With academic research funding either flat or slumping, it’s time to rethink current laboratory design standards. Concurrent with the funding slide is a hike in both direct costs (salaries, for example) and indirect research costs like spending on facilities operation, equipment, and labor. At the same time, the demand for space continues to increase unabated.

The 5,700-sf Advanced Multimodality Image Guided Operating Suite (AMIGO) represents a significant development in integrating imaging and surgery into one space. The Suite is located in a basement of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Three diagnostic and procedure rooms allow imaging before, during, and after surgery with minimal disruption to the patient and the surgical procedure. This suite provides clinicians and researchers with new opportunities to improve surgical techniques and develop new clinical methodologies.

Renovating facilities using sustainable design can be an economically feasible means of making older buildings relevant again. Elements such as passive ventilation and natural lighting reduce utility bills by more than 75 percent and increase the appraised property value, with the potential to achieve net-zero energy consumption and a 10-year return on investment.

Cage and rack washers, while not the industry standard for large-scale animal cage washing, are more efficient and cost-effective to operate than tunnel washers, according to a study by two Boston architects with decades of experience designing animal facilities. Their research shows that the long-term operating savings compensates for the higher up-front cost.

Johnson & Johnson’s FLEXplace™ initiative—successfully deployed in 10 locations, with 20 more currently planned—has helped the company increase space utilization by 16 percent and accommodate 67 percent more people in the same square footage. The program is part of a global workspace initiative to enhance the employee experience and increase overall productivity, which at the same time increases asset utilization. FLEXplace is making workplaces more dynamic, with activity-based neighborhoods and strategically located mobility centers.

The California Institute of Technology uses facility condition assessment and data-driven analysis to determine the best investment strategy for limited recapitalization funds. Combined with the institutional discipline to demolish or mothball buildings, Caltech minimizes costs and maximizes immediate functionality, while making funding decisions that support the institutional mission.