By Ian Russel-Hsieh
When Joan Love, a senior lecturer in interior architecture and design at Leeds Beckett University, took her son to school, it was no ordinary school run. He struggled to get from the car to the playground. He struggled to go from the playground to the lobby. He struggled to go from the lobby to the classroom. Meltdowns were common. There was too much noise, the lighting was too intense – it was an assault of visual and sensory information, confusing and overwhelming. Love’s son is autistic, and he has severe learning difficulties and complex needs.
According to recent research by Deloitte, between 10% and 20% of the global population is neurodivergent – with conditions that include autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and ADHD. And just as diversity of race, ethnic background, gender and sexuality helps companies to perform better, other research suggests that teams with neurodivergent workers can be a staggering 30% more productive than those without them. A significant proportion of us, like Love’s son, don’t see, touch, feel, hear, smell or process information in the same way as others. For a neurodivergent person, simply going to work in an office can cause deep anxiety and stress .
It goes without saying, then, that designing a workplace in which neurodivergent people can feel comfortable, in control and able to work at their best is a categorical no-brainer – for businesses and their employees alike. The next generation of workspaces are now being built with neurodiversity in mind. And Fora, a leading flexible workspace provider, have taken the opportunity to use their latest building – The Jellicoe – to discover the possibilities of neuroinclusive design.
“One of the things we talked about from the outset was giving people agency,” says Paul Gulati, Director of Universal Design Studio, who came up with the design concept for The Jellicoe. “That’s a fundamental part of designing contemporary, flexible workspaces. Irrespective of whether you’re considered neurodivergent or not, we all have different needs. So, by providing a range of possibilities for people, you’re also supporting, by proxy, neurodivergent people – by giving them the feeling that they can change their environment.” Fidel Saenz de Ormijana, Senior Design Manager at Fora, adds, “We’ve really tried to push what we deliver – covering every need our members might have during their working day and beyond.”
Developed in partnership with the King’s Cross Estate, who brought on inclusive design consultancy Motionspot as well as Love (whose research focuses on design for neurodivergent people), a big part of this exploration includes developing The Jellicoe with neurodiversity as an important driver for design. Love and Jason Slocombe, a neurodiversity design specialist at Motionspot, were tasked with looking at the plans, and to see where the design could be optimised for people who are neurodivergent.
“I think this project, on the dial, is nearly a 10 when it comes to the range of experiential spaces we’ve designed,” says Gulati. “It’s the idea of worlds within a world, which in a filmic sense is like cutting from one scene to another as you move through the spaces.”
For a neurodivergent person, so many different spaces (sometimes extremely so) within one building could be a challenge to navigate. Especially if there are hard boundaries between areas, and finishes or lighting that change drastically with each space. “Neurodivergent people often need longer to transition between two different environmental states, from light to dark, or from noisy to quiet,” says Slocombe. “The conversations were very interesting about how we maintain the diversity of the workspace, but then have space in between, so that the transition doesn’t become abrupt.”
As a spatial transitioning specialist, Love recommended the avoidance of high contrasting colour and light, and subtle shifts in materiality from one space to another. Another solution was the introduction of pause spaces: small nooks between areas where people can sit and take a minute to recalibrate and reorientate, before moving into a space that could potentially be overwhelming. It’s a small, but impactful, design decision. One of the biggest transitions for neurodivergent people though, is from the outside to the inside. For Love, the reception of The Jellicoe was a high priority. “There were large areas of glass,” she says. “It was double height with a lot of vision between the inside and the outside, and we were a little concerned about the glare on the vast quantities of glass.”
To help neurodivergent workers enter the space more comfortably, the building features multiple entrances: one in the café, which is less formal, and one at the back, which is more discrete and quieter. People who want to avoid crowds and noise can use the latter, which also features sofas shaped specifically to allow people to pause once they enter.
“All the spaces feel very different, which is driven by the users’ needs and behaviours,” says Becky White, Universal Design Studio’s Associate Design Director, “so we had to find a consistent language or red thread. We utilised just a handful of materials throughout, but they shift in tonality and colour to create a change in feeling across each of the spaces.”
“When we design as inclusive designers, we acknowledge the inherent diversity in all populations, and that design can impact some people more than others ,” says Slocombe. “How are people’s energy affected, their sense of safety and comfort? We’re talking about different types of third spaces which are not necessarily related to function but are very important for day-to-day functioning.” For him, places where people can rest and recover are essential to workplace design. To that end, a key area in The Jellicoe is Floor 2, which features an indoor garden and a wellness suite. Comprised of a parents’ room with a day bed, a prayer room and a meditation room, these are all spaces in which people can step away from their work to find some quiet and to ground themselves, especially if their personal circumstances (like being a new parent, or suffering chronic fatigue from long Covid) are making life difficult.
The Jellicoe is a milestone for Fora: the first building to have inclusivity consultants dedicated to the project. And although the possibilities of neuroinclusive design have begun to be explored within the space thanks to the advice of Slocombe and Love, The Jellicoe is just the first step in Fora’s pathway towards creating workspaces that truly cater for all.
“The reality is that it’s very rare for people to achieve a fully 100% inclusive space,” says Slocombe. “We’re all understanding a bit more about how differently people work and what their needs are. Any space is a good space where there’s consideration for other people in the design.” Love agrees: “The client was wanting to listen to us, and learn, and take ideas on board,” she says. “It’s really heartening and very promising for the future.”
