|
Laboratory designing and planning—An architect's perspective
The process of laboratory designing is a complex one. Hence,
the professionals and experts involved in this should have multi-disciplinary
perspective on what an ideal laboratory should be. Archana Sohoni, an
architect and specialist in lab planning and designing, shares the basics of
lab designing
 Laboratories
need to be flexible, open, expandable, adaptable, functional, efficient and
most important safe for all users. Ideally the focus should be on functionality,
health & safety, convenience, and energy conservation. Currently there are
new trends in lab designs today and these trends have greatly been influenced
by modernisation and innovation.
Back to the basics
The first step in the design process is to understand the
purpose of the laboratory. A laboratory designed for typical commercial analysis
of samples can be far different from a laboratory designed for meeting the needs
of a process quality control lab, or an analytical research laboratory.
A general checklist of items given below form a guideline
for the overall design process and planning of lab:
1. The first and most important aspect is to define the purpose
of setting up the laboratory and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
2. The physical location of laboratory is the next important
aspect that needs to be considered and understood by the designer as well as
the user. Carrying out a feasibility report on the determined site is vital
to avoid future compromises, disappointments and huge lab setup costs. For example,
setting up a lab in commercial premises or on sites unsuitable for the lab will
result in deviations and major technical compromises relating to lab layouts
and services.
3. The third step would be to understand the lab requirements
from operations point of view; establish the workflow and circulation spaces
within the lab. This will help in establishing the inter-connectivity of various
labs and the outcome to the end user would be a more homogeneous one.
Detail planning considerations
 The
foundation for setting up a good lab lies upon the precise planning of four
main stream services. Those are civil interiors, electrical, HVAC and utility
services. Over and above, the utmost focus has to be on maintaining the HSE
standards.
Civil interiors: The physical separation of lab areas
and non lab areas, one lab from another, the considerations for floor, wall
and ceiling finishes, and the flow of spaces between labs and service areas
has to be carefully charted out since this forms the starting point for technical
detailing.
Electrical work: The required total power supply with
respect to all equipment, illumination levels, power outlets, voice and data
connectivity, arrangements for highly sensitive equipment by supporting them
with UPS and LAN connectivity has to be calculated in detail, bearing in mind
the diversity factor as well as the provision for future expansion. Emergency
lighting and power support to equipment is an imperative consideration in case
of any crisis.
HVAC: This is the service which generally results
into high power consumption due to overloaded HVAC designs and it must be avoided.
Typically, in R&D centres, treated fresh air is required for highly sensitive
and expensive lab equipment, and correct and proper balancing of HVAC system
versus fume hoods/exhausts has to be done under critical supervision and monitoring
of air conditioning consultants.
Utility lines: Location of central gas supply bank,
the tapings on lab furniture tables, flexibility in running the lines along
the wall or ceiling, provision of high pressure lines and safety valves, control
panels, effective plumbing system and waste management are the important issues.
Safety aspect: provision of gas detection system,
fire detection, smoke alarms and fire extinguishers, along with the integration
of HVAC system with fire alarm and access control are absolutely mandatory parameters
for a lab set up. Further, fire rating considerations for walls, partitions,
ceilings, doors and furniture is a value addition to the project in terms of
safety.
Trends in lab design
 As
said earlier, a new model of laboratory design is emerging, one that creates
lab environments that are responsive to present needs and capable of accommodating
future demands.
Unlike the conventional lab set ups, team-based research
lab concept is gaining fast popularity. It creates more interaction amongst
scientists, flexible use of space and sharing of resources takes place. The
laboratory designers can highly support here by creating open labs, plan for
flexible engineering systems that encourage teams to operate closely, by establishing
clearly defined circulation patterns and by providing interior glazing to allow
people to visually connect with each other. A wide variety of labs from wet
biology and chemistry labs, to engineering labs, to dry computer science facilities
can be designed as open labs.
 Flexible
engineering services supply and exhaust air, water, electricity, voice/data,
and vacuum systems are extremely important to labs. Labs must have easy connects/disconnects
at the walls and ceiling to allow for fast, affordable fixation of equipment.
The engineering systems may need to be designed to enable fume hoods to be removed
or added, to allow the space to be changed from a lab environment to an office
and then back again, or to allow maintenance of the controls outside the lab.
In addition to the initial demands, at least an additional
25 percent should be considered for future expansion. Space should be allowed
in utility corridors, ceilings, and vertical chases for future HVAC services,
plumbing, and electrical needs. Service shutoff valves should be easily accessible,
located in a box in the wall at the entry to the lab or in the ceiling at the
entry. All pipes, valves, and clean-outs should be clearly labelled to identify
the contents, pressure, and temperature.
A typical laboratory currently uses five times as much energy
and water per square foot as a typical office building. Due to large numbers
of containment and exhaust devices, number of heat-generating equipment, intensive
ventilation requirements, including 'once through' air, research laboratories,
form the most energy demanding facilities.
Towards a greener approach
The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has implemented the
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) programme to encourage
clients and professionals to design, build, and operate more environmentally
appropriate laboratories.
The key aspects of sustainable design are as follows:
- Increased energy conservation and efficiency- Factors
such as high performance HVAC, high performance fume hoods, having a combination
of sash design for fume hoods, stress on day lighting, passive solar heating,
occupancy sensors, photo-sensors and time base controls should be critically
addressed and adopted during the design stage itself.
- Reduction or elimination of harmful substances and
waste- Use materials and assemblies with the lowest level of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), eliminate the use of asbestos and lead; avoid ground-level
ozone in buildings and such others.
- Improvements to the interior and exterior environments,
leading to increased productivity- Having aesthetical design, thermal comforts,
good ventilation system, acoustical privacy, ergonomics, controlling odours
through contamination isolation and good luminosity, all lead to enhanced
indoor environmental quality and user productivity.
- Efficient use of materials and resources-Using environmentally
preferable products, eliminate the use of toxic materials and give preference
to locally produced materials.
- Recycling and increased use of products with recycled
content-Encouraging the use of recyclable assemblies and products, maximise
the recycled content of all new materials that are biodegradable.
The inference that can be drawn from the above statements
is that the designing phase of your laboratory planning project is the perfect
time to review your processes and make the advancements and improvements. You
may want to benchmark similar laboratories to gather specific ideas on how to
enhance your work environment and activities.
References:
http://www.wbdg.org/
www.labs21.org.uk
http://www.oecd.org/
http://stanford.edu/
http://indiaglp.gov.in/
(The author has done MSc in Construction Project Management
and is currently involved in providing Turnkey Lab solutions to various pharma
and chemical companies in association with LabGuard India.)
|
