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Controlling the cost and quality of a project comes down to hiring the right contractors and streamlining the process to get them on board fast. “Everything is about speed.” As for retaining the researchers who will occupy those labs, collaboration spaces and floor-to-ceiling windows might not be as attractive as offering employees a place to eat. Learn the strategies the National Cancer Institute’s Frederick Research Lab employs to manage and design its research facilities. 

The post-pandemic science facility needs to be configured to adapt to the changing demands of both the research and the researchers. The balance between offices, collaboration spaces, and labs must be fluid enough to change with the science. And organizations must accommodate growing expectations for a hybrid work environment that provides staff with an acceptable work-life balance.

The trend toward multidisciplinary science education facilities necessitates designs that are flexible and adaptable, with larger uniform lab modules and large spaces that can be divided into smaller rooms when needed.

The University of Toronto was able to repurpose leased space in an off-campus office tower into biosafety research labs for its Temerty Faculty of Medicine by implementing innovative HVAC solutions and modular design. Filtered ductless fume hoods obviated the need to vent exhaust up 20 stories to the roof, and a flexible floorplan can accommodate fluctuating research teams.

Cornell Tech’s MakerLAB on Roosevelt Island, N.Y., is more than doubling in size after just five years, drawing makers from seven graduate programs, doctoral students, and the city at large.