Planning and developing new laboratories and research suites can provide an ideal platform to create a perfect environment for the research team to prosper and reach their potential.

A carefully planned laboratory can simplify day-to-day research and experimentation – making every day lab work simpler and increasing focus on the important tasks at hand. Here are a few tips to help you make the most out of your laboratory when planning the layout.

Planned Tour Routes

Amongst the great bugbears of laboratory workers is interference from visitors and outsiders. Whilst it’s important that potential candidates and investors are given an insight into the laboratory, their presence can distract the research team. Creating a balance between a healthy work environment and a showcase for the talent and the work on offer can be difficult but it is important to complete work in the short term and secure future projects in the long term.

The creation of tour routes may seem like an unusual investment of space in a laboratory, but it could help ensure the team work uninterrupted despite the presence of visitors.

Efficient Storage

Searching for important tools, materials and chemicals can be a hugely timewasting endeavour, making it important that everything is stored efficiently in easy-to-access spaces. Consider which members of the research team will have to use the different apparatus and where it would be most efficient and helpful for the workforce.

Clear labelling can also reduce time spent searching for the correct apparatus – allowing the team to concentrate solely on the important task at hand.

Increased Flexibility

The ever-changing world of scientific research soon leaves rigged and archaic techniques, practices and beliefs in the dust. This makes it incredibly important that the lab spaces are flexible and versatile – retaining the ability to adapt to a changing environment. Whilst it is incredibly important that a laboratory meets current requirements, consideration should be paid to how the lab will be utilised after the current project has finished.

Commercial lab developers, InterFocus, explain: “A flexible laboratory brings with it many advantages, such as increased draw for new candidates and visiting researchers, and increased opportunities to secure financing.”

Positive Environment

It is no secret that a positive environment helps everyone work more efficiently and maximise their progress. A study by the University of Salford suggested that a positive environment in schools could help increase academic progress by as much as 25% in a single year. This logic can be applied to all work environments, including research laboratories.

A more positive environment can be achieved by considering the levels of natural light which enter the lab as well as the quality of the air, interior design and the acoustics. Careful management of these factors could help your team increase the quality and quantity of its output.

Green Credentials

The environmental impact of buildings is being considered more now than ever before, and research laboratories are no different. Developing eco-friendly and green research spaces could bring with it a huge range of benefits for both the environment and the research team. Not only could it minimise the impact upon the environment, it could increase the value of the research laboratory.

Some investors may be more inclined to offering funding to research labs which can demonstrate their green credentials in line with their own moral or corporate codes.

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