From Design Intent to Research Reality: Post-Occupancy Lessons from a Pediatric Research Institute

A nearly 400,000-sf pediatric research facility was designed to support flexible, collaborative, and technology-forward research. Following occupancy, a post-occupancy evaluation examined how laboratory environments perform from the perspective of researchers and staff and explored relationships between laboratory design characteristics and occupant outcomes.
Survey findings demonstrated strong satisfaction with natural light (4.69/5), outdoor views (4.67), safety (4.42), bench availability (4.36), internal circulation (4.29), team communication (4.29), and technology access (4.28). Lower ratings for storage (3.05), privacy (2.88), and adaptability (3.66–3.89) revealed opportunities for improvement.

Exploratory correlation and regression analyses further examined the relationships between laboratory planning characteristics, workspace satisfaction, and broader employee experience. Findings suggest that functional characteristics—including bench and work areas, laboratory capacity, storage, circulation and access, support spaces, and adaptability—are meaningfully associated with occupant outcomes.

By connecting design intent with post-occupancy experience, this session demonstrates how evaluation and statistical analysis can move beyond documenting satisfaction to generate actionable evidence. Findings offer transferable lessons for planning adaptable, efficient, and user-centered research laboratories that better support the people and activities of scientific discovery.

Learning objectives:
1. Identify laboratory design characteristics associated with positive occupant outcomes, including bench and work areas, laboratory capacity, support spaces, circulation and access, storage, and adaptability.
2. Evaluate post-occupancy findings to understand where laboratory design intent aligns with—and differs from—the day-to-day experiences of researchers and staff.
3. Explain how correlation and regression analysis can extend post-occupancy evaluation beyond satisfaction ratings to explore relationships between physical laboratory characteristics, workspace satisfaction, and broader employee experience.
4. Apply evidence-based lessons from an occupied pediatric research facility to inform the planning of adaptable, efficient, and user-centered research laboratories.