Supporting the University's goal of providing hands-on, project-oriented laboratory programs meant abandoning the traditional lab approach and opting for a more innovative teaching method. Traditional lab programs, which often devote only two or three hours to each experiment, are technique-focused with a specific outcome expected to be achieved by all students.

With a traditional lab program, everybody in the room is doing the same thing. If they do it correctly, the outcome is consistent from student to student. While there is value in this type of teaching, it is not research-driven and does not build team experiences or create student-defined outcomes.

The lab program at Carnegie Mellon has evolved to feature a focus on research with both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary programs. This project approach to teaching enables students to spend more time in the lab defining their own outcomes and fostering team experiences. Instrumental techniques and modern analytical instrumentation are integrated into the learning experience at the start of the program.

Four lab courses, which comprise a large portion of a student's credit load, are required for chemistry majors. Each course follows the prerequisite lecture material by one to two semesters in the course sequence and includes six to eight hours of lab per week. Lab courses for students majoring in chemistry, biology, and chemical engineering do not start until their sophomore year after they have taken two introductory chemistry courses. All of the courses emphasize experimental design, techniques, scientific communication, instrumental analysis, and safety practices.

"Carnegie Mellon is currently developing a menu of interdisciplinary lab experiences for first-year science students since we do not offer traditional lab programs with the first-year courses in biology, chemistry, and physics," says Karen Hyatt Stump, teaching professor and director of undergraduate studies and laboratories in the Department of Chemistry. "In addition, we have some introductory lab courses for non-majors. This meant we needed a space that could accommodate discipline-specific courses in chemistry, physics, biological sciences, and these interdisciplinary courses."

Creating Appropriate Space

Renovating and expanding the 100-year-old Doherty Hall presented the best option for the University to meet the needs of its science students. The project included 47,000 sf of new construction, 54,000 sf of renovated space and an additional 27,000 sf of life safety upgrades to support the new teaching pedagogy and bring the building up to modern standards.

All three floors of lab space feature two functionally different spaces that are separated through the design rather than by a wall. This allows two different courses to be taught at the same time and enables the entire space to be used for interdisciplinary work.

An eight-story, $26.4-million addition was constructed to house analytical chemistry labs, the interdisciplinary science lab, an outreach lab, a synthetic lab, an experimental physics lab with an integral computer cluster, three physics classrooms configured for both small desktop experiments and computer work, a 113-seat lecture hall, and an auditorium.

The first floor houses offices for the School of Art, chemical storage space, glass washing areas, a loading dock, mechanical space, and a new entry to the building. The second and third floors are dedicated to the School of Art. The fourth floor features the physics lab and classrooms, while the fifth floor is used for the analytical lab and office space, and the sixth floor houses the undergraduate cluster, lecture hall, outreach lab, and interdisciplinary lab. The synthetic lab, conference room, and office spaces are located on the seventh floor, while the upper level is used for mechanical space.

The design maintains the aesthetic character of the historic structure and reflects the modern technology being used inside the building. The two glass-enclosed exterior features that distinguish the addition from the original building are the epistitial bay on the west facade and the emergency egress stairway that juts out from the north face of the building from two stories above ground to the upper floor. The epistitial bay, which has a single-pane glazed outer wall to protect it from the weather, allows the large laboratory exhaust ducts to be clearly visible with views into and out of the lab spaces.

"There are large windows on three sides of most of the lab spaces and in the evening when the labs are in use, you get a nice view of portions of the interior," says Stump.

Focusing on Labs

The design of the labs was driven by the intended use for the space. The first floor of the renovated Chemistry Department space is used as an area where Stump teaches a sophomore-level course in introductory quantitative analysis. The experiments range from very prescribed to completely open-ended, each requiring nine to 20 hours of lab time and a final project that is totally student-defined. Traditional wet chemistry techniques are used with integration of modern instrumental techniques such as high-pressure liquid chromatography and atomic absorption spectroscopy.

"We tried to design flexible spaces where we could offer multiple courses within the space or we could offer one large course," says Stump. "What we looked for was space that was very versatile in its use."

