BOMA Presentation: Neurodiversity in the Workplace
Monday, October 21st, 2024
Recently, Rebecca Frenning, Principal and Director of Interior Design, and Roslyn zumBrunnen, Director of Workplace Design, presented, “Designing for Neurodiversity by Promoting Inclusion,” at the BOMA International 2024 Conference and Expo in Philadelphia.
Following this event, BOMA International’s Ella Krygiel interviewed the pair to further discuss the significance of designing for neurodiverse populations. Below is an excerpt from the BOMA article.
Neurodiversity impacts a large population. The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion research suggests that up to 15-20% of the U.S. population is neurodivergent, while one source discovers that only 50% of people are aware that they are neurodivergent. Because of this and with the expansion of brain science and understanding, people are learning more ways to identify and support a variety of mental health conditions and learning disabilities.
The 2024 BOMA Annual Conference for instance featured the session, “Designing for Neurodiversity by Promoting Inclusion,” which described how office spaces and office design can consider the needs of neurodiverse individuals. Led by speakers Rebecca Frenning, Director of Interior Design & Principal and Roslyn zumBrunnen, Director of Workplace Design of Pope Design Group, they shared their insights for how to support a variety of workspaces and the best design tactics for improving workplace flow, creativity and focus.
Among the case studies presented by Pope Design Group, the main theme of their designs for space is variety. A variety of areas like individual focus spaces, enclosed collaboration zones and wellness quiet spaces are essential for serving a little bit of everything for everybody.
“It’s not just the space – it’s about finding a different posture,” Rebecca says. “If some find sitting across the table from someone uncomfortable, arranging seating where instead of the typical boardroom style seating, you arrange individual seating (like a chair or stool) around the perimeter of the room – in case someone doesn’t want to feel stuck being in the center of attention.”
To read the full article, visit BOMA’s website , or join the conversation on BOMA’s LinkedIn page.
Our team at Pope Design Group is committed to designing for inclusivity by incorporating principles that support all types of ways to think, learn, work, interact and perceive the world. We are passionate about creating environments that enhance lives. We are intentional about addressing the needs of neurodiverse populations by incorporating a research-based approach to scale, lighting, color and acoustics to create a consistent, sensory sensitive environment that helps people feel calm and improves outcomes.
To learn more about our team’s experience in designing for neurodiversity, please view some recent examples of our work. Rebecca and Roslyn will also be participating as panelists at the BOMA Southern Region Conference April 3-5, 2025 to share more on this topic. Register today to attend!
