DEFINING BANDWIDTH
While UA leadership defined
BSPB’s broad research themes at the
outset—cancer biology, neuroscience,
traumatic brain injury, bioengineering
and population health—CO Architects
convened with surrogate researchers to
serve as advisors on program development
and planning standards. Together they
defined the “research bandwidth” required
to support the building’s capabilities,
including categorizing scientific
disciplines, defining a proportional range
of wet and dry laboratory types, allocating
lab and support spaces based on team
sizes and identifying associated utility
infrastructures.
This resulting research bandwidth is
expressed through its programmatic di-
versity and distributed vertically through-
out the building. Lab types with higher
fume hood density are located on the
lower research floors to support increased
quantities of hazardous chemicals allowed
by code. Middle floors are a hybrid of
spaces that can swing from biomedical
wet labs to computational dry labs, while
administrative offices are located on the
upper level. The ground floor houses a
200-person conference center, and a lobby
opening onto a two-story shaded porch
connecting BSPB with the adjacent UA
College of Medicine-Phoenix and central
campus green.
Every research floor accommodates
various laboratory types identified during
programming within the same plan configuration, allowing for redistribution or
recombination of programs throughout
the building. Each floor is initially configured for eight research teams, typically
comprised of one principal investigator
with six researchers. An open planning
approach to offices and laboratories allows
the number and size of research teams to
change easily by reassigning bench and
workstation positions, rather than by
removing walls.
A NEW RESEARCH PARADIGM
The proliferation of relatively inexpensive research instruments, collecting ever
larger volumes of data, has changed the
nature of the laboratory bench from the
primary research area, to a place where
samples are prepared for analysis in dedicated procedure rooms configured around
specialized instruments. Resulting data is
analyzed at computer workstations where
bench researchers may spend equal time in
a non-laboratory environment, often integrated with specialist computational teams
who may rarely enter the lab.
Experientially, research floors are organized to encourage interaction among
all members of interdisciplinary teams.
Scientists begin their day by arriving at a
common social space, moving to shared
office areas organized by the team, and
then to shared laboratories of increasing
intensity and specialization arranged to
optimize operational workflows.
At the northwest corner of the building,
researchers exchange ideas in a daylight
filled, two-story social commons with
meeting rooms, lounges and kitchenettes
connected by an open stair. Stacked verti-
Biomedical Sciences
building inspires
collegiality, collaboration
and customization
continued from page 1
Open plan workspaces feature systems furnishings in a variety of sizes and configurations, as well as glass-front private offices for principal investigators to
have direct access to their research teams and views to laboratories.
