Minimizing the risk of lab animal allergy (LAA) is an increasingly important design and operational consideration in animal research facilities, since LAA has been identified as one of the most significant occupational health risks for personnel working with laboratory animals and in the lab animal environment. Personnel exposure to allergens can be effectively reduced with facility design and engineering controls, including differential air pressures, directional air flow, HEPA filtration, automation, traffic patterns, separation of personnel space from animal space, as well as optimal use of personal protection equipment (PPE).

The need for more space to accommodate a daily backlog of unwashed cages sparked a $40 million gut renovation of the two-building animal research facility on the campus of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) in Bethesda, Md. When the conjoined structures reopen this fall, they will be fully equipped with up-to-date features that facilitate animal care compliance, promote employee satisfaction, and offer uber-flexibility.

While creating generic/flexible lab spaces that can be adapted to a variety of different research needs continues to be the preferred approach—especially in higher education buildings—there is also a growing need for highly specialized lab and support facilities designed for very specific types of research. As a result, facility designers are increasingly tasked with balancing the demand for both open generic/flexible labs and specialized lab spaces in a single building with the added challenge of improving energy efficiency, sustainability, and operating costs.