What is a Lab? Definitions, Target Metrics, and Codes

At the dawn of time before science had a name, experimentation took place in any space that was available. Pythagoras, for example, performed all of his experiments in a room in his own house.  It was not until the 19th century that scientific spaces started to become dedicated, purpose-built facilities called laboratories designed for technological research, experimentation and scientific measurement.  

Today, the concept of laboratories can be broken into two broad categories of wet lab and dry lab. Wet labs are those used for testing and analysis of chemicals, biological, pharmaceutical, and fluids. They typically include sinks and varying degrees of lab services such as vacuum, lab air, and gases. Wet labs are considered low density when few fume hoods or biological safety cabinets (BSC’s) are used. High density wet labs are typically associated with chemical analysis and use a higher proportion of fume hoods to open bench space. Dry labs, on the other hand, are used for computations, mathematics, and some engineering studies. These spaces do not typically use the equipment and services noted for wet labs.  

Laboratories often present specific health and safety hazards that require separation or containment from other areas of a building, including chemical, infectious or radioactive materials, or the use of lasers, high voltage, or temperature extremes. Separation, however, does not equate to standardization. Given the wild variability in scientific requirements, there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach to laboratory design. There are, however, target metrics for wet labs that can help guide the design toward success. 

Lab spaces have much more stringent requirements than a typical office, residential or public sector building. Sensitive and heavy equipment requires stiffer structure, added ventilation requires high floor-to-floor clearance, and lab services require additional vertical shaft enclosure for pathways. Wet labs require access to fume hoods, BSCs for containment of chemical or biological materials, and sufficient bench space where benchtop equipment and processes may occur. They may also require access to specifically designed support spaces for procedure, equipment, storage, or sterilization functions.

When determining the site for a lab, designers must consider if there is sufficient separation from non-lab spaces to ensure airflow, safety and security requirements, or if the lab’s placement within the building will allow for safe and efficient flows for materials, personnel, animals, or waste. Two common approaches to zoning of labs are to either separate different functions by floor, or to create branded zones of impact to differentiate spaces used for specific functions (example: lab zones, lab support zones, or administrative zones).  As these functions may have different daylighting access, vibration sensitivities or proximity to vertical cores, designating functions into branded zones can help streamline building flows.

Successful lab design is a partnership between the design team and owner. It is valuable to have the owner designate their Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) officer as part of their core team. The design team can facilitate discussions with EHS regarding how peer organizations structure their research and instructional pedagogy, implement sustainable lab programs and balance health and safety. Coupled with the building metrics, as outlined in the diagram below, the design team can establish baselines for effective lab operations that incorporate EHS input and zoning and adjacency objectives to optimize the design. Not every condition may be met in design, however. Slab stiffness and vibration sensitivity, for example, may be significantly more stringent for labs using sensitive imaging equipment, lasers, or other specialized equipment. Floor-to-floor heights must be adequate, particularly in renovation or retrofitting projects within older buildings where ventilations accommodations can result in a design challenge.  

Safety criteria related to laboratories did not begin to be formalized in earnest until the passing of the Occupational Safety & Health Act and the creation of the Occupational Health & Safety Administration in 1971. The OSHA Lab Guidelines (OSHA 3404-11R) include a series of standards pertaining to workplace safety, chemical hazards and handling procedures for materials and animals. Later, the Biological and Biomedical fields released more standards for lab design guidelines related to biosafety and infectious disease (BSL-1 through BSL-4). Biological hazards are jointly regulated by USDA (ARS Guidelines and Animal Select Agent) and CDC (BMBL and Human Select Agent), and there are corresponding design guidelines by each, as well as the NIH.  Of these, the NIH Design Requirements Manual provides the most prescriptive design criteria for laboratories. 

While the guidelines are designed to address specifics of the lab design and operations, there are also building codes that dictate limitations of lab constructability. The primary references for lab building codes will be the International Building Code and NFPA 45 (Standard on Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals), while the International Fire Code is also referenced.  These codes serve to identify constructed limits on control areas, maximum allowable quantities (MAQ’s) of chemicals permitted within those control areas, and life safety elements related to laboratory construction. While not all laboratories utilize chemicals, the diagram below illustrates the restrictions on usage at varying levels within a building that need to be considered for any labs that do.  

It’s important to recognize the distinction between codes and guidelines. Codes are enforceable and rooted in life safety, setting the minimum requirements for building and operating a lab safely. Guidelines not only address safety elements, they also consider the comfort, well-being, and usability of researchers. Labs are not only research environments, they’re workplaces, and guidelines that consider human-factored design elements create spaces that optimize both safety and functionality.