Question posed by PKAL:
Given what we've learned from recent experiences in designing new spaces for undergraduate STEM communities, and given the new opportunities and challenges facing our students, our society, including new directions in science and technology, what kind of questions do you wish your clients or prospective clients were now asking you, in the process of shaping new spaces for science?
Responses
We see science curricula evolving into more and more interdisciplinary programs with contextual information woven into the teaching of science courses. How can we build flexibility into the design of our teaching and research labs to ensure their long term accommodation of interdisciplinary initiatives?
And/or:
With the energy demands of a new science facility, we are building the most complicated and expensive building to operate and maintain on campus. With the rising cost of energy, how do we ensure that our building is sustainable in the next decades?
Submitted by: Shirine Boulos, Ellenzweig Associates
Our last science building was designed 30 years ago. Let's assume that we won't have this opportunity again for the next 30 years. How can we think broadly enough to insure that this design will meet our vision until that time?
Submitted by: James Baird, Holabird & Root
We are struggling with the real need for one-pass air in laboratories due to the ever increasing cost of energy. The thought is that science is changing using less chemical applications and more computational applications - even on the bench. How do we determine what the real need for BSL2 laboratories is to be in the future?
How does simulation and virtual testing affect the design of laboratories in the future?
Submitted by: Cynthia Walston, FKP Architects
We have a need and an opportunity to update our science facilities. I know how we currently work, instruct and research today at XYZ College, but I know we need to integrate flexibility into our science lab facility to make it more adept to future science pedagogies and research (for example, our undergrads are participating in our research programs today...something we didn't have 10 years ago around here). How do I best solicit the level of flexibility needed for this institution in 10, 20, 50 years? How do I define that flexibility, what it may cost, get buy-in?
What is the alternative to four walls, bench-casework and a fume-hood in the defining the science teaching environment of the future? a.k.a - Where will science instruction take place in 10, 20, 50 years?
- Will it be physical or virtual?
Submitted by: Richard Smith, Loebl Schlossman & Hackl
PKAL questions we wish clients would ask of us (and vice versa) regarding the next generation of science facilities:
- How can this science facility program achieve distinction for our institution?
- How can you help us make research and teaching the same thing?
- Can you participate with us in developing our institutional strategic plan for STEM sciences?
- What is the one thing about design that you think will allow us to do better science ten years from now?
Submitted by: Zibby Ericson, Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott
Many recent projects have encountered sharp construction cost escalation during the design and construction period. Administration has encouraged the project team to explore "value engineering" in order to bring the projects in closer to budget. What proportions of the "value engineering" ideas that are taken affect the core mission of the project and are added back in at greater cost at a later date? What are some examples of VE ideas that you wish you could take back?
On the other hand, what are some VE ideas that worked?
Submitted by: Mark S. Reed, William Wilson Associated Architects
Considering the shortcomings we see today with the Sputnik-era buildings designed 35-40 years ago, how do we anticipate the next 20-30 years with greater foresight?
How can we make greater use of our teaching laboratory space for different things to improve space utilization? How do issues of appropriate laboratory support space and availability of support staff impact these discussions?
How can we best leverage our limited space/dollars to best support undergraduate research for faculty and students? What are the advantages/disadvantages of private vs. shared research spaces?
Submitted by: Richard Heinz, Research Facilities Design
How do we make the best utilization of teaching labs that are expensive to build and maintain, now and as our curriculum evolves?
Submitted by: Laurie A. Sperling, Health, Education + Research Associates, Inc.
As more programs are becoming interdisciplinary, are there better ways to use labs for more than one class so they don't sit idle many hours of the day?
Are there ways to move beyond a modular lab design that have less casework for storage and allow more freedom for scientific exploration?
We are finding more ways to "green" the facilities, are there ways to green the curriculum that require less resources, fewer fume hoods, more simulation etc.?
Submitted by: Alan Hohlfelder, MacLachlan Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
This year, about 1.4 million undergraduates will earn a degree. The vast majority (close to 90%) will not be science majors. Nevertheless, most students will be required to take at least one science course, sometimes two - often the course will need to have a lab component. Baby-bio, cookie-cutter chemistry, and physics for poets are simply watered down versions of what is taught to the majors.
