Agile Spaces: Effective Design Solutions for Lab and Technical Facilities

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May 3, 2019

Knowledge

Discovery, Learning

By Geoff Lisle

Today, research facilities are moving beyond labs with benches and countertops. Labs include layouts that cater to more specific needs: fume hoods and biosafety cabinets, as well as specialty medical apparatus, such as imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, and computerized tomography equipment.

Achieving a balance is the key, and this balance is different for each institution’s unique needs. If labs are too customized, the design loses flexibility, and researchers aren’t likely to work in the building throughout its lifecycle. So, designers and planners look to optimize capital expenditures relative to designing and building the lab for present needs and with an eye to the future.

At the same time, there are different biosafety containment levels among labs, with requirements and protocols related to specific biosafety threat levels. Also, scientific leaders have environmental requirements for engineering regarding vibration, testing spaces, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and acoustics control, as they apply to such areas as optics labs or other specialty equipment areas.

Agile Spaces: Effective Design Solutions for Lab and Technical Facilities