industry matters
A Bold Proposition: Taking a Prototypical
Approach to Global Lab Design
by Warren Hendrickson, director, Public Health, HDR, Inc.
By understanding the local constraints for
design, construction and maintenance in
Africa, Asia and the Middle East, we
have developed a “kit-of-parts”
approach to designing facilities
on the front lines of global
public health.
Disease surveillance, prevention and
response, for both infectious and chronic
diseases, are critical aspects of global
health. As architects and planners, we
take the responsibility of designing
laboratories for this work very seriously.
However, we realize that applying the
same design approach to public health
laboratories in parts of the world with
less established infrastructure as we
would in countries with more advanced
infrastructure in place is not effective.
Considering local culture, climate and
resources, and how laboratories can
be constructed and maintained within
a local context, are critical aspects of
global laboratory design. It may be
surprising, then, to know that one of the
most effective solutions we’ve found is
rooted in the idea of standardization–
that is, starting with prototypical lab
components.
as plumbing, electrical and mechanical
systems. 3D visualizations of the com-
pleted space are included in the drawing
set and serve as an effective communica-
tion tool that allows scientists and other
users to understand the design, regardless
of language barriers. Additionally, a cost
calculation spreadsheet provides a rough
order-of-magnitude idea of the facility
cost that helps to keep the design process
moving forward.
Over the past several years, HDR has
been working with Sandia National
Laboratories to modify the principles
of containment and find novel ways
to apply them across the world. By
understanding the local constraints for
design, construction and maintenance in
Africa, Asia and the Middle East, we have
developed a “kit-of-parts” approach to
designing facilities on the front lines of
global public health.
Many laboratories have consistent
design requirements—rooted in best
practices—regardless of sample source
(e.g., serology for human samples and
animal samples have similar equipment
and processing). Realizing this, we
worked with Sandia to develop a catalog
of 88 different laboratory modules
that encompass laboratory spaces
(e.g., diagnostic labs, sample receipt,
cleaning and sterilization), support spaces
(e.g., electrical and plumbing support
systems, loading, storage) and amenity
spaces (e.g., entry, washroom, offices).
Each module is described in a drawing
set that includes specifications for fur-
niture, fixtures and equipment, as well
PublicHealthLabs
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The lab component modules and cost
calculation spreadsheet serve as the
starting point for designing a lab facility,
whether new construction or renovation,
no matter the country, no matter