11 minute read
OFFICE DESIGN AND INSIGHTS
In this section we take the learnings and understandings from the previous sections and put them into a design language, with practical tools, frameworks and insights. The section covers key definitions, design methods and insights, and ends with various best practice design examples.
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Interviewee
DEFINITIONS
In this section we define terms used within the arena of the built environment in order to build a common lexicon and lay out a set of roles and responsibilities.
BUILT ENVIRONMENT – DEFINITIONS
Terms used for areas of the built environment, and the roles associated with these areas, are given in Table 4.
Term Parameters
Space An office space contained within a lease; the concern is mostly with category B fit-out issues.
Building The architectural, engineering and asset management decisions when designing a building; the concern is mostly with amenities, category A fit-out and mechanical and electrical (M&E).
Place A development that has outdoor and public realm space. This can range from a small courtyard to a multi-hectare site such as a campus or business park.
Relevant practitioners Interior designers Architects Specialist consultants Engineers Occupiers Developers Investors
Architects Structural engineers Mechanical engineers Property managers Consultants (acoustics, lighting, wayfinding, digital/interactive, furniture fixtures and equipment (FF&E), access, biophilic, etc.)
Developers Investors
Landscape architects Architects Civil engineers Property managers
Table 4 Definitions of terms used for areas of the built environment, and the roles associated with them
COMFORTS – DEFINITIONS
Comforts are a series of sense-based modalities, and a person should feel a sense of physical and psychological stability or a lack of burden arising from biological stress. The various comforts within an office space are listed in the box below. All of these comforts are felt simultaneously as part of the full
Comforts within an office space
Thermal
The temperature within a space. A sustained temperature that is biologically too hot or cold, or sudden temperature changes that can be perceived by a person’s biological stress response as too hot or too cold.
Auditory
Noise pollution, which is the exposure to unnecessary or excessive auditory stimuli. This can be people speaking, sudden sounds from human activity, music, sounds from machinery, etc.
Visual
There are two pathways: light and visual noise. • Light: Brightness of light sources (natural or artificial); glare on surfaces, including computer screens and walls; frequency of light; flickering light; too little light.
• Visual noise: People coming and going within the person’s visual sphere of gaze; clutter, visual obstructions and poor sight lines; patterns on the walls, floor, ceiling or furniture; etc.
Olfactory
There are two pathways: odours and air quality. sensorial experience, and therefore there is crossover between them. The experience of each comfort varies from person to person, and for each person it varies and from day to day. Therefore, the provision of these comforts needs to be wide ranging, and there should be some means for the personal control of these.
Touch
This relates to how a surface feels to the touch in terms of both its texture and its temperature. For example, a cold surface can be biologically uncomfortable for someone with a hypersensitivity to temperature changes, or a material can cause an allergic skin reaction.
Navigation
This relates to how a person moves within space. Wayfinding is a key element that can help a person feel orientated and that they belong in the space. There should be no physical obstructions, such as clutter, steep stairs, a lack of lifts or slippery surfaces. Navigation is also about space, especially for those with dyspraxia. There should be enough space for a person using physical aids to move easily, or to move their body freely and safely. Narrow paths or hallways, for example, can obstruct movement.
Orchestration – The synchronicity of a space, how all the various stimuli come together to make one experience. The comfort or discomfort of a stimulus is perceived depends on how it fits within the wider ecosystem. ■
BUILT ENVIRONMENT TYPES AND ROLES
The types of built environment practitioners and the roles they play in creating an enabling environment for neurodiverse people are listed in the box below.
Built environment practitioners and their role in creating an enabling environment
Investors
Investors should include new guidelines and indicators in their ESG agendas. This will support institutional change throughout the industry.
Clients/developers
The client has the ultimate responsibility for setting the principles for the project and the guidelines for the product. Developers have some of the greatest agency with regard to making change in how people experience cities. Instructing multi-disciplinary teams to follow new guidelines is key.
Planners
Public planners should set criteria around the collaboration between developers, transport authorities and those who manage the public realm. Private planners should liaise with local authorities to express their client’s and investors’ ambitions around the desire to have a neurodiversity inclusion urban area and discuss what collectively can be done.
