At the TU Delft, 9% of the students officially have an impairment, however, estimates go up to 30% (Centrum Hoger Onderwijs Informatie, 2019). The TU Delft is building new spaces to accommodate its students but seems to do so for the median student. Little research has been conducted into the environmental needs of students in higher education with a neurological impairment which is why this thesis aims to answer the question: “In what way can the needs and wishes of neurodiverse students be combined with the needs and wishes of neurotypical students to create an inclusive study facility for the TU Delft?”. Six students, both neurotypical and neurodiverse, were interviewed online in a semi-structured interview. From this, it became clear that the neurodiverse students have more needs than the neurotypical students but it should be possible to combine most needs and wishes in the same building.

There are more diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and the world is more and more demanding of our directed attention. This can lead to Directed Attention Fatigue which leads to heightened arousal. Per the Yerkes-Dodson Law, heightened arousal lowers performance in simple and especially in complex tasks. People who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder might view a social task (often needed in a semi-public space) as a complex one which a neuro-typical person would view as simple. The objective is therefore to lower arousal. The environment also has a very large impact on a person. It is therefore wise to see how that could be used in lowering arousal. The main question in this thesis is therefore: what design elements could be improved with help from autism spectrum disorder to improve the experience and perception of semi-public spaces? The difference between people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and neuro-typical people lies in individual differences, situational factors, social conditions, cultural factors and how they are able to cope. The design elements that therefore be valued more are privacy, spatial crowding, illumination, general stimuli and nature.