SEFA Announces 2023 Lab of the Year Award Winners

The Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association (SEFA) announced the winners of the Lab of the Year Award program in November of 2023. Recognizing the creation of an outstanding laboratory building or complex, the awards reflect the vital contributions of the entire project team, including the facility’s designers, engineers, contractors, material vendors, and client representatives.

Stanford University’s ChEM-H and Neurosciences research complex won the 2023 SEFA Lab of the Year Award. Designed by Ennead Architects, the $256 million biomedical research complex houses Sarafan ChEM-H (Chemistry, Engineering & Medicine for Human Health) and the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. The four-story, 235,000-sf development offers seven open labs, three core instrumentation suites, a vivarium, and numerous collaboration spaces. The project team included lab planner GL Planning & Design, general contractor Whiting-Turner, Gayner Engineers, Degenkolb Engineers, MacKay & Somps, Mott Manufacturing, Durcon, Inter Dyne Systems, PG LifeLink, and WaterSaver Faucet.

Promega Corporation’s Kornberg Center was the winner of the 2023 High Honors Award for Sustainability. Designed by SmithGroup and Ramlow/Stein, the three-story, 283,000-sf facility provides R&D labs, core instrumentation suites, cell culture rooms, meeting venues, offices, and an accessible green roof. Utilizing 65 percent less energy than a conventional structure, the building features a sophisticated double-skin façade, a radiant heating and cooling system with a geothermal exchange, and 672 photovoltaic panels. Exceptional indoor air quality is achieved by a ventilation system that provides 100 percent outside air with total energy recovery. The project team included construction manager Kraemer Brothers, Air Master Systems Corporation, Diversified Casework, WaterSaver Faucet, and American Epoxy Scientific.

Based in Columbia, S.C., SEFA is a not-for-profit organization whose members include the world’s leading architects, lab planners, engineers, and lab furniture manufacturers.