Combining Generic/Flexible Labs with Highly Specialized Research Space
February 17, 2022
Our S&T experts tell Tradeline how to balance flexible labs and specialized research spaces to support energy efficiency and sustainability
While creating generic/flexible lab spaces that can be adapted to a variety of different research needs continues to be the preferred approach—especially in higher education buildings—there is also a growing need for highly specialized lab and support facilities designed for very specific types of research. As a result, facility designers are increasingly tasked with balancing the demand for both open generic/flexible labs and specialized lab spaces in a single building with the added challenge of improving energy efficiency, sustainability, and operating costs.
One example of this trend is the Yale Science Building (YSB), a five-story, 277,500-sf academic research facility designed by Stantec as architect of record in collaboration with Pelli Clarke Pelli. The new building, which opened in fall 2019, features flexible/modular lab spaces designed for a wide range of biology, physics, biophysics, and biochemistry disciplines. It also houses specialized research spaces that include aquatics labs, insect labs, an imaging suite, and a plant lab with a rooftop greenhouse.
Read the full article in Tradeline.