Designers
Designers (architects, interior designers/architects, landscape architects, etc.) need to consider the balance between design and experience, with the latter defining the occupier’s business concerns. Designers should consider how those who are neurodiverse may experience a certain design aesthetic. The small details can be everything in terms of whether a person feels that dignity has been given to them.
Engineers
Throughout the design and development of offices, engineers (civil/structural, M&E, environmental, etc.) need to find solutions that do not make a sustainable building at the cost of sustainable human performance. The acoustic and lighting fit-outs require particular consideration in this regard.
Consultants
Consultants, in their varied roles (acoustics, lighting, wayfinding, access, digital/interactive, FF&E, biophilic, etc.), have a responsibility to be mindful of end users and to educate others in the supply chain about the real-world impact of certain choices.
Building management
The role of building management comes into its own in the post-occupancy stage. Therefore, building managers have regular contact with tenants and their employees via surveys/engagement apps, and can identify what alterations could be made once the building is in use. Knowing that change is possible demonstrates that equity is being given to people who may otherwise feel the world is unwelcoming to, or ignoring, them.
Landlords
Landlords should have regular interaction with occupiers’ human resources teams and work closely with building managers to implement any alterations identified as necessary.
Occupiers and employers
Occupiers and employers need to support their neurodiverse employees and ensure that the spaces they provide and the culture they foster are enabling. When considering taking a new office space, occupiers and employers should consider taking a diverse range of people to viewings. ■
DESIGN METHODS
The main takeaway is that, like all communities, the neurodiversity community is complex and contains a wide range of people with a wide range of needs. Therefore, each office space is an opportunity to build a unique and nuanced relationship with the people who will inhabit that space. This starts with creating a set of methods that will delineate how the design team, client and employees will engage in an equitable collaboration with the purpose of creating an enabling environment.
Suggested methods (a particular procedure) for each stage of the design are listed below.
Observation stage
Time should be set aside to observe people and place in order to fully understand the various and nuanced needs of the user.
• Method 1: Conduct a survey of potential or current employees.
• Method 2: Observe employees in situ across different times of the day, and on different days, to build up a ‘day in the life’ composite. This will provide a full understanding of the any obstacles and the nuances associated with the use of the space.
• Method 3: Hold ‘town hall’ meetings at which employees, employers and designers can discuss their needs and concerns.
Prototype stage
Design concepts should be tested to ensure that they translate from concept to real-world application. This is also a good time to learn how to enable interactions and to address blind spots.
• Method 1: Leave room in the designs for changes to be made after consulting with neurodiverse employees.
• Method 2: Create pathways for feedback from the users.
Maintenance stage
Improvements can, and should, be made over the long-term management of the building, and there should be the flexibility to enable quick changes to be made to accommodate new people or to adjust to changes in the needs of people.
• Method 1: Conduct periodic surveys to understand if the needs of those who are neurodiverse have changed.
• Method 2: Periodically, bring in a mental health expert to conduct workshops on burnout syndrome. The aim is to both educate staff about the syndrome, and thereby prevent it, and to identify employees who may already have symptoms and to avoid them spiralling into burnout.
• Method 3: Create pathways of communication through which people can state their varying or changing needs of the space.
• Method 4: Make iterative changes to the space based on feedback from workshops, surveys and communication pathways.
DESIGN INSIGHTS
In this section we look at categories within places, buildings and spaces. Tables are given that list the elements, comforts and potential points of stress relevant to each category, together with recommendations for design.
The categories of design insights and their hierarchy are shown in Figure 3.
Level of specification
Principles
Principles are a foundational understanding of a subject. They exist to guide thinking and the overall aim to be achieved.
Recommendations Guidelines Regulations
Principles are a foundational understanding of a subject. They exist to guide thinking and the overall aim to be achieved. Guidelines are cultural. They are a series of parameters for people to follow to achieve consistency. Readers of this report should apply the principles and recommendations in their own guidelines (e.g. a building owner should apply them to their branding and their cultural approach to placemaking). Regulations are set by law to protect interested parties. For example, health and safety regulations have existed for many years. The aim should be for the wider built environment industry to undertake research to encourage the making of regulations to protect the mental health of people.
