Laboratory Design Newsletter - January/February 2015

own specific needs. Remember that your lab may be someone else’s in two years, and funds used to re-customize that space are then not available for science.

Today’s trend in most organizations, both institutional and corporate, is to provide more open and flexible space, rather than the highly defined turf boundaries of the past, and to provide isolated spaces only for compelling safety or environmental reasons. The mobility of scientists, especially in academia, precludes excessive customiza-tion, and most organizations prefer not to redesign labs just before occupancy because the investigator has moved to another institution.

Imagine yourself as a visitor, potential staff member, donor or investor in your organization who is touring the building to observe the potential successes.

• Recall the last renovation of your lab, and what physical features would have made it easier. Consider what minor modifications you could achieve safely yourself, without facilities staff involvement.

• Think about the way your organization should balance science, time and money to meet its goals.

CHALLENGES AND REWARDS

Having a clear understanding of the user representative’s roles and responsibilities, and following these five guidelines will not only help the designers articulate and apply your goals, but will also make the lab design process rewarding and interesting. Your input as a good user representative is essential to the project’s ultimate success.

Erik Mollo-Christensen, AIA, is a Principal at TK&A Architects. A lab and vivarium design specialist, Mollo-Christensen is a project manager of advanced technology facilities.

For government-funded programs, space efficiency and a high net/gross ratio will be most advantageous for an organization. For private users, lab space is often leased, and the efficiency of rented space is critical to the economic survival of the company. This translates into new layouts, and especially into open, flexible or shared space. Although the physical surroundings are important, keep in mind the balance between space and science when thinking about success.

• Think about the best lab you’ve ever visited, and what features distinguished it.

• Notice where people interact most frequently, and think about how this works in other building types.

• Look in the bottom drawer of your lab casework, and think about whether those items have been touched in the last two years. Consider whether you need fixed casework at all.

TAKE THE INSTITUTIONAL VIEW

The best user representatives balance the broad goals of their organization with their cals and especially equipment information is essential. The designers need to provide spaces for offices, seating, benches, equipment, utilities and any necessary support spaces or amenities. If you don’t have all the facts, or are predicting the future, make the most rational guesses you can, or suggest the project team assemble an experienced advisory group.

• Confirm head counts with management to be sure the organization will support your plans.

• Find the current equipment manuals for all analytical equipment in your lab.

• Notice the type and voltage of the electrical outlet for your most essential piece of equipment—the designers will need this kind of exact information as well.

BE OPEN-MINDED

Today’s labs often involve layouts and features that differ from traditional labs, and the economics of building and operating lab space have become strong drivers of design.

The “collaboration corridor” at the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine connects private offices and touch-down meeting spaces with the dry/computational lab, offering clear views of the activity in the wet lab.

The dry lab, or computation space, at the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine looks much like a modern open-plan corporate office. Areas of respite and writeable back-painted marker board glass adjacent to the large “collaboration corridor” allow for impromptu discussion and a change of scenery.