DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR RESEARCH LABORATORIES

When designing a laboratory building, the relationships between the labs, offices, and corridors have an important influence on the image and operations of the facility. Where are adjacencies critical? Do the occupants want visual connections between spaces? How important is daylight? Next week Perkins & Will architect Daniel D. Watch will explore some of these relationships and suggest how to select the right configuration.

RIDING THE WAVE TOWARD ECOLOGICAL DESIGN

"Most buildings are terrible, they're unhealthy, and they're bad for the soul." Fred Stitt. director of the San Francisco Institute of Architecture, didn't mince words as he opened the Eco Wave 2003 conference in Oakland, California last month. The conference, like ecological design itself, ran the gamut from practical to idealistic. (Pictured: a dense, pedestrian-friendly development drawn by Richard Register, president of Ecocity Builders.) Next week environmental writer Nancy Novitski will highlight some of these ideas.

NEED MORE ROOM? ADD A FLOOR

When the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta needed a new student recreation center, they found the space for it in an unusual way. They converted the 1996 Olympic swimming and diving venue into a multipurpose facility by stretching a new floor across the entire span above the existing pool and spectator seating. St. Louis-based Hastings & Chivetta Architects, Inc. designed the renovation. Next week we'll see how they did it.