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As the landscape for academic institutions grows more competitive, determining how human factors impact the design of STEM facilities is becoming a significant consideration when it comes to attracting students and research faculty. As a result, team members at Francis Cauffman Architects are developing a set of metrics to identify and assess the value of design features that influence occupant experience in academic STEM spaces with the goal of creating an index that can be used to inform future renovation and new construction projects. Human factor points are allocated to spaces and design features that have a demonstrated positive impact on student enrollment, result in high levels of user satisfaction, and accommodate the teaching and research goals of the facility. In a post-COVID world, this additional evaluation tool may be more important than ever.

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for the research community to respond quickly to changing markets and to understand the value of laboratory spaces that are flexible, adaptable, and scalable. We’ve seen stadiums converted to makeshift hospitals, “drive-through” testing sites pop up in vacant parking lots, and testing laboratories continually ramp up production to expedite results. This quick-thinking behavior has been inspiring to witness but daunting to execute. Laboratories, by nature, are among the most complex building typologies, where the utmost importance is protecting both the health and safety of their occupants and the integrity of the research. The complexities of the resulting design can be challenging to undertake, but when faced with the extreme circumstances of a pandemic, it is possible to expedite the process with a combination of strategies.

The new Fourth and Montgomery building, scheduled to open in January 2021 in downtown Portland, Oregon, is a remarkable example of how pooling financial, intellectual, and physical resources can allow public institutions to accomplish much more by working together than would be possible if attempted separately. The seven-story, $111 million building will be owned and occupied by The City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Portland Community College’s Dental Sciences Programs, and Portland State University’s (PSU) College of Education and the PSU | Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) PSU School of Public Health. To simplify the process of working with multiple stakeholders, the project team used an integrated project delivery planning tool called “Choosing by Advantages” (CBA) that helped them manage complex decisions and keep the project on schedule and within budget.

Amherst College in Massachusetts is looking to the future with a new science center that supports active learning and project-based teaching, with a sustainable, energy-efficient design highlighted by innovative labs, high-tech classrooms, and departmental and interdisciplinary collaboration. College leaders say the building—designed with enough flexibility to address new pedagogies and meet the changing needs of students and faculty—will support the science programs through the next century, decrease energy consumption by 76 percent, and create a transformative sense of campus community.

Arguably one of the most challenging aspects of planning students’ return to campus has been around teaching labs, where working hands on, in groups, for hours on end is paramount to the learning experience. Solutions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 vary among institutions, depending largely on the facilities they have available to them, but commonalities include more PPE, shorter lab sessions with fewer students, and a lot more solo work, supported by remote learning.