Greater flexibility increases experimental scope and capabilities

Planning labs with a full array of decision makers and users enables architects to optimize lab operations during design

When the University of Colorado decided to renovate Ekeley Sciences Building, the school looked for a floor covering that would meet a variety of performance requirements—durability, stain resistance, comfort and ease of maintenance.

No matter the type of lab–be it clinical, food, forensic, or analytical–every lab requires furnishings. From flooring to seating, our guide can help.

Labs have come a long way since Thomas Alva Edison’s improvisations with fireplace chimneys to exhaust noxious fumes at his Menlo Park, New Jersey, research facilities in the late nineteenth century.

When executive director Graham Shimmield and his colleagues set out to build a new home for Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in 2009, they wanted a structure sensitive to the surroundings of the new locale on the coast of Maine. With the help of their architects, contractors, and engineers, they got just that.

The Pell Laboratory for Advanced Biological Studies at Penn State University has received an Honor Award from the New England chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The Pell Lab was one of only three honor awards selected from more than 400 submissions. This is the highest award given to a project designed by New England architects.

The design, layout, and placement of laboratories have significant impact on lab processes, behaviors, and communications

Four lab professionals share their experiences with major lab design projects and the lessons they learned along the way.

Here we explore three case studies on laboration expansion at an emerging metro-Boston biotech company, a small biophotonics R&D lab, and laboratories at the University of California, Irvine; showing how they dealt with the challenges they faced.