Professor John Dyson spent more than 25 years at GlaxoSmithKline, eventually ending his career as VP, Head of Capital Strategy and Design, where he focussed on developing a long-term strategic approach to asset management..
washrooms or stores), and IP sensitivities – with the size and type of life science business or tenant a driving factor in how these are managed.In all cases, a lab design should be developed as soon as possible, with material and personnel flows and relevant zonings mapped out across all lab and common areas to identify any potential issues.. 8.
Existing office buildings may struggle to accommodate more onerous laboratory fire and egress requirements.. A lab will most likely contain more flammable or hazardous materials and sources of ignition than an office.In most cases this can be addressed with special storage cabinets, fume cabinets, and good housekeeping.However, where larger quantities or more dangerous materials are used (e.g.
oxygen, or even inert materials like liquid nitrogen) this can be particularly challenging.Further complications may also arise where labs divide up previously open plan offices with new partitions, corridors, airlocks, pods, or inner rooms – further complicating egress routes.. For office to lab conversions, fire and egress strategies must be reviewed holistically with the whole building in mind.
For example, neighbouring tenancies may currently rely on staff crossing through the new lab to reach a second means of escape, which might no longer be possible.
Similarly, labs in office buildings can result in additional occupancy types (‘purpose groups’ in the UK) and will therefore drive the need for additional fire compartments.. Possible solutions could include storing materials or siting labs on ground or lower floors, local gas generation (to reduce peak volumes), detection, shut-off and alarm systems, local extract or natural ventilation, and it may be necessary to divide labs up into smaller compartments to keep hazardous material quantities below acceptable limits.Undertake a pre-demolition audit to understand the potential for reuse on the existing site.
Use this information to develop sustainable construction design solutions..Understand the potential reuse of buildings or building components locally, including the need to transport and store materials.. Balance cut and fill to reduce off-site waste and new material brought to construction sites.. Use lean design principles to reduce the amount of material overall.
This will also reduce the embodied carbon..Consider design for deconstruction at the start of the design process rather than try to retrofit it into the design part way through.. Be clear on the potential flexibility that is needed by the proposed occupants and consider what future flexibility could be included with minimal additional materials, allowing the building to be adaptable and future-fit..