Very large lab floorplates, ranging from 7,500 to 9,500 sf, were planned. Versatility is achieved by using fixed benches with multiple utilities, power, and data connections. Raising the utilities above the lab benches creates more available space that can be used for additional equipment or setups. Movable shelves and task lighting are additional features of the casework.

Flexibility is enhanced by placing all of the instruments on mobile carts, which can easily be maneuvered through the wide aisles. Freight elevators service each lab, permitting the carts to be moved quickly and easily from lab to lab.

Small team spaces and learning communities were created by placing casework and benches at angles to the wall or at times in triangular arrangements, creating areas conducive to teamwork.

"We wanted to create an atmosphere that was collaborative where we weren't isolating students at their benches and making it difficult for them to talk with each other," says Stump.

Fume hoods play an important role in the design of the synthetic lab where large amounts of flammable or odorous chemicals are used. The traditional arrangement of fume hoods in lab spaces is either to locate them around the perimeter of the room or to have alternating benches and hoods. However, in this model, as the number of hoods increases around the perimeter, the amount of natural light and the ability to monitor students' work are diminished. This type of alternating arrangement tends to make students feel isolated from each other.

The synthetic laboratory has 27 six-foot hoods that permit 54 students to work in the space at the same time. A pod arrangement of three hoods placed together in a triangular arrangement is used to create a sense of teamwork and to prevent blocking the perimeter windows. There are also additional hoods for dispensing and waste collection.

"There is a high density of fume hoods in the space where the pods are being used, so putting them against the outer walls would block all outer views and still would not accommodate all of the hoods," explains Stump. "The pod arrangement allows us to pull more hoods into the interior, while maintaining a good line of sight and creating multiple areas that are really conducive to good student interaction."

Overcoming Challenges

Adding lab-intensive spaces with significant ventilation, mechanical, and utility needs onto an old structure can be challenging. In this case, the University did not have all of the original drawings and planners did not know that an existing wing was built on fill. Therefore, pouring the foundation for the addition was more difficult than anticipated.

"Since the addition and renovation were being done to a fully occupied building, we had to do the necessary planning to ensure minimal disruption to the teaching and research functions taking place in the building," says Stump. "Luckily, the spaces the lab classes were moving out of were not being renovated immediately so we were able to wait until the new spaces were fully completed before moving."

The staging area presented a difficulty because there are multiple buildings located in the area with only two small roads leading in and out. Coordinating all aspects of the project with all involved parties also presented a challenge.

"One of the biggest challenges was establishing the most effective way to communicate with the architects, construction manager, and project manager from start to finish and finding a means of storing information so that retrieval was effective and time-efficient," says Stump.

Initiative and Impact

The modern lab space has enabled the University to implement several new initiatives, including a course taught jointly by the chemistry and art faculty on minerals and pigments. In addition, atomic force microscopy is being used in mini-courses in physics and chemistry. A course based on a forensics theme for science students has also been taught.

The impact of the expansion and renovation project is evidenced by an increasing number of students choosing chemistry as their major. Approximately 120 chemistry majors attended the University in 2005 compared to 50 in 2001. The new labs have also made it possible to accommodate a dramatic increase in lab course enrollments.

Lessons to Remember

Selecting an architectural firm that understands the full scope of the project is critical. It is equally important to perform due diligence to ensure selection of the most appropriate individuals to serve on the design team and to act as user representatives.

"The faculty was intimately involved. During the very early planning stages, there were what the architects called 'squatters' sessions where they would set up in a room for a period of several days," notes Stump. "They met with the faculty as a whole and then with groups who would be associated with each of the spaces."

The chemistry, physics, and biology departments each had a faculty member who served as a primary user representative. Their role was to update the department as a whole and identify the most important faculty members to provide input on particular issues. The faculty members also served on the project's executive committee, along with the department heads, deans, facilities personnel, project manager, and vice president for business services.

Once the teams are in place, open and frequent communication must occur during each stage of the project.

Careful analysis of flexibility vs. versatility must be conducted to determine the best direction for the project at every step in the process.

"It is also very important to test everything. We tested all of our materials extensively, reviewed mockups of our casework, and had students test them," says Stump. "Restating your goals throughout the design and construction is vital to the success of the project."

By Tracy Carbasho

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