort, what happens to stimulation, mobility, and everyday brain engagement?

“When we spend like around 90 percent of time indoors… almost no chance for cognitive stimulation or physical activity through the building…” Mohamed Hesham Khalil

3) Heat, buildings, and brain function

As the climate warms, poorly adapted buildings become neurological stressors — not just uncomfortable boxes.

“If most of our buildings… have not been created for this increasingly warming world, it can be very, very hot indoors and that can really affect our brains.” Burçin Iki...

“The brain is not concrete… it is always changing.” Mohamed Hesham Khalil

We investigate the work of Cambridge scholarship student, Mohamed Hesham Khalil, which we believe should be integrated into planning and architecture around the world.

Mohamed also brings other top global experts to your ears during this short series of podcasts.

Neurosustainability and the built environment

In this opening episode, architect and Cambridge PhD candidate Mohammed Hesham Khalil introduces neurosustainability—a way of thinking about buildings and cities that asks how everyday environments shape mental health, cognition, stress levels, and long-term brain resilience.

“Sustainability… has to be inclusive and include the brain as well.” Mohammed Hesham Khalil

Jackie and Mohammed explore how the built environment influences us in ways we often overlook: the presence (or absence) of nature, whether our days include movement, how much variety and “spatial complexity” we experience, and how factors like air pollution can undermine health—even in places that look green on the surface.

This episode sets the foundation for the series: a practical, research-informed conversation about designing places that support the brain—not just the building.

Neurosustainability and the built environment

This episode is for anyone who makes decisions that shape how people live inside places—and anyone who’s felt, personally, that certain environments lift you up or drag you down.

“It’s not only about architecture… it’s about the way we live.” Mohamed Hesham Khalil

• Architects & designers (especially if you care about wellbeing beyond “light and air” checklists)

• Urban planners & transport planners working on walkability, density, public realm, and mobility

• Developers & project managers making trade-offs between cost, space, green features,...

This positive news story has been inspired by one of the world’s most tragic situations: the war in Ukraine.

“We in Ukraine are becoming a pilot site for diverse sustainable pilots, experiments and innovations. We have to leapfrog and build a society, buildings and processes that are inclusive, that are beautiful and that are sustainable. That’s our vision.” Roman Pushko

Rebuilding Ukraine safely, sustainably and swiftly – courtesy of S3RoU

A consortium of individuals, universities and entities in Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands has come together to create a solution that will not only help rebuild Ukraine but could be used in other places that have been affected by wars or extreme weather events.

In layperson’s terms, rubble from the war in Ukraine will go through processes so it can be used to rebuild Ukraine swiftly, safely and sustainably. Discover more about the consortium who are involved in this rebuilding Ukraine project.

Rebuilding Uktraine S3 University of Leeds team

The conversation explores the innovative S3 project, which aims at sustainable reconstruction in Ukraine, focusing on the circular economy, community involvement, and the importance of decentralisation.

Experts discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the project, emphasising the need for collaboration and inclusivity in rebuilding efforts. The discussion highlights the potential legacy of the project in shaping future construction practices and addressing the impacts of conflict and disaster.

“Concrete is made up of cement, sand, gravel and water – and we can theoretically get them all back. My vision is to decentralise it, prove it can work, and show people – through real demonstrations – that this is doable.” Professor Theodore Hanein

Rebuilding Ukraine S3RoU consortium

• You’re a civil engineer, architect, urban planner or contractor interested in circular materials and real-world pilots.

• You’re working on post-conflict or post-disaster reconstruction and want scalable, community-centred models.

• You’re engaged in climate, energy or development policy and want to understand how embodied carbon and ci...