What Do I Need to Ask? A Lab User’s Guide to Planning a Successful Project
Lab users are often asked to make critical decisions about a new laboratory, renovation, or expansion with far less project experience than the architects, engineers, and contractors at the table. This panel will help lab users identify the questions they should be asking before design decisions are locked in, including questions they may not know they need to ask.
Panelists will discuss how to communicate research needs, workflow requirements, equipment and infrastructure demands, safety concerns, and future growth plans, how to identify potential problems before they become costly changes, and how to speak up when a proposed solution looks good on paper but may not work in practice.
The discussion will also explore how architects, planners, and project teams can draw out information from users who may not know what is possible or what details matter. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for participating more confidently in project planning and evaluating whether a proposed laboratory will support safe, efficient, and effective work.
Learning objectives:
1. Identify key questions lab users should ask during project planning to communicate research workflows, equipment needs, staffing patterns, space requirements, and future growth before major design decisions are finalized.
2. Recognize how laboratory planning and building systems decisions can affect health, safety, and welfare, including occupant safety, hazardous materials, ventilation, egress, ergonomics, environmental conditions, and emergency response.
3. Apply strategies for evaluating proposed laboratory layouts and workflows from the user’s perspective, identifying conflicts, inefficiencies, safety concerns, and operational issues that may not be apparent in plans or renderings.
4. Develop effective methods for communicating concerns and making informed project decisions with architects, lab planners, engineers, and other project stakeholders, helping reduce late-stage changes while creating laboratory environments that support safe and effective research.