In its recent research on designing for neurodiversity, LPA Design Studios outlines a few key areas in which design can support greater inclusivity in workplace settings. Neurodiversity, the report stresses, goes beyond commonly associated conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and ADHD and is “not defined by a deficiency in comprehension, but rather a difference in how people process information.” Most estimates suggest that around 15 to 20 percent of the population is considered neurodivergent.
A common thread runs through the design strategies described in LPA’s research: choice. Contract spoke with Rick D’Amato, design director for LPA’s Irvine office, about the best ways to create workplace environments that bring out the best in everyone.
Workplace Design: How does accommodating neurodiversity factor into your approach as a designer?
Rick D’Amato: It’s hard for us to comprehend that we actually spend more of our time at work than we do at home. So, if we don’t understand health and well-being for ourselves, both physically and mentally at work, then we’re struggling the majority of the time during our day. That is really starting to come into focus lately in understanding the long-term effects on people who are neurodivergent. What are the negative effects that can happen in the workplace? Are there things we can do that will let them be more productive and happier? There are design strategies we can overlay on workplace that make the whole environment better for everyone. COVID, in a way, really sort of pushed fast-forward on this for the industry. We really needed to understand why people were not coming back to work. And in that research, it dawned on us that it was because they were able to control their environment at home. Workers felt empowered, and whenever you give someone that sense of empowerment, it’s really hard to take it back.
How do you figure out the best ways to layer in design strategies that address not only neurodiversity, but overall employee empowerment?
RD: It’s different for each client, and that’s what’s really cool. We really have to understand what people do there. It’s more along the lines of activity-based planning, and it’s all done through surveys, through interviews. You can’t just do a blanket design for neurodiversity. We have done projects where we’ve interviewed almost everybody at the organization that we’re designing for.
Are there any elements that should be incorporated, at a minimum, for more neurodiverse design?
RD: Most definitely. Some people have aversion to direct light and harsher lighting, and a lot of people have noise aversion. And some people don’t like to be in quiet places. You have to look at these sorts of basics and understand how that can be accommodated as simply as possible. We don’t want to get overly complex with our solutions, but I think what we’re seeing now is that it’s not just rows and rows of desks. If there are rows of desks, then those rows can be treated differently for different ways of working and collaborating. It’s about getting the best of all worlds by designing more zoned environments, understanding what happens where so it’s not distracting to others. That also makes our collaborative areas more effective.
The other thing is flexibility—being able to employ strategies that you can change if they don’t work, that you can augment to make more effective depending on how they’re used. Because you never really know how someone’s going to use the space until they’re in it. That’s where our post-occupancy evaluations come into play. We go back a year later and see, how is this working? Are there things that we can adapt for you, things that you want more of, things that you want less of?
Have you identified any neurodiverse strategies that are particularly useful, or maybe not as useful as you expected?
RD: One thing is that you need to provide options, but the functionality needs to be equal. Like, I could work over there where the light is different, but that desk is two feet shorter and it doesn’t have X. You have to make sure that no matter where you go, you can work the same as where you were. Sit-stand desks, ergonomics and the right chair… all of that still has to be in place or it’s not going to work.
What do you see (and hope) for the future of workplace design?
RD: We are not isolated anymore. And I think when we talk about things like neurodiversity, to understand how that sort of bleeds out into everything that we do can make us all better. If we work together toward that common goal of creating the strongest, most empowered people that we can imagine, that’s going to make a better community.