What this report provides
Figure 3 The categories of insights and their hierarchy.
What this report helps to work towards
PLACE
Type: Developers, investors, landscape architects, architects, civil engineers, property managers Areas of focus: Public realm, landscaping, building entrances
Category Elements Relevant comforts Transport Links Public works Auditory Visual Navigation Orchestration
General campus
Wayfinding Obstructions Hygiene Crossings Signage Traffic
Sidewalks
Ramps Pathways Rest areas Bathrooms Thermal Auditory Visual Navigation Touch Orchestration
Natural spaces
Green environment Blue environment Seating areas Access Thermal Auditory Visual Navigation Touch Olfactory Orchestration
Communal spaces
Seating Shading Configuration Access Thermal Auditory Visual Navigation Touch Orchestration Potential points of stress
Public works creating noise and obstructions Confusing wayfinding between buildings and transport links (the experience of a building starts long before someone crosses the ‘red line’) Roadworks that are loud or change access to paths and pedestrian throughways Crossings where the traffic is too fast
Confusing wayfinding Obstructions impeding safe physical mobility Uneven sidewalks Noise from busy traffic Rubbish on the pathways No rest areas Rest areas located near high human or car activity Rest areas that do not have thermal comforts/do not offer shelter from weather
No bathrooms Bathrooms that are not visible or are poorly located Poor orchestration of physical and design elements, making the campus confusing, noisy and overstimulating Access that is not mobility friendly Uncomfortable or hazardous wind climate Seating areas that do not have thermal comforts/do not offer shelter from the weather
Materiality that is not thermally comfortable Noise from human or car activity Smoking areas that are too close to non-smoking areas Poor orchestration (e.g. a play area next to a respite area) Access that is not mobility friendly Wind tunnels
Materiality that is not thermally comfortable (during extreme weather) No shelter from the weather Noise and high visual activity from areas of high human and car activity Smoking areas that are too close to non-smoking areas Poor orchestration of physical and design elements (the campus feels confusing, noisy and overstimulating) Access that is not mobility friendly Applied design recommendations Landlords should create an audio-visual accessibility guide based on a digital twin that advises user journey experiences by permeability and navigation style. Landlords and property managers should provide high levels of advice to occupiers when major works in the local area are due to take place, ensuring that those who may need to re-learn routes have the time and resources to do so.
Wayfinding designers should pay special attention to crafting clear pathways to essential public amenities and spaces. Developers and landlords should investigate with local authorities and transport authorities whether timings on pedestrian crossings are inclusive of those who have mobility differences. Landlords, occupiers and developers should work with local transport authorities or major train/bus station managers to discuss wayfinding signage.
Involve accessibility consultants in the pre-design stages (not as an afterthought) to provide guidance on issues around surface materials.
Where possible, use natural materials and architectural engineering to reduce noise transfer from busy roads into campus areas. Provide a diversity of seating options that meet different needs, such as sitting alone or in groups. For larger campuses, provide bathrooms located outside the main buildings, unless there are facilities that are a short distance from and can be easily reached from public realm space. A microclimate analysis should be done to limit the occurrence of wind tunnels and heat islands.
Provide a range of ergonomic furniture that can be used by people to reside in green/blue environments.
Avoid the use of pesticides and chemicals on any surface that may come into contact with human skin (to reduce irritation). Work with ecologists to ensure that the biodiversity supports the creation of a healthy microbiome. Provide shelter from the weather.
Where possible, minimise the exposure to smoking areas and prohibit people from smoking near building entrances or within communal seating areas.
Provide a range of ergonomic furniture to support people with mobility differences. Provide designated quiet outdoor spaces away from busy areas that have shelter against the weather. Even smaller, older buildings may have a courtyard or small outdoor space; consider creating a mini green oasis that is designed as a calm space.
