Walk into most offices today and you’ll notice a trend: uniformity. Rows of identical desks, copy-paste meeting rooms, and a muted palette of greys and whites. But according to workplace designer Kay Sargent, this sameness is failing us — especially in an age of neurodiversity and rising sensory sensitivity.
As director of thought leadership at HOK, Kay Sargent has spent four decades at the forefront of global workplace design, and she's calling for a fundamental shift. Her philosophy? “Design for the extreme, benefit the mean.” In other words, workplaces built to support the most sensitive among us — those overwhelmed by sound, light or texture — end up being better for everyone. And with new research suggesting up to 50% of Gen Z identify as neurodivergent, the stakes have never been higher.
In her conversation with Georgina Godwin, Kay outlines the science of sensory design, the business case for inclusive spaces, and the cultural blind spots holding many organisations back. What emerges is a compelling vision for offices as human-centred cultural platforms — not productivity machines, but places that support deep focus, meaningful connection, and long-term wellbeing.
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