Designing for safety, dignity and belonging: Reflections from Learning Places Scotland 2025

It was inspiring to see a room full of estates leaders, designers and educators committed to improving student experience and creating more inclusive, equitable learning environments. For many, TID is still a new concept, so I used the session to step back, explain the foundations and share how we have embedded these principles at scale at the University of Salford’s new Thrive Health and Wellbeing Centre.

This article reflects on that discussion.

Why trauma-informed design matters

Trauma is far more widespread than many understand. Research shows that over half of the UK population will experience some form of trauma during their lifetime. Trauma affects concentration, trust, sensory processing, stress regulation and the ability to navigate unfamiliar or ambiguous environments - all of which directly relate to how people experience the built environment.

This is why TID is not limited to specialist environments. It applies across:

• Schools and colleges
• Universities and research facilities
• Healthcare and diagnostic buildings
• Civic and community buildings
• Workplaces and public sector estates

Wherever people learn, seek support, recover or collaborate, the environment can either support wellbeing or unintentionally undermine it.

Healthy buildings must therefore consider both physical and emotional safety, especially as estates teams look to improve staff retention, enhance student experience and align with ESG, inclusion and wellbeing strategies.

The core principles of trauma-informed design

While trauma-informed care originated in clinical and social support settings, its principles translate seamlessly into the built environment.

We apply TID through four interconnected design imperatives:

• Safety and trust
  Spaces that are predictable, calm and legible. Clear wayfinding, acoustically comfortable classrooms, and layouts that avoid hidden corners or confusing junctions
  
• Choice and empowerment
  People can choose environments that meet their sensory and social needs, from quiet refuge areas to open collaboration zones.
• Community and collaboration
  Shared spaces that encourage connection without creating overwhelm. Open, permeable layouts with controlled sightlines.
• Beauty and joy
  Beauty is not decorative, it’s restorative. Nature, warm materials, daylight, soft textures and coherent colour palettes all help reduce stress and lift mood.

These principles support neurodiversity, improve accessibility and create inclusive learning environments where students and staff feel genuinely supported.

Applying TID at scale: University of Salford Thrive Health and Wellbeing Centre

The Thrive Health and Wellbeing Centre, currently under construction, represents one of the UK’s first large-scale, fully trauma-informed academic buildings, and a major step forward in wellbeing-led campus design.

Although widely used in healthcare and counselling spaces, trauma-informed design has rarely been applied across a whole university facility. At Salford, it shaped decisions at every level:

Architectural design

• Human-scale, welcoming entrances reduce the ‘institutional’ threshold effect
• Legible, intuitive circulation helps reduce cognitive load
• Predictable spatial sequences build a sense of control
• Abundant daylight supports mood, circadian regulation and orientation
• Visual safety through softer corners, wider landings and clear sightlines

Interior design

• Nature-inspired, muted colour palette that avoids sensory overload
• Tactile natural materials such as timber that create warmth and grounding
• Soft acoustics to support focus and reduce stress
• Micro-settings for privacy, one-to-one support, group work or quiet study
• Universal design elements like grab rails and intuitive signage that support both trauma-affected users and neurodivergent learners

Landscape design

• Safe, clearly defined external routes
• Planted terraces and green edges that help regulate emotions
• Shaded external learning and breakout zones
• Places of refuge, offering moments of quiet before entering the building
• Biophilic design to connect students and staff with nature throughout their day

Embedding wellbeing: what WELL Gold means for Salford

At the Thrive Health and Wellbeing Centre, the decision to pursue WELL Gold certification wasn’t about chasing a label, it was about placing human wellbeing at the heart of the design.

The WELL Standard is a rigorous, science-based standard that evaluates how a building impacts the health, comfort and experience of its occupants. Whereas most building standards focus on energy and efficiency, WELL focuses on people.

For the Salford project, WELL Gold has shaped decisions across the entire building:

• Air Quality
  Ultra-low VOC materials, high-performance filtration and careful ventilation strategies ensure clean, healthy air - critical when supporting healthcare, therapy and teaching activities.
• Light
  Daylight access has been maximised for every user group, supporting circadian health, concentration and overall mental wellbeing. Artificial lighting is tuned to avoid glare, harsh contrasts or overstimulation.
• Thermal and acoustic comfort
  The building is designed to avoid drafts, hotspots and echo - all potential stressors. Acoustic zoning protects quiet study areas, therapy rooms and spaces where confidentiality matters.
• Material health
  Natural, non-toxic, biophilic materials were selected to support both emotional comfort and physical wellbeing. Timber is used strategically to create grounding and warmth.
• Mind and movement
  The WELL Standard encourages designers to create environments that support calmness, rest, movement and social interaction. This aligns directly with trauma-informed design, where giving occupants choice in how they move, sit and gather is essential.

Integration with TID

What’s powerful is how The WELL Standard and trauma-informed design reinforce each other.

• WELL provides measurable metrics for comfort, light, materials and air.
• TID provides the emotional and psychological lens, ensuring those metrics translate into real human benefit.

Together, they’ve allowed us to create a building that is both clinically high-performing and emotionally intelligent - a place where students, educators and healthcare professionals can thrive.

What this means for students, staff and visitors

Even before opening, the design demonstrates clear benefits:

• Lower stress for students arriving on campus
• Enhanced concentration and comfort in teaching spaces
• More inclusive environments for neurodivergent learners
• Better support for student services, counselling and wellbeing teams
• Improved staff experience, morale and retention
• A learning environment that feels calm, human and supportive

Lessons for estates leaders

From our work at Salford and across other wellbeing-led projects, several lessons are clear:

• Begin the briefing process with feelings, not functions
• Design inside and outside simultaneously
• Prioritise daylight, acoustics and material quality early
• Shift from ‘operational efficiency’ to ‘emotional experience’
• Embed TID as part of your design standards, not a bolt-on
• Measure wellbeing to prove impact (WELL, POE, biophilic KPIs etc.)
• Healthy buildings go beyond performance - they enable people to learn better, work better and feel safe.

Closing reflection

Trauma-informed design is reshaping the conversation about what healthy learning environments can be. At AHR, we’re committed to applying these principles across education, healthcare and civic buildings, ensuring that spaces don’t just meet technical performance standards, they support dignity, belonging and long-term wellbeing.

The University of Salford’s Thrive Health and Wellbeing Centre demonstrates what’s possible when we design with empathy, evidence and intention. I’m looking forward to continuing this work and sharing more as the sector increasingly embraces trauma-informed approaches.

If you’d like to discuss how trauma-informed design, WELL, biophilic design or inclusive education environments can support your estates strategy, I’d be glad to talk.