One item you will want to add to your collection is …
Guidelines for Planning and Design of Biomedical Research Laboratory Facilities (1999)
While the focus is on biomedical research facilities, much of the content applies to any research laboratory, no matter what the focus. An excerpt from the introduction appears below. Bonus … You can read the full text of the Guidelines at no charge online.
Free full text source: http://www.aia.org/aiaucmp/groups/ek_members/documents/pdf/aiap014820.pdf
You will also want to read about the update to the Guidelines, which will broaden the scope from biomedical to advanced research laboratories in general. Browse to the end of this post to read excerpts from an article describing the work on the update.
TIP: When, as in this case, you run across a useful source which is relatively old, Google® the title to see if there may be a more recent version available.
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Guidelines for Planning and Design of Biomedical Research Laboratory Facilities (1999)
The American Institute of Architects, Center for Advanced Technology Facilities Design
110 pages
FROM THE INTRODUCTION
Designing a state-of-the-art biomedical research laboratory can be a daunting task for any design professional. Understanding the special requirements of the researcher in the facility is just the first step. You need to also be knowledgeable in materials handling, isolation units, special equipment stabilization, hazardous waste disposal, biocontainment areas, positive air flows, security issues, multilevel governmental regulations, and hightech support systems.The list goes on and on. Where do you start?
Guidelines for Planning and Design of Biomedical Research Laboratory Facilities provides the introductory starting point you need to understand the special design needs and requirements of biomedical research laboratories. The information presented here is an easy way to grasp the basic elements, relationships, and special considerations of this complicated and technically challenging design area.
The initial basis for Guidelines for Planning and Design of Biomedical Research Laboratory Facilities was a set of design guidelines for biomedical research facilities originally developed by the National Institutes of Health. This material has been revised and augmented with a wide array of knowledge pulled together by a multidisciplinary task group of experts. The result is a comprehensive set of design guidelines that are not specific to any one type of public or private sector biomedical research. Instead, you will find the material applicable to most biomedical research facilities in any setting.
General
The purpose of this document is to provide information to the design and research communities on the planning and design of biomedical research laboratories. These guidelines reflect the judgment of a multidisciplinary group of experts in research laboratory design and operation. They encompass the majority of current best practices today, but they are neither universal solutions nor detailed enough to answer every question that may arise in the course of a specific planning and design project.
It is not the intent of this document to specify construction techniques, to prescribe facilities quality or cost criteria, or to serve as code requirements. The intent instead is to identify issues and approaches that deserve careful thought when undertaking biomedical research facilities projects. Such facilities are complex and require these special and specific design considerations.
As highly changeable environments, biomedical research laboratories and their support spaces must be flexible and able to readily accommodate a wide range of current and future requirements and hazards. To achieve satisfactory results from the planning and design, it is important that the project owner supply for each project a functional program for the facility that describes the purpose of the project, the projected demand or utilization, staffing patterns, departmental relationships, space requirements, and other basic information relating to fulfillment of the organization's objectives. This program may include a description of each function or service; the operational space required for each function; the number of staff or other occupants of the various spaces; the equipment required in each space; the numbers, types, and areas (in net square meters) of all spaces; the special design features; the systems of operation; and the interrelationships of various functions and spaces.
The functional program should also include a description of those services necessary for the complete operation of the facility, and it should address future expansion of essential services that may be needed to accommodate increased demand for technological change. The approved functional program shall be made available for use by all members of the design team in the development of project design and construction documents.
A total "environmental approach," including attention to site, structure, massing, circulation, visual harmony, open areas, existing conditions, and construction logistics, as well as operational sustainability, is the most effective strategy when planning biomedical research facilities. A design approach that responds to these specific issues will serve to create a product that is functional, aesthetic, flexible, and reliable. Design professionals must consider all these criteria to meet the needs that are identified by users, dictated by functional relationships, and imposed by specific existing conditions.
It is extremely important to recognize that the end users (researchers, facility managers, administrators, etc.) are integral parts of this process, and their involvement is essential to the project success from the outset. The most effective method by which to integrate scientific, administrative, and facility requirements is through a "partnership" interaction whereby design professionals and end users share a clearly defined goal. Accomplishing such a shared vision through the entire design, construction, and operations process ensures the operational functionality, sustainability, and reliability of these sophisticated facilities.
A hazard assessment must be conducted for each investigative and research function. The assessment becomes a critical determining factor in design and throughout the full life cycle of the facility. A main purpose of these guidelines is to assist in the design of "safe space" to support research.
In response to this purpose, all laboratories are assumed in design to contain chemical, radiological, and biological hazards, since all of these scientific activities may occur within the space during its life cycle. Containment devices and researcher procedures are used in concert with the facility to manage these hazards. Architectural and engineering features are also essential to maintain proper safety for workers and visitors. Every research facility shall provide and maintain a safe environment for personnel and the public. When chemical fume hoods are required, even to handle small quantities of hazardous material, then the laboratory space must have air pressure negative in relation to adjacent egress and circulation corridors. In addition, the exhaust system requires redundancy to establish reliable containment. Radioisotopes, usually used only in trace amounts, must be secured and shielded. Biohazards are assumed to be at Biosafety Level
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UPDATE
Building Design & Construction (March 03, 2009)
AIA, I2SL to develop laboratory facility design and planning guidelines
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding allowing both organizations to leverage their unique resources and expertise toward the creation of a comprehensive laboratory facilities guideline for planning and design. These new guidelines will build on the 1999 AIA Guidelines for Planning and Design of Biomedical Research Laboratories.
AIA and I2SL agree that laboratories must be a major focal point in enhancing human health and the built and natural environment. The organizations believe that comprehensive guidelines for laboratories are necessary as these unique facility types form a large part of the research infrastructure and are the foundation supporting successful societies throughout academia, industry, and government, worldwide. The long-term investments required to build laboratories and their costly operation costs provide more reason for the organizations to work together to develop a set of guidelines on how to properly plan for and build these facilities.
The guidelines will define integrated building strategies that will offer a sustainable approach to global building challenges. While the 1999 AIA guideline did provide guidance on biomedical research laboratories, there currently is no document that provides a comprehensive planning and design guidelines for various types of research facilities. Without a comprehensive guideline document, laboratory designers, engineers, owners, operators, and other professionals do not have a comprehensive guide to refer to in their efforts to deliver these specialized facilities. While all laboratories and their support space are unique, they must be safe and secure, effective and flexible, engaging and modern, environmentally sustainable and energy efficient, life-cycle cost effective, and meet the appropriate controlling building codes. The guidelines will aim to be a comprehensive resource for this information.
source: http://www.bdcnetwork.com/aia-i2sl-develop-laboratory-facility-design-and-planning-guidelines
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