Core Facilities Respond to Changing Scientific Research Needs

Published March 23, 2015 on labdesignnews.com

In this month’s column for Lab Design News we examine why centralized core facilities best serve the increasingly flexible research environment and draw similarities to the popular open office plan.

Click to enlarge
Core facility concepts: Distributed “matrix” vs. centralized “neighborhood.”

Adaptability and flexibility are key ingredients to successful lab planning and design. As the technology changes, so does the nature of the research and the ways in which researchers use the space. Labs, though equipped in a more complex and technical manner, are ultimately workplaces. Like open offices throughout the corporate world that aim to inspire collaboration and serendipitous connection, labs are transforming into open work zones supported by collocated specialized equipment. Taking into consideration the polarization of the research environment—where the generic research space becomes increasingly generic and the specialized research space becomes more specialized and idiosyncratic—and the provision for shared highly specialized core facilities, which enables flexibility in lab space, the question becomes; how can core facilities better support the research community and provide convergence zones?

Read the full article.