It has been nearly a decade since a client asked, “How do you design space for someone with ADHD?” As a mother of five children with vastly different cognitive profiles and a designer of a wide variety of environments, I had ideas. But that wasn’t enough. That question sparked HOK’s journey into researching neuroinclusive design.
Our research found an uncomfortable reality: Though we’ve done a good job adapting our buildings for physical disabilities, society has largely overlooked the needs of neurodivergent individuals in our workforce. The barriers for the neurodivergent community are often invisible. Unlike physical barriers, sensory barriers are not always obvious and often go unaddressed. Yet they affect all us, neurotypicals and neurodivergents alike.
All of us who have worked in an office understand the challenges. From harsh lights to relentless chatter, modern workplaces bombard us with sensory stimulation. But what neurotypicals might merely find annoying can be debilitating to their neurodivergent colleagues.
Key Principles of Neuroinclusive Design
In HOK’s research, three essential principles emerged for designing workplaces that work for everyone:
1. Choice lets people select the workplace settings they need at any moment.
2. Variety matches different ways of working and sensory preferences.
3. Control gives people power over their immediate environment.
Let’s look at how these principles apply to noise—one of the biggest complaints about the workplace. Choice means allowing people to select between focused work areas or more collaborative zones. We achieve variety by creating distinct spaces with different acoustic properties, from quiet rooms to team areas. We can offer control through adjustable elements like movable screens, the use of headsets, or the ability to reserve quiet spaces when needed. When these three principles work together, employees can find or create the right acoustic environment for their task and comfort level.
Creating Supportive Environments
These principles guide all our design strategies. Examples include creating clear wayfinding, offering a mix of quiet and energetic zones, providing adjustable environmental controls, and designing thoughtful transitions between different types of spaces. And since successful workplace inclusion requires coordinated effort, these design strategies work best alongside inclusive HR practices and individual accommodations. Like a three-legged stool, the whole structure wobbles when one element fails.
The Business Case
The business benefits are clear. Companies prioritizing inclusion outperform peers across key financial metrics. And contrary to many people’s assumptions, most workplace accommodations cost nothing to implement, with those that do typically requiring only a modest investment. Compare this to the cost of replacing an employee, which can be several times their annual salary.
The Work Ahead
When we design for the extreme, we benefit the mean. Just as curb cuts intended for wheelchairs help everyone, designing for neurodivergent needs creates workplaces that better serve every individual.
As designers, we must step up to create truly inclusive work environments. This goes beyond competition among design firms. We have a moral imperative to get it right. Now is the time for our industry to come together around neuroinclusion, setting aside attempts to own the subject and collaborating however we can.
My new book, Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces: Advancing Sensory Processing and Cognitive Well-Being in the Built Environment, provides a practical roadmap for creating these environments, combining research findings with real-world strategies and case studies. Available through Wiley in March, it offers guidance for those seeking to create inclusive workplaces.
An anonymous autistic student once said, “We are freshwater fish in salt water. Put us in fresh water and we function just fine. Put us in salt water and we struggle to survive.”
Let's work to create environments that give everyone options to find their ideal water—whether fresh or salt—with the right work settings for them to thrive.
