HOK FORWARD - Inclusive Design for Complex Buildings

A recent article in Forbes shares some great insights.

“Seventy million people in the United States have learning and thinking differences, such as dyslexia and ADHD, according to?Understood.org . That’s roughly one in five people.” “The current workplace is not set up for the neurodiverse to succeed, and they often encounter bias from others who dismiss them because they don’t follow the norm. This is a huge opportunity for companies, because when the neurodiverse are aligned with jobs they are most qualified for–they outperform their peers.”

Neurodiversity: Supporting The Invisible Disability In The Workplace (forbes.com)

HOK FORWARD - Inclusive Design for Complex Buildings

I’m excited to share the latest edition of HOK Forward, our Interiors group’s annual publication that explores the forefront of design innovation. This year, we’re focusing on Inclusive Design for Complex Buildings , with an emphasis on creating spaces that cater to the needs of neurodivergent individuals.

HOK began the conversation around designing for neurodiversity in the workplace several years ago—a dialogue that continues to evolve today. Now we're taking our research a step further, investigating how we can extend these design strategies to complex environments such as airports, hospitals, correctional facilities, labs and sports venues. Our goal is to make these spaces more welcoming and accommodating, especially for neurodivergent users.

Here are some of the topics we cover in this year's HOK Forward:

Neurodiversity: The New Inclusivity : We provide an overview of neurodivergence and the role of design in creating more accommodating and inclusive spaces.

Aviation : We map the journey through an airport from the perspective of a neurodivergent passenger, identifying stress points where design can help ease travel-related chaos and anxiety.

Healthcare : We explore ways the built environment can better support neurodivergent healthcare workers, including providers, clinicians and caregivers.

Justice : We examine a day in the life of a neurodivergent resident and correctional officer, suggesting design opportunities to enhance rehabilitation and employee retention.

Science + Technology : We examine ways to humanize research labs by making them more responsive to user needs.

Sports : We share tips for making sports venues more welcoming and accessible for neurodivergent fans and athletes.

We invite you to explore these topics in the new edition of HOK FORWARD, Inclusive Design for Complex Buildings . And we look forward to discussing how these insights can benefit your projects.

A big thank you to all the HOK authors who contributed their expertise on this important topic!

HOK #neurodiversity #inclusivedesign