In recent years, the conversation around accommodation in lab design has expanded beyond basic accessibility to account for neurodivergence.
This means that lab designers and planners are placing greater emphasis on accounting for neurodiverse individuals, or those whose brains function differently in areas like communication, learning, focus, or processing.
According to research conducted by Advanced Research Clusters (ARC), HOK, and the University of the West of Scotland, roughly 50% of lab workers and scientists identify as neurodivergent, over double the global average of 20%. This indicates a critical insight for lab planners and means that designs must evolve to reflect the needs of a significant portion of the scientific workforce.
Fundermax recognizes that inclusive design is both a responsibility and an opportunity. By combining durable, high-performance materials with thoughtful planning, architects and lab planners can create spaces that support comfort, focus, and well-being for every user.
Traditional laboratory design can be characterized by efficiency, sterility, and workspace optimization. While these factors remain essential, with a greater focus on neurodiversity, they can unintentionally pose challenges for employees. Imagine the hygienic white walls and casework, noisy mechanical systems, and bright fluorescent lighting.
When sensory distractions like sounds, smells, and visual clutter impact neurodivergent occupants, the result can be a sense of discomfort and a loss of focus, engagement, and productivity. Even subtle features like reverberant surfaces and uneven surface textures can bring about negative impacts.
The consideration for neurodivergent accommodation extends beyond specific elements, bringing focus to the design as a whole. Cluttered sightlines and unclear wayfinding can increase cognitive load, creating barriers to both productivity and well-being.
This mock-up of PTI's Fundermax Beyond ADA white perimeter visual aid is meant to assist those with visual impairments in orienting the location of the worktop's edge.
Busy labs are full of stimuli from a number of sensory sources, and some of those stressors are unavoidable. However, a few key material and design choices can minimize those implications.
Controlled Visual Stimulation
In lab environments, visual stimulation can be simultaneously barren and overwhelming. Bright white and glass elements can be present throughout the design of a space, while the elements that make up a lab can produce an oversaturation of colors.
One alternative that could mediate this contrast is implementing calming colors or imagery, which can add warmth to a space without visual clutter. Elements like wall lining, casework, work surfaces, and other accents can benefit from subdued colors, woodgrains, or even custom designs. For the textures and finishes of these elements, matte or non-reflective properties can reduce glare and visual overstimulation.
Using diffused, low-glare lighting can also reduce fatigue and support visual comfort. Consider lighting that can be adjusted to the preference of lab occupants.
Calming colors, like the green accents on the walls of the Wilhelminenspital Medical Institute in Vienna, Austria, can add a sense of comfort to a laboratory space.
Lab environments and facilities can be complex, and many neurodivergent people can benefit from strong spatial cues to navigate these spaces.
Elements like color-coded lab zones and circulation paths can not only reduce employee stress but also make navigating a lab more intuitive. Providing high-contrast, durable signage with universal iconography can prompt quick recognition, reducing cognitive load.
Additionally, integrating consistent material aesthetics can reinforce a sense of order and reduce visual clutter.
The CCVŘ Research Center in the Czech Republic utilizes clear zoning and phenolic casework in eye-catching Yellowish Green. Strong spatial cues can assist the wayfinding of neurodivergent employees.
Accommodating for neurodiversity boils down to meeting the needs of individuals. The truest way to achieve this is by providing those individuals with choice and control.
Through thoughtful design, it’s possible to create structured flexibility that allows adjustability to fit sensory and cognitive preferences without compromising the lab’s operational integrity. Within a space, adjustable or mobile furniture and storage units can accommodate physical or sensory needs, supporting both seated and standing work.
Even before design is set into motion, incorporating neurodivergent employees in the design process can reveal small, but high-impact design decisions. This could involve surface finish preferences, workspace layout, and co-developed color systems.
By considering the input provided by those who will take ownership of a space, a lab’s design can support individuality while maintaining the structure, safety, and precision that the work demands.
When lab planners and designers specify solutions that support sensory comfort, clarity, and flexibility, they are not just creating compliant labs, but building environments where all employees can thrive. In laboratory settings, where focus and precision are priority, the built environment can either create barriers or enable better outcomes. By integrating design strategies that accommodate neurodivergence, planners can deliver spaces that elevate both user experience and organizational performance.
As a phenolic panel manufacturer, Fundermax designs products to meet an envisioned blend of design freedom and superior performance.
Click below to learn how Fundermax phenolic panels meet some of these considerations and how they can benefit your next laboratory design.