Biotechnology research facilities must respond to a unique set of demands in order to facilitate the manipulation of biological organisms for disease prevention, improved food production, more efficient waste disposal and more effective medicine. To accommodate genetic engineering research and techniques such as gene transfers, cloning and cell fusing, these facilities demand a thoughtful combination of sophisticated technologies that are totally flexible to respond to the constantly changing trends in the industry. Those trends reflect not only new approaches to research, but also the changing role of biotech research in economic development.
The convergence of nanotechnology with biotechnology has resulted in a new area of research involving molecular electronics, with the most well known product being the “lab on a chip.” Like many new trends in biotech research, molecular electronics has spawned numerous new instruments and robotic devices to replace the procedures traditionally performed by lab technicians. Additionally, the small scale of the materials used in research, such as molecular engineering, involves molecular, cellular, atomic and genetic elements that demand more sophisticated instruments and imaging devices. As a consequence, architects and lab planners must re-think traditional lab layouts to achieve maximum space utilization. As the space requirements for instrumentation have gradually overtaken those for traditional lab functions over the past 10 years, savvy designers have begun to move instruments from separate, though often contiguous, lab support areas into the core work areas, reducing the space allocated for traditional benches to a fraction of the total research area. At the same time, the area for researcher write-up has been relocated to adjacent group office environments.
Tech Specs
The technical specifications of these instruments are demanding more highly controlled environments. Biotech research areas now require vibration isolation, particulate-free, temperature and humidity stable, negatively pressurized spaces that nonetheless remain convenient for researcher access. The isolation of vibration is required by the imaging and spectroscopy instruments common in biotech research. Where typical office buildings are constructed allowing vibrations measured at 16,000 micro-inches per second at 84 decibals, biotech research facilities should be designed to allow only 2,000 micro-inches per second at 66 dB, which would be appropriate for most optical microscopes to 1000X. If electron microscopes are anticipated, these spaces may require areas that allow only 250 micro-inches per second at 48 dB. The cost to construct these vibration-isolated areas is not insignificant and they can restrict flexibility. Fortunately, a significant number of moveable, vibration isolation bench “breadboards,” floor platforms, tables and cradles are available on the market.
Many of the research procedures in biotech research facilities require particulate-free air, often achieved using high-efficiency particulate air filters, which are costly to install and operate. As a flexible alternative, many biotech research labs are utilizing various pieces of equipment such as biological-safety cabinets, which can be bench or floor mounted and may require separate exhaust depending on the nature of the research. Although previously used only in specialty lab support rooms to accommodate tissue cultures, bio-safety cabinets are replacing the standard lab benches when a higher level of air cleanliness is required. In addition, the requirement for fume hoods in biotech labs has been dropping and the amount of air required to maintain safe containment is also less as a result of a new style of “low-flow” fume hoods.
With the tremendous increase in electronic equipment – including not only lab equipment but also personal computers, cell phones, personal digital assistants, etc. – biotech research facilities face a tremendous increase in the amount of electromagnetic interference in the environment, also known as radio frequency interference. At the same time, researchers and equipment manufacturers are designing more and more sensitive analytical equipment that requires a clean electromagnetic environment in which to operate properly. The facilities solution to this paradox is the Faraday Cage, which greatly reduces EMI. While the traditional Faraday Cage, which uses copper screen and wave guides and provides 90 decibal signal attenuation, costs $600 per square foot, a very workable adaptation can be made for only about $1 per square foot. This variation creates lab partitions with steel studs, foil backed gyp board and conductive tape to provide continuity among the duct work, cable trays, conduit etc., and the foil “shield” can provide between 50 and 60 decibal signal attenuation at frequencies below 100 kilohertz or so.
With the advent of bioinformatics, where basic research is conducted by mining immense international databases, biotech instruments require powerful integrated computers. In some cases, computers are replacing whole labs. All lab benches must therefore be able to accommodate workstations and laptops that are either associated with these instruments or are used for other purposes by the biotech researcher. The benches must also provide access to power and networks either via hard-wired or wireless transmitters. Sufficient power outlets must be provided to limit the number of computers on a single circuit and avoid contamination of the power quality.
On the other hand, the need for lab service connections such as water, gas, air, vacuum, etc. is dropping and, in some cases, entire lab services are no longer required. For instance, many biotech research facilities are eliminating or significantly reducing the availability of natural gas. The Research Institute at University Hospitals of Cleveland is currently constructing a 320,000-gross-square-foot research facility entirely without natural gas as a lab service. Similarly, the lab benches at the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Mich., are designed with minimal lab service connections, no through-floor penetrations and completely flexible benches.
Many see the biotech market as a route to reverse the current economic downward trend and they are willing to allocate significant capital for aggressive research, development and marketing plans to spur the growth of this market. As an example, Arizona has pledged more than $120 million and has raised $90 million in less than six months in a successful bid for the Translational Genomics Research Institute, and plans to develop an internationally known research center. T-Gen will initially convert 10,000 square feet of warehouse space to labs, slated for completion by the end of the year. In addition to T-Gen’s own aggressive hiring and spin-off agenda, the Arizona Department of Commerce reports that the project has already had a significant catalytic effect in drawing new business to the area.
Other new financing and interest in biotech facilities is being fueled partially by partnerships and collaboration among biotech start-ups, major drug manufacturers and the research departments at major universities. T-Gen officials, for instance, have talked with representatives from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona to discuss how university researchers will work with the private organization. T-Gen also will meet with officials from Northern Arizona University and they are working on affiliations with the Mayo Clinic, Banner Health Systems and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, both in Phoenix. The Federal Drug Administration is continuing its interest in accelerating new drug approval, including the implementation of a fast-track program for urgently needed therapies.
The acceleration in new biotech ventures, coupled with the advancing speed of computer technology and laboratory research techniques, is fueling a demand for faster and better delivery systems for these facilities. Design-build and fast-track schedules are becoming the common project delivery methods, with strategic planning devised to bring critical areas online well in advance of overall project completion. These schedules require not only tight project management, but also careful construction management to ensure uninterrupted operation of completed spaces as construction proceeds.
