- Beware of the architect and his need for aesthetics which may value out the occupants needs for the building. If you get private $ as someone mentioned below, they will be even more aggressive about what things look like and not how they function. Case
in point, I fought hard for a large freight elevator that could be locked while taking chemicals reagents up and move large pieces of equipment up floors. This got "engineered" out as the larger elevator cut into the "lines" the architect wanted going up
the floors in the foyer. There was nothing about function, this was strictly aesthetic.
In theater we would say this what would happen if we were foolish enough to put the Set Designer in charge of the whole show.
Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist
President: Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, Inc.
Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE
181 Thompson St., #23
New York, NY 10012 212-777-0062
-----Original Message-----
From: Vivian L. Longacre <vlongacr**At_Symbol_Here**CALPOLY.EDU>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Sat, Nov 18, 2017 4:00 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] New Science Building- Things to Look Out For
We completed a six story science building (Chem/Biochem, Physics, Soil Science) 4 years ago. At the time I was a technician for Chem/Biochem, now in EH&S for the campus. I was lucky enough to be included on the building committee and my opinions were
valued. Some of my thoughts and struggles on the process:
- Involve the technical staff. They work in the building, do maintenance on the safety and lab equipment and know what works.
- We used a lab planner along with the architects in the initial design which helped, but there is still a large amount the lab planners do NOT know about actually working in a lab.
- Beware of the architect and his need for aesthetics which may value out the occupants needs for the building. If you get private $ as someone mentioned below, they will be even more aggressive about what things look like and not how they function. Case
in point, I fought hard for a large freight elevator that could be locked while taking chemicals reagents up and move large pieces of equipment up floors. This got "engineered" out as the larger elevator cut into the "lines" the architect wanted going up
the floors in the foyer. There was nothing about function, this was strictly aesthetic.
- Be wary of over engineering of utilities and spaces. The lab planner and architect designed a large room for a specialized deionization system to feed the building. This seemed way over kill to me and also something difficult to maintain as a technician.
Another faculty member and I asked for other institutions that had this DI system installed and got on the phone to talk about their system and were quickly told it had been a nightmare to maintain from the get go. We were able to get this taken out.
Best of luck!
Vivian
Vivian Longacre
Safety Training Specialist, RSO
Environmental Health & Safety
Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, California
Direct 805.756.6628
Hi All,
Once you=E2=80™re done hashing out all the building design issues, don't forget about the construction side of it.
Someone needs to keep an eye on the lowest bidder who is building it.
We've run into a couple situations where something was obviously wrong and the guys doing the work didn't want to even ask about it because =E2=80=98That's what's
on the blueprint.'
(Don=E2=80™t worry, we got them to move the transformer out from directly in front of a door)
Also, don't believe them when they say they've tested something like monitoring systems.
Make sure equipment and HVAC units are installed correctly and no shortcuts have been taken.
-Brady
Perfect companion piece to read. And you shouldn't have to "fight" for any of this.
Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist
President: Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, Inc.
Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE
New York, NY 10012 212-777-0062
=B7
Appropriately sized spaces to accommodate students with disabilities (and service dogs or signers for hearing impaired students)
=B7
Be prepared to fight for drains for your safety showers
=B7
Ample storage space away from the benchtops for coats, backpacks, purses, etc.
=B7
Generous fume hood/bench space for each student
=B7
Do you require balance/instrument rooms that are separate from the labs?
=B7
Think about what you need in terms of data ports, AV equipment, and large monitors and their placement within the rooms
=B7
A desk up front for your TA and design the labs so that the TA has a clear line of sight to all of the students, if possible
=B7
Intercom system needed?
=B7
What do you need for the prep room and stockroom? Storage systems, benches, fume hoods, etc.
=B7
Fire suppression systems - the project manager will require your full chemical inventory for this
=B7
Equipment that will require special electrical outlets
=B7
Placement of white boards/blackboards in the labs
=B7
Dispensing hoods for experimental work and also for the haz waste containers in the labs
Just a few thoughts on a Friday. Feel free to contact me directly if you have additional questions. As you can tell, we went through this a few years ago
to totally renovate some labs on the Evansdale campus.
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
DCHAS Fellow - American Chemical Society
We're in the planning process for a new science building (we're a two-year community college with a strong STEM reputation and a very small informal undergrad research program). Does anyone have any lessons learned
or other recommendations as we start working with the architects when it comes to planning out our chemistry labs?
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