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Designers emphasize adaptable lab strategies and contamination controls for LLO
Summary
Lab planners told board members that laboratory adaptability will require a balance of hard containment walls and flexible shared resources; planners proposed spectrum-based approaches from mobile 'lab on wheels' to compartmentalized layouts to meet contamination and collaboration needs.
Board member Scott asked how the facilities could be designed for future adaptability. Andy Stepp of Clark & Anderson explained that some hard walls will be necessary where contamination and airflow control are critical, but that successful recent projects also use flexible, shared resources and mobile lab strategies to enable adaptability.
"There are a lot of ways to do that. You know, you can do a full lab on wheels where everything is mobile," Stepp said, adding that a middle ground often balances collaboration and cost-efficiency. The consultants recommended user observations, iterative programming and verification workshops to rightsize fixed versus flexible lab spaces.
Why it matters: lab design choices will influence operational flexibility, research workflows, and long-term costs; the board pressed for clear adaptability intent and described the team’s experience as a positive indicator for managing mixed scientific disciplines in one facility.
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