A Guide to help make informed decisions for neurodivergent people.
Architecture & Access is proud to announce that the Reset Room Design Guide has been recognised as a 2026 Australian Good Design Award Winner in the Design Research category, one of Australia’s most respected and longest-running design awards programs.
This national recognition applauds the Guide’s contribution to creating more inclusive public environments for neurodivergent people and acknowledges the power of evidence-based design to improve participation, wellbeing and accessibility within the built environment.
The Reset Room Design Guide was developed through a collaboration between Architecture & Access, Deakin University and Amaze in response to a significant gap in industry knowledge. While sensory or reset rooms are increasingly appearing in public buildings, little research previously existed in Australia regarding how these spaces should be designed, managed and experienced by users.
The project sought to understand the real-world experiences of neurodivergent individuals, families, designers and facility managers, and translate those insights into practical guidance that could be applied across a wide range of public environments.
The resulting Guide provides a framework built around three key pillars: Locate, Design and Manage. It helps architects, designers, building owners and event organisers make informed decisions about everything from room placement and wayfinding through to furniture selection, sensory considerations, safety and ongoing management. Since its launch in 2025, the Guide has been downloaded thousands of times and has already informed the design of reset rooms in public buildings across Australia.
The jury praised the Reset Room Design Guide as a “valuable and well-grounded inclusive design research project” that addresses an important gap in neurodivergent inclusion and sensory accessibility. They highlighted the project’s rigorous research methodology, strong collaboration between academia, industry and lived-experience stakeholders, and its successful translation of research findings into a practical, accessible resource that can be readily applied in the built environment.
Beyond recognising the quality of the research, this award acknowledges the importance of designing environments that enable everyone to participate with confidence. As part of our Universal Design Consulting services, Architecture & Access works with clients to integrate Design for Neurodiversity principles into buildings, public spaces and facilities, helping create more inclusive environments that support wellbeing, accessibility and equitable participation for all users.