A number of colleges and universities are exploring creative ways to teach science to the non-science major. Drury University, James Madison, and Stanford are examples of such institutions.
Is the traditional science lab the proper setting for these new approaches or should we step back and rethink the nature of the physical setting and requirements for establishing a learning environment for the non-science student - an environment that will need to evolve as research in how students learn transforms the programs?
Submitted by: Art Lidsky, Dober, Lidsky, Craig and Associates, Inc
Where do we strike the balance between designing custom laboratories for a particular researcher or teaching faculty and yet proving the best flexibility to reduce the energy and material waste necessary to accommodate new initiatives by the same occupants or the next researchers to occupy the space?
If we have any hope of achieving the 2010 Challenge to reduce and ultimately eliminate carbon based fuel consumption, what are the three most promising advances in building technology that we can successfully employ in the next two years to approach this target? How can the day-to-day use of laboratory space by end users be modified to significantly reduce energy consumption without compromising their desired research and teaching initiatives?
Sumbitted by: Terry Scott Forbes, VMDO Architects PC
Questions to be asked of us from a client pertaining to Sustainability and Life Cycle Costs:
Can you help us put more focus on a lab building's life cycle costs in concert with its first costs?
Can you help us craft a science building sustainability initiative that can help save money, be used as a tool to recruit faculty, be used with fund raising, and even be integrated into science education to build enthusiasm among students (the next generation of consumers)?
Can you provide guidance on how best to implement those aspects of Labs21 that promote sustainability over time?
Submitted by: Chris Cowansage, SST Planners Inc
One burning question that has been coming up recently is:
How do you design a facility and curriculum for a fully integrated and truly interdisciplinary 'freshman year experience' in science (or engineering), where all freshmen get a cross-discipline exposure to all basic science disciplines (or all engineering disciplines) prior to students declaring a major?
Submitted by: Howard Wertheimer, Lord, Aeck & Sargent
Two questions we wish our clients would ask:
- How can our new STEM facilities be a great place for learning science but also be in its own physical structure a tangible demonstration of scientific principles so that students can learn from the building itself?
- We are concerned about the environmental consequences of constructing too large a building. How can you help us optimize the size and design of the building so that it allows us to all we need to do but is not oversized?
Submitted by: Cahal Stephens, EYP
What are the best physical and cultural examples of truly interdisciplinary interaction that promotes breakthroughs in collaboration, learning, and discovery? How can we integrate elements of those successful environments into our culture and our buildings?
Where should we look - outside the traditional undergraduate academic setting- for environments that can help us expand our concept of what c human behaviors and physical spaces can be created to help meet our goals? What are the cultural, technological, and design benchmarks in our student's lives and how can our science building exceed the expectations set by those benchmarks?
How can we create truly flexible labs and classrooms that serve across disciplines and meet a wide range of dynamic interaction needs, and do not become the territory of a single department or discipline?
What can we do to better develop the public spaces, corridors, and outdoor spaces into paths of discovery and learning. How can we design the human pathways through our buildings to invite curiosity, and engage students in ways that builds excitement in science education?
Submitted by: Gary McNay, Perkins & Will
I would like clients to ask about how teaching labs can be designed to support interdisciplinary approaches to learning. In other words, how can we get away from the traditional allocation of teaching labs for the various disciplines? An interdisciplinary approach would have the benefit of allowing for innovative approaches to teaching that should result in more effective learning and better utilize the resources colleges and universities allocate to STEM facilities.
Sumbitted by: Michael Reagan, Burt Hill
Are there new technologies available that help students understand and visualize conceptually complex aspects of science?
How can a large scale lecture environment be configured to enhance collaborative and interactive learning?
What features in teaching laboratories enhance the learning experience for students in large enrollments of basic STEM courses?
Submitted by: Steven W. Ansel, The S / L / A / M Collaborative, Inc.