The development of IJAR-The International Journal of Architectural Research is based on the belief that e-journals offer readers a particular ease of access. They can readily work across different journals, find exactly where certain ideas are being discussed, or move from citation to source. They find something that serves their needs, copy the article's bibliographic references, and perhaps a quote or two. They press Print, or Save, and they move on. Free and open access is what IJAR is adopting where the success of the open access publishing model is bound to have a profound impact on the state of knowledge a this depends on the extent of its circulation and exchange.

Time and the future issues of IJAR will tell the international planning, architectural, and design communities what contributions IJAR can make. However, the editorial team is already encouraged by both the number of papers being submitted and the quality of research and discussion they encompass. As part of delivering ArchNet's mission, IJAR will be a mechanism by which the international community of architects, planners, and designers, and those who are working in related disciplines, are engaged in research and reflection of their practice, debating issues of concern to their social, cultural, physical contexts.

IJAR will be a major source and will provide an international forum for discussion and debate, learning, and scholarship issues. It acts as a means for disseminating knowledge and findings of well founded academic investigations as well as intellectual critical arguments on the current status of architecture. It is the hope that IJAR becomes one of the principal international homes for refereed articles on "Architectural and Built Environment Research."

In this inaugural issue of IJAR, there are seven highly interesting and diverse papers. Two papers place emphasis on the technical aspects of the built environment including accessibility, fire safety (Sheila Ornstein, Rosaria Ono et al), day-lighting, and energy performance (Uma Maheswaran & Ang Guo zi); one paper introduces a new position on the role of human intelligence in shaping the architecture of the 21st century (Nikos A. Salingaros & Kenneth G. Masden II); three papers offer critical analyses of the built environment of the Arab world debating issues that pertain to tradition, modernity, and identity (Khaled Asfour, Yasser Mahgoub, and Ashraf Salama); and one paper explores the notion of hierarchy in Taj Mahal's interior spatial environment (Thalia Kennedy).