Designing Labs for Neurodiversity: Unlocking Innovation Through Inclusivity

The laboratory environment plays a critical role in fostering innovation and productivity. Yet, for neurodivergent researchers, traditional lab designs can present significant challenges. A study done by Advanced Research Clusters (ARC), a British developer of lab space; HOK, a global architecture practice; and the University of the West of Scotland says that nearly half (48.1 percent) of all survey respondents who work in lab settings identify as neurodivergent. This is more than double the global average (20 percent) of people who identify as neurodivergent. Further, a quarter (25.5 percent) of lab workers responding to the survey identified as autistic, which is 25 times the general UK average (1 percent).*

These individuals bring exceptional problem-solving abilities, creativity, and attention to detail to their work, but sensory overload and poorly designed spaces can hinder their potential.

Creating inclusive laboratory spaces that accommodate neurodiversity can unleash new levels of innovation while supporting the well-being of all workers. Project teams can emphasize the importance of aligning lab design with the needs of neurodivergent researchers. By integrating thoughtful design strategies, labs can become environments where everyone thrives.

Many neurodivergent individuals are highly sensitive to environmental stimuli like harsh lighting and excessive noise. Adjustable lighting systems, such as tunable LEDs, allow users to select brightness and color temperature that suit their preferences. Incorporating sound-masking technologies and acoustic panels can significantly reduce background noise, creating a calmer, more focused atmosphere.

Neurodivergent researchers often benefit from spaces that minimize cognitive load and enhance predictability. Well-organized floor plans with clear pathways, intuitive wayfinding, and minimized clutter can reduce stress and improve efficiency. Thoughtfully arranged equipment and signage further streamline navigation, ensuring the lab environment supports focus rather than confusion.

Personalization is key to creating spaces that work for everyone. Modular furniture and adaptable workstations empower neurodivergent researchers to shape their environments to meet their needs, whether for quiet, focused work or collaborative projects. Flexible spaces also encourage creativity, as individuals can adjust their surroundings to optimize comfort and productivity.

Lab Design News spoke with Melissa Stickland, principal, managing director of New Jersey, workplace, HLW; Robert Thomas, principal, managing director—Florida, life sciences, HLW; and Brian Ledder, senior design strategist, Ark Strategy. They shared their thoughts on why designing for neurodiversity is not just an exercise in accommodation—it’s an opportunity to foster innovation. By addressing sensory sensitivities, promoting organization, and supporting personalization, lab environments can enable researchers of all abilities to thrive.

Q: How do you approach the unique needs of neurodivergent individuals when designing lab spaces, and how do you identify these needs during the initial design phases? How do you gather and incorporate feedback from neurodivergent lab users into your design process?

A: [According to the ARC/HOK/University of the West of Scotland study], 15 to 20 percent of the adult US population identifies as neurodiverse, and that number is close to 70 percent for lab workers. When we design for neurodivergent individuals, we’re designing for everyone because the elements that make a space functional and supportive for neurodivergent individuals are helpful for neurotypical users as well.

Ark’s engagement process at the outset of design considers all users, meaning we don’t ask any one person to self-identify. To discover specific requirements that support neurodivergent lab users, we developed a set of questions that allows users to explain the challenges they face while accomplishing work tasks, as well as how they feel when performing those tasks. For years, we used these questions to gauge how important certain elements are to work completion and performance. This allowed us to rank features like personal space, meeting rooms, and other technology on a scale, comparing their level of importance to performance so we could prioritize future upgrades and investments.

Now, we’re adding more qualitative—almost subjective—data points about how users feel in these spaces. This investigation into the emotional quality of a space helps us identify how design elements impact mental health.

We often see many spaces that fully support the needs of a worker to accomplish their tasks but leave them feeling tired or stressed. We can then visualize these on a color-coded floorplan, which helps us see which areas leave people feeling more positive and which areas need to be improved.

Q: How do you balance a clear, intuitive floor plan with the need for specialized equipment and complex layouts in labs? What strategies help reduce cognitive load for neurodivergent scientists in these spaces?

