Articles:

This means we know what’s happening in the UK in terms of energy balance.

Office to lab conversions can make good economic sense, however risks and realistic cost and programme contingencies should be captured from day one to avoid future disappointment.Early strip-out, surveys, and review of existing information including the Health and Safety File are all good practice.. 11.

Sustainability..Existing offices may struggle to achieve the lab’s sustainability goals.. Reusing an existing building is one of the best ways to reduce carbon and achieve a project’s sustainability goals.However, labs consume a lot more energy than an office and this can still make some conversions extremely expensive and carbon-intensive to run without significant upgrades, which may be an even bigger issue in the long-run..

Sustainable labs are also more likely to attract environmentally-conscious staff and tenants, and life science businesses expecting to partner with larger companies (e.g.as a CRO or CDMO) may one day find themselves at risk – with many of these companies already moving towards BREEAM, LEED, WELL, and other accreditations for their own facilities.

While demand for labs currently far outweighs supply, this probably won’t always be the case, and sustainability could in the future become a critical differentiator in an increasingly competitive market.. 12.

Unattractive office to lab conversions may struggle in an increasingly competitive life sciences sector.. A recurring theme we hear from our clients is that talented scientists and lab technicians are increasingly hard to find and retain, and at the time of writing both roles are priorities under the UK Government’s skilled worker visa programme.A progressive regime.

The PETP team viewed emerging potential design solutions through two key lenses: effectiveness and efficiency.‘Effectiveness’ is the ability of a design to deliver the required rehabilitative outcome, while ‘efficiency’ is the total whole life cost required to achieve this outcome..

This collaborative assessment process included data visualisations and the transparent, objective evaluation of different potential solutions.The team was able to balance the different and often competing interests of stakeholders using a range of techniques, including use of Virtual Reality (VR) to simulate how the new building would work and help them understand and contribute to the design..