Exploring the impact of the built environment and design on people with a range of neurological experiences, including autism, dementia, dyslexia and dyspraxia, this comprehensive guide provides project commissioners, architects and designers with all the information and personal insight they need to design, create and build 'mind-friendly' environments for everyone. Assimilating knowledge from medical, therapeutic, social and educational spheres, and using sensory integration theory, the book explores the connection between our minds and our surroundings and considers the impact of the environment on the senses, well-being and neurodiverse needs of people. The book shows how design adaptations to lighting, acoustics, temperature, surfaces, furniture and space can positively benefit the lives of everyone across a range of environments including workplaces, retail, sport and leisure, domestic, educational institutions, cultural and civic spaces, outdoor spaces and places of worship. Universal in its approach and written by an experienced architect and inclusive design consultant, this book is essential reading for professionals in architecture and design, education, organisational psychology, business management and occupational therapy.
Steve Maslin, Dip Arch, RIBA, FSI, NRAC has been a Chartered Architect since 1992 and NRAC registered Access Consultant since 2003. He leads on Inclusive Design consultancy within the company for whom he works providing design advice around people's needs. He is a Senior Fellow at the Schumacher Institute for Sustainable Systems, a committee member of the British Standards Institute, a public speaker, and has served as an Expert for the Design Council and the Building Research Establishment.
Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction Section A: Connecting Different "Worlds" 1. Definitions and Voice 2. Learning from People on the Autism Spectrum (and other neurological experiences) 3. Learning from OT, Psychology, UX, and Inclusive Design 4. Design as Social Prescribing 5. Prescription to Commissioning 6. For Whom or With Whom? Section B: The Human Experience. 7. Diversity 8. Stress 9. Sensory Processing 10. Emotion, Meaning and Metaphor 11. Reasoning, Learning and Understanding. 12. Rest and Sleep Section C: Contextual Experience 13. Mind and Body in Context 14. Spatial Context 15. Social Context 16. Comfort and Activity 17. Acoustics 18. Lighting 19. Surfaces 20. Tastes, Smells and Air Quality 21. Temperature 22. The Natural World 23. Time and Memory 24. Navigation, place and wayfinding 25. Spatial Choice, Permission and Security 26. Communication Section D: Different Environments 27. Landscape and Urban 28. Transport 29. Education 30. Health and Social care 31. Workplaces 32. Places of Worship 33. Communal 34. Civic and Cultural 35. Leisure and Sports 36. Food and Drink 37. Retail 38. Hospitality 39. Industrial and Military 40. Judicial and Custodial 41. Domestic Section E: Getting Serious 42. Facilities management 43. Safeguarding of Wellbeing 44. Fire and Emergencies Summary Biography of Author Table of Figures Bibliography
How to commission, design, create and build mind-friendly environments as a project commissioner or designer for everyone, including a range of neurological experiences such as autism, dementia, dyslexia and other neurodiverse needs
