Diversity meets architecture

Inclusion is more than ramps and wide corridors 

"Diversity and inclusion in office buildings is fundamentally about enabling every single individual, with all their strengths and handicaps, to fully participate in the company's everyday working life," says Lutz Schilbach, Team Lead Design + Build. "And that doesn't work without accessibility, for which there are already recommendations in the form of DIN standards - especially for the public sector. But with a view to the office, i.e. the place where a fresh, motivated spirit, creativity and cooperation between many very different individuals are important, it is once again about much more than ramps, certain distances, door and corridor widths and lifts. It's about the sum of many details, ranging from the building structure to interior design."

"Ultimately, for every single area, you have to think about how it will be used and can be used by every single person in the company and design it from the beginning to fit everyone," adds Britta Reusch, Workplace Strategy Consultant. "This already starts at reception, which should also be easy to reach for wheelchair users and not hide the receptionist behind a counter that is too high. Light switches, whiteboards, handles and bells should also be lower - just as the coffee machine must be able to reliably spit out the morning latte from a lower position. Electrically height-adjustable desks including swivelling monitors go without saying and are already standard in many offices. But even in informal seating areas or canteen and dining areas, there should be a choice of different table and seat heights, preferably individually adjustable - people with physical challenges certainly include particularly tall people. It is at least as important to think about the wayfinding systems, signage or lighting control of rooms or media technology. For example, tactile and alternating floor coverings also offer better orientation."

Office spaces must become multi-sensory

The way forward for future diversity-friendly office buildings is therefore clear: away from (interior) architecture that is primarily visual and towards architecture that appeals to all the senses. Or one that enables orientation via at least two of them - hearing, seeing or feeling. Melisa Pinar, Senior Project Manager Design + Build: "A well-thought-out Design + Build concept and Interior Design can also provide excellent support here. Deliberately created contrasts, flexible walls and furniture and accessories make it easier to find one's way around and create atmospheres that promote exchange of views and openness. Colour concepts can also have a great effect. Everyone prefers different colours and environments to do their best work. This must be reflected in the design and translated into different spaces with different moods. After all, it's not just about including people with disabilities, but creating and establishing a new inspiring standard in interior design per se." 

"Right," says Britta Reusch, "diversity is much more than accessibility. It encompasses all employees and their needs and provides what they require. This then goes beyond creativity-stimulating work environments and extends to services for employees from nap rooms to parents’ rooms, or childcare by the employer, to mediation and prayer rooms and a variety of services such as dry-cleaning or an in-house hair salon. All of this needs to be factored into the initial space planning. And it must be as flexible as possible to accommodate team moves within the space, staff growth or even the integration of colleagues from other locations at short notice. Different types of space for different needs must be accommodated and distributed as evenly as possible. Meeting or project rooms, phone boxes and workstations should not be explicitly tailored to one team, so that everyone can easily move within the space, grow, shrink and integrate new colleagues with new requirements. What makes sense where and for whom is always individual and depends on the respective goals and cultural conditions. Good workplace strategy consulting is therefore extremely important in advance - this way you not only tailor space and rooms to all employees, but also optimise the technologies used and communication and work processes." 

Can existing building stock also be made diversity-ready?

"Planning the work environment ahead also means avoiding constant costly reconfiguration of the space. This reduces costs, ensures a better employee experience and also a better carbon footprint," says Reusch. And by the way, this also applies to the building itself. It is therefore also good - in this sense as well as in the diversity sense - that building law explicitly requires barrier-free design of new office buildings. In development projects, ramps with a maximum gradient of six per cent, handrails, wheelchair-friendly lifts and doors with a minimum width of 90 centimetres are already included. “But older buildings can also be converted and extended to be 'inclusive'. Of course, it is important to first take stock of the situation and analyse the options that are available in view of the local conditions. Measures such as the installation of Braille or one-handed soap dispensers are in any case easier to implement than things that require structural and spatial changes. For example, do the sanitary rooms offer sufficient freedom of movement? Or can side handles be installed? It is always important to ask: What fits into the entrepreneurial concept and the respective objectives and needs? Professional and in-depth advice is definitely advisable here," says Pinar. 

Especially since the considerations do not stop with the building. The surrounding area also plays a decisive role. Are there enough parking spaces near the entrance to the building and is there enough room for wheelchair users? Or can the appropriate space be created somewhere? And what about the surrounding infrastructure? Does it enable every person to reach the buildings? Often, unfortunately, no. The challenge for cities in this country to catch-up in this respect is sometimes enormous. Although it is high time.