A: The layout of a lab has traditionally been dictated by the process that needs to be achieved, but there are a few broad strokes designers can make early to reduce cognitive load for neurodivergent individuals. Locating labs in daylit space, with proper sun shading devices, is an impactful step. Improved wayfinding and signage, both in the lab and the ancillary spaces are helpful as well. This can include room signage but also equipment and process-oriented signage. Whenever possible, we look for ways to allow lab workers to customize their workspaces, such as specific task lighting and height-adjustable benches.

When a lab layout is fixed and options for addressing neurodiversity are limited, we recommend including some type of sensory or tranquility space nearby. This could be a quiet space with dimmable lights and soft furnishings that allow for a momentary sensory break from the often-overstimulating lab space.

Q: How have personalized and modular workspaces influenced productivity or well-being for neurodivergent researchers? Are there specific configurations that tend to work well?

A: One of the challenges of designing for neurodivergent researchers is that there is not one type of neurodivergence. What works well for one person may work for another person. An overly modular or repetitive workspace can make wayfinding challenging and feel overwhelming.

When it comes to workspaces, we look to integrate a variety of work settings, some that allow for team collaboration and others that support solo focus work. A spectrum of offerings allows individuals to choose the space that best suits their needs and their work. This variety also helps break up the floorplan and provide different sensory zones, some louder and more collaborative, others more subdued, to support a range of cognitive needs. 

The ability to personalize a work setting, like adjusting the desk and chair and changing the lighting, helps people self-regulate their environments to best support their needs.

Q: What role do design elements like color schemes, textures, and spatial organization play in creating a welcoming environment for neurodivergent lab workers?

A: When we design lab spaces with neurodivergent workers, we think about designing for the senses.

Design elements like color and lighting affect the visual cortex. Too much variation, contrast, or harsh lighting causes visual clutter and has a measurable increase in cortisol levels in the body. These increases in stress can trigger anxiety and make it difficult to focus, and it’s often worse for certain neurodiversities like ADHD.

Unsurprisingly, the most successful and comfortable labs are those with tones and textures inspired by nature. Keeping natural tones and textures that are punctuated by an occasional bright or branded moment helps reduce cognitive load for neurodivergent individuals.

Other design considerations impact the senses in a similar way. Material choices have a big impact on acoustics. Too many hard surfaces can cause sound to bounce from one surface to the next and create a really loud, “auditorily cluttered” environment. This makes it challenging to hear what someone is saying and forces you to work harder to hear them well. Over the course of a full day, this extra work becomes exhausting. Sound dampening materials in the ceilings or the addition of artificial noise machines could also be solutions.

It has historically been difficult to integrate these kinds of materials into the lab due to sanitary requirements, but we’ve seen an innovation explosion in materials that can now meet these standards. For example, there are types of rubber flooring that can be molded to resemble wood, and better sealants that allow for exposed concrete floors. There are also new textiles that are impermeable and bleach-cleanable, which enables us to bring fabrics into the space. 

Another way to reduce stress levels and the resulting cognitive load is though biophilic elements. Plants, even if fake, may not be possible in a lab but designing for proper daylighting and views to outside can go a long way in bringing in biophilia. Combining this with dimmable lights (and task lighting where appropriate) helps stretch the benefits of daylight further into the space.

Q: What emerging technologies or design trends do you see as promising for creating labs that support a broader range of cognitive and sensory needs?

A: Designing for the senses has taken root within lab design and, as a result, we’re able to explore a greater range of space types and materials that address the cognitive needs of neurodivergent individuals.

For example, adding “sensory spaces” was a rarity just a few years ago, but today there’s strong interest in these types of recovery spaces. As design continues to evolve, we expect the key elements of the spaces to bleed out into other areas, with more muted lighting in hallways and improved sound dampening materials around workers in lab settings.

Other trends we’re seeing include bringing more daylight into labs, an increased mindfulness surrounding acoustics, greater flexibility at the bench, and a recognition of the importance of material tones and textures that feel more natural. All of these elements are helping labs break their reputation as sterile work environments.  

See Lab Design News’s previous article, “Study: Traditional Scientific Workplaces Don’t Meet Needs of Neurodivergent Employees” by Gary Clark and Kay Sargent of HOK, for more information and a link to this study.

* Footnote: Survey results based on 328 participants with 241 respondents providing usable data. Results do not imply that 48 percent of the whole ecosystem is neurodivergent but provides a greater understanding of this demographic.