‘If they need to crack on with something, they can in a quiet corner if there’s not many patients in,’ she says.
Labs need a higher air change rate than offices or other building types, which means lots of ductwork to and from the lab.This is exacerbated if there are fume cupboards, as the discharges go to the roof and discharge vertically.
The discharge stacks for these fans can be quite high, so we may have to design roof supports for flues.. One unusual issue we encountered was a vibration requirement for an X-ray machine.This is further evidence of the importance of understanding the purpose of the laboratory equipment being installed early in the lab design process..Finally, we must be aware of how the laboratory equipment is to be delivered to the site.
Some lab equipment can be extremely heavy, and the beam layout may dictate where the equipment can sit within the space.We will also always consider how this lab equipment gets to the location in the first place, and any subsequent special requirements..
Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) requirements for lab design.
A laboratory design should be services-led.In many cases, domestic buildings used to be empty during the central hours of the day, but with the more frequent adoption of homeworking, daylight, thermal comfort and air quality will become more important.
The standards for daylight in residential buildings, for instance, have always been lower than in workspaces, and overheating is a growing phenomenon in new homes in the UK.With the changes in working patterns, it is possible that post-pandemic size, layouts, daylight and thermal requirements of residential buildings evolve to accommodate spaces better suited to work..
Improving indoor air quality and hygiene.The impact of the pandemic and the interest in wellbeing, combined with higher pollution levels in urban areas, have increased the importance of improving indoor and outdoor air quality..
(Editor: Adjustable Thermostats)