Existing office buildings may struggle to accommodate more onerous laboratory fire and egress requirements.. A lab will most likely contain more flammable or hazardous materials and sources of ignition than an office.
Collaborative teams question the value drivers as they go along and they even question the problem statement.Sometimes problem statements can be rewritten – part way through a project, answers might be found but the team may determine they are insufficient, and perhaps the very question they are answering needs reframing.
Everything has to be fluid.This approach means that the architect or engineer does not simply design or build a structure; they become part of the business, seeking to solve a problem or open up new ways of working..In one instance, Bryden Wood were asked to design a factory.
They observed that workers had to wear heavy personal protective equipment (PPE) to enter a certain room.They asked themselves, ‘What if we imagined a scenario in which we didn’t need the chemical that makes the PPE necessary?’ Although it was beyond the scope of construction, they realised that wearing PPE for eight hours a day is hot and difficult, uncomfortable and inefficient, at odds with the values of the enterprise.
In the end everyone agreed that it would be ideal to eliminate the hazardous chemical.
This focus on the workers’ experience typifies the comprehensive and multifaceted approach of Design to Value.How do we demonstrate clear business cases for investment when many approaches are not yet ready for deployment and those that are ready have not been tried and tested?.
There is also a significant cultural change to work through as activities which were previously seen as high-value, almost crafts, become commodity services..There is clarity in the fact that changes in equipment and technology will have significant impact on buildings, structural loading, vibration control, floor-to-floor heights and special layout.. Less quantifiable is how buildings will need to change to support the change in the people operations of scientists, engineers, technicians and managers.
Laboratories can be sited in warehouse or industrial zones which could serve the need of building adaptability very well..However, will these locations help attract the minds and skills required to create the value and manage the transition?.