Smarter Spaces, More Inclusive Places

How does smart automation help with building inclusive environments?

You may have heard it said that “what’s necessary for one is good for all”.

In everyday life, this looks like ramps into Main Street stores and offices. The goal may have been to create a mobility-friendly entrance for those with canes or in wheelchairs, but suddenly, both the woman in the scooter picking up her own prescriptions AND the dad who is shunting toddler twins and is desperate for diapers can easily enter the downtown pharmacy.

Think about automatic doors. They may have been designed with wheelchairs and scooters in mind, but does the following sound at all familiar? Balancing your laptop, coffee and doughnuts for the staff, a pile of Dan Sullivan and James Patterson’s latest to trade with your office admin, your personal phone, your work cell, two pounds of paperwork, and your office keys between your lips, you nudge your elbow into the metal square and voila… the door miraculously slides open just for you. I’ll bet you sighed with relief and gratitude. It may not have been designed with you and your heaps in mind, but it benefits you.

“Accessibility impacts everyone, whether or not they have a disability. Inclusive design makes the world easier, safer, and more enjoyable for all individuals — no matter their ability, age, or situation,” writes the author of Equal Accessibility.

Smart building technology goes a long way in helping everyone access the workplace.

Inclusivity in the workplace

“’Convenience for you is independence for me,’” explains Todd Stabelfeldt, a quadriplegic who is regularly appreciative of smart building technology.

Designed or installed in commercial spaces to make work easier for differently abled individuals, smart tech simultaneously means inclusivity and ease for all.

When it comes to commercial spaces, Avixa Xchange members Nita Odera, Giorgio Nalin, and Stefano Brunori all agreed in a 2026 panel that holistic planning is critical for ensuring that spaces are inclusive and accessible. Keeping in mind the intended use for a space, universal design mentality focuses on multisensory needs. Some of these include:

• wider doors
• screen heights that adjust according to an individual’s height
• sound showers that reach the entire audience
• lighting that guides individuals into, throughout, and around the building
• hidden cables mean avoiding clutter and therefore avoiding tripping hazards
• air quality
• indoor navigation: originally intended to assist the visually impaired, it is loved by many others, such as property and project managers. Beacons and Wi-Fi interact to vocally guide someone through a building or space, avoiding pitfalls or crowded areas. These systems also provide data on traffic patterns and customer movement, which can also offer feedback on the best placement areas for “location-based promotional messaging” in businesses, airports, or malls.

There are also many tech attributes, such as customizable interfaces and interactive voice response, that turn your company’s workspace into one that is friendly and productive for all.

Here are some terms you may hear a lot while reading about inclusivity.

Holistic planning

Often, the buzzword ‘holistic’ makes people think of a naturopath doling out vials of eucalyptus oil. Holistic simply means complete and connected systems that are not merely parts working on their own. Vanessa Harris offers an excellent explanation: “A holistic tech ecosystem emphasizes synergy among various technology components. This integration enhances users’ daily lives, creating a balanced and sustainable environment.”

Universal design mentality

The term universal design was hatched in 1975 by Ronald Mace, an architect who had become wheelchair-bound after having polio as a child. He focused on creating buildings (infrastructure and the law around codes, etc.) that were accessible to all.

Inclusive design

Traditionally, many groups of people have been excluded from product design, which has meant that many creations didn’t work safely or effectively for everyone. Think of toilet cubicles without purse hooks, grocery store curbs without cutouts, or a school water fountain that’s too tall for the average student. Inclusive design ensures that products and tech are created with many different people in mind.

Balaklava’s Bit

Balaklava can assist you in making sure your space is easier to navigate, safer, and inclusive to all. Let us create a space where sound, lighting, security, voice-controlled devices, and many other types of tech work holistically so that you have a work zone even better than you imagined.

Sources 1 2  3 4 5 6 ISA’s Avixa Xchange “Human Centric Design for Effective Collaboration” Feb 4, 2026