Members of the team—Michael Haggans and Trevor Calarco, of Flad Architects, Madison, Wis.; Thomas Gieryn, sociology professor at Indiana University (IU), Bloomington; and Michael Chippendale, now a consultant in Columbia, Mo.—set the goal of identifying the important physical characteristics that impact scientists’ work.

The first study documented interaction features in more than 60 science buildings across North America. The second phase, profiled here, followed an Indiana University research group as it moved from an old building into a new one. Like other true research dealing with human subjects, the project required institutional approval. The Flad study team interviewed representatives of all levels of the research group before, during, and after the move from one setting to another. At least two, if not three, additional interviews will follow.

Haggans makes it clear that the research group is a stellar one, already experiencing success in its probe of a fundamental aspect of life on the planet, photosynthesis in bacteria.

“The bar has already been set remarkably high,” he confides. “The implication is that as this group settles in to the new lab, any measurable difference in productivity will prove to be valuable learning tools for other lab groups.”

Comparison of equipment distribution in four specified access categories:
Immediate: less than 5 seconds/within 20'; Myers: 31%; Simon: 29%
Convenient: less than 20 seconds/within lab; Myers: 20%; Simon: 43%
Adjacent: less than 30 seconds (outside lab/within 50'); Myers: 16%; Simon: 15%
Remote: more than 30 seconds, more than 50'; Myers: 33%; Simon: 13%