How inclusive design can strengthen communities and improve lives

For example, an inclusive design process may account for the 45% of LGBTQ+ identifying students in the U.S. who say they avoid using gender-segregated restrooms at school. It might address the 15-20% of the world’s population with neurological variations that make them hyper-sensitive to certain stimuli. Or it could accommodate religious practices that require safe space for prayer outside of traditional places of worship.

Working through considerations like these produce spaces that can enhance the experiences of broad populations. The three projects covered here are examples of inclusive designs that go the extra mile to ensure that their users feel welcome, laying the groundwork for happier, healthier individuals and stronger communities.

Whitley Hadley can easily recall how the former Multicultural Office for Student Access, Inclusiveness, and Community (MOSAIC) felt from her time studying at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS). “It was mostly a spot to hide and eat your lunch,” says the class of 2013 alumnus. “We would try to host meetings for organizations, but it could only fit about 15 people and was just very small and dark.”

First created in 2003 as the Office of Student Multicultural Affairs, MOSAIC has had many iterations over its tenure. In 2009, it took on its current name when it moved from the campus’ Main Hall building to the University Center, bringing it closer to food options and the library. In 2009, the LGBTQ+ Resource Center became part of MOSAIC’s name and programming. Then, in the summer of 2020, joint student and faculty efforts to increase the amount of physical space on campus dedicated to equity and inclusion paved the way for MOSAIC’s redesign and expansion.

A Denver-based design team led by Miranda Dooley was brought in to reimagine MOSAIC. They nearly doubled the square footage of the existing office, moving private staff offices to the edges of the space to open the center for larger gatherings while also making it more wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant. Natural light now pours into the expanded common area through windows that previously belonged to the original space’s private offices. The team also completely rethought the entrance, taking out the wall separating MOSAIC from the hallway to offer a more open invitation to students passing by. However, should those inside require privacy, a glass garage door can be rolled down and a teal curtain drawn closed.

An important aspect of inclusive design is soliciting input from user groups. Dooley and her team polled the student body via Instagram stories to get an idea of the color story they wanted in the new space. Their responses led to a variety of bright blue, yellow, and pink furniture designed to accommodate body diversity. Lighting in the office is also dimmable for anyone who may be sensitive to bright overhead lights. Another student request was for private reflection rooms that prioritize wellness while doubling as safe prayer spaces for practicing Muslim students. These became the Earth and Sky rooms. Wood paneling on the walls characterizes the former, while a celestial-inspired pendant bounces light off the cream-colored palette of the latter.

The redesign opened in April 2021. Two months later, Hadley returned to her alma mater as MOSAIC’s new director. “I told the students, ‘This is your space. You always have priority here,’” she says. “It’s not a place to hide anymore, it’s a place to bring your culture, your community, the things you haven’t figured out yet, get connected, and feel like you matter.”

West Lafayette, Indiana, which is an hour north of Indianapolis and two south of Chicago, is demographically much more diverse than many towns in the area. “We’re surrounded by corn and not-so-progressive communities, but West Lafayette has residents from over a hundred different places around the world,” says Kathryn Lozano, superintendent of the local parks and recreation department. That’s why, for the John R. Dennis West Lafayette Wellness Center, renamed in November 2023 after the town’s then outgoing mayor, the department solicited input from locals at the earliest planning stage in 2016. The community had one clear directive: accommodate differences in age, ability, race, and identity.

The facility opened in January 2021. The Chicago-based design team, led by Lindsey Peckinpaugh, set up the restrooms and changing rooms as individual, gender-neutral spaces, ensuring a sense of privacy and safety for all. This arrangement also minimizes maintenance disruptions, as the stalls can be cleaned without having to shut down an entire locker room. Additionally, there are cameras in the corridors so that staff can monitor the area without interrupting visitors’ privacy. Lozano says that it makes running a summer camp with younger children much simpler. “You don’t have to worry about who else is in the bathroom with them, and you don’t have to have any difficult conversations with them about bad locker room behavior or bullying.”

Enhanced accessibility was prioritized throughout. In addition to code-required braille on all in-room signage, the meeting rooms feature hearing loops that send a wireless signal to hearing aids set to a predetermined frequency, allowing hearing impaired visitors greater ability to adjust their personal devices to their liking while working within the volume of the room.

The center’s workout facilities feature adaptive fitness equipment and handcycles to give people with mobility constraints the opportunity to get the same level of workout as others. Three group exercise studios encourage visitors who may prefer working out with others, while personal trainers are also on staff for one-on-one help. The pool, meanwhile, is designed for accessibility, with three forms of entry, including a zero-depth entry ramp for wheelchairs. “The whole building was designed to be inclusive, and the pool area really captures that visually,” says Kevin Noe, director at West Lafayette’s parks and recreation department. “If people come here knowing they’ll feel safe and comfortable, we’ve done our job.”

When Jan Arnold’s son was a child, she and her partner were often faced with a predicament while out and about. “As lesbian moms, my wife and I had to let him use public restrooms by himself,” she recalls. “It was uncomfortable and scary for us as parents.” Today, Arnold is the executive director of the Park District of Oak Park, Illinois, which opened a new community recreation center in May 2023. When developing the facility, she wanted to make sure that no parent and, in fact, no person whatsoever—no matter their gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or cultural background, or physical abilities—would wind up in an awkward or dangerous situation because of how the space was designed. “We believe everyone should have access and feel that a space is for them without having to put labels on all the different doors,” she says.

While conceiving the Oak Park Community Recreation Center, Peckinpaugh, who led the design team here as well, encouraged Arnold to pay the John R. Dennis West Lafayette Wellness Center a visit. Arnold ended up liking what she saw at West Lafayette so much she encouraged her board of commissioners to incorporate many of the strategies into the Oak Park facility once it secured funding in November 2021.

The project includes a fitness center with adaptive fitness equipment, such as specialized rowing machines, and an elevated walking and jogging track that is free to the public without membership. Private restrooms, changing rooms, and showers are all standard. Mirrors, lockers, and handwashing stations, meanwhile, are more public, with cameras monitoring the latter to ensure visitors are safe and respected. The center’s second floor also includes an office for the Oak Park Community Mental Health Board, which hosts education sessions, training in mental health first aid, and wellness activities. Other amenities include a dance studio, an esports lounge, and flexible meeting rooms for gatherings of various sizes and purposes.

“Society has to progress. We can’t afford to have the locker rooms of the 1960s anymore,” says Arnold. “It doesn’t matter your age, gender identity, race, or ability status, these are spaces for all. Inclusive design is human design. That’s how this space became a gem for our community.”