After the Webinar: What Owners Should Know About Occupied Lab Renovations
Gavin Keith, a Life Sciences Core Market Leader at DPR Construction, is co-author of this piece.
In our recent Lab Design News webinar, Occupied Lab Renovations: Timing, Staging, and Installation, we had the chance to build on ideas we first explored in our earlier article, Optimizing Lab Spaces: Construction-Driven Strategies for Minimal Downtime and Maximum Efficiency.
A lot of the questions that came in during the Q&A got right to the point. Most owners already understand that occupied lab renovations are complex. What they want to know is how to set the project up for success when the work is happening next to ongoing research, critical equipment, and building systems that are just as important to business continuity as manufacturing areas.
That is really the heart of it. Downtime is disruption. If the lab environment is not available, if it is compromised or contaminated, or if it is not able to accommodate the evolving science, then it is not being properly utilized for its intended purpose. That is why proper coordination and planning help prevent costly delays, keep research on track, and make sure the lab is ready for future advancements, technology shifts, regulatory compliance updates, and changing research priorities.
Existing conditions are still one of the biggest risks
One of the most common mistakes we see is starting with assumptions about the existing space instead of validating what is really there. Good as-builts are important, but documenting and verifying those as-built conditions is what really drives better planning. That includes the capacities and tie-ins of the existing utilities and systems, whether they are HVAC, lab gases, waste lines, power, or controls. It also means confirming the clearances and routing dimensions that are going to be available to install new systems.
If the drawings show a circuit, a shutoff valve, or a tie-in point and it is not actually there when the team goes to connect, that can quickly turn a simple activity into a much larger shutdown.
The same thing happens when the infrastructure does not have the capacity the project assumed it had. That is where owners can lose time and money very quickly, especially if those issues are discovered late. Laser scanning, VDC, and early field verification go a long way here, because existing conditions are still one of the most underestimated risks in active lab environments.
Phasing needs design input and construction input
Phasing also came up several times in the webinar, and for good reason. Owners often ask for phasing to be part of the design team’s scope, and it should be. The design team should be thinking through MEP connections, shutdown constraints, egress paths, and the overall sequencing of the work. But once the construction team gets involved, the phasing plan almost always gets refined because the lens shifts from design intent to constructability.
View Mike and Gavin’s on demand webinar, Occupied Lab Renovations: Timing, Staging, and Installation, for free. Sign up here for instant access.
That is not a problem. That is typically what happens on these projects. The team now has to think through circulation routes, access limitations, personnel and material flows, waste material streams, and how to get the work done without painting itself into a corner. In larger renovations especially, that is critical. The best answer is still to get the construction team involved as early as possible so that design and construction are shaping the phasing plan together.
It is also important to remember that phasing is not driven only by the building. It is driven by the users. Ongoing experiments, lab freezes, critical freezers, sensitive equipment, and key dates that affect ongoing research all need to be part of the conversation early. Getting all the stakeholders together and understanding what their key concerns are is what helps the team build a realistic plan instead of one that looks good on paper but falls apart in the field.
Temporary barriers and temporary systems are part of the work
Temporary conditions are not secondary on occupied lab renovations. They are part of the work. That includes temporary barriers, infection control measures, HEPA filters, anterooms, temporary utilities, MEP tie-ins, and all of the logistics required to keep adjacent labs operational and safe.
This gets especially important when a renovation touches active mechanical systems. Temporary cooling can sometimes be managed. Temporary exhaust is usually where things get more challenging, especially when fume hoods are involved. There is not one answer that works for every project. Sometimes there is a workaround. Sometimes a user can temporarily relocate. Sometimes the team needs to set up a temporary condition elsewhere. Sometimes the answer is that a piece of equipment has to come down for a defined number of hours. The key is to work through those issues with the user and trade partners well before the shutdown window arrives.
The same is true for temporary enclosures. There are several products and systems that can work well, especially movable wall systems that are durable, reusable, and flexible enough to adapt as the job changes. What matters most is that the barrier is secure, isolates the space properly for dust and cleaning, and still allows the right access for personnel, material flow, and waste flow. In some cases, acoustic treatment makes sense too, because noise is part of the issue, not just dust and access.
Communication should be constant
Planning is critical, but communication is what keeps the plan working once construction starts. We have found it is better to over communicate. That can be as simple as daily signage at the building entrance or around the construction area that tells occupants what to expect that day. There may be noise or vibration from equipment arrivals, or there may be need for a temporary redirection to enter or leave space. The more the building occupants and surrounding lab users understand what is happening, the better the project tends to go.
On more complicated projects, that communication may include morning huddles with the owner’s project lead and key stakeholders, end-of-day check-ins, TV monitors with updates, or email blasts. It is really client dependent, but the principle is the same. All stakeholders need to understand what is happening in the space, in the adjacent areas, and in the building itself.
The same goes for trade partners. They need clear expectations around access, parking, PPE, break areas, and how the day is going to run. Those details may sound small, but they can have a real impact on the client and on ongoing operations if they are not handled well.
Plan your work and work your plan
If there was one point that came through again and again in the webinar, it was this: plan your work and work your plan. That planning has to happen early and it has to involve the full project team, including stakeholders and trade partners. It also has to include the what-if conversations. At DPR, we call that going dark, and what that really means is asking all the what-if scenarios, talking them through as a team, and building mitigation plans before the work gets underway.
Gavin Keith, co-author of this piece, is a Life Sciences Core Market Leader at DPR Construction, one of the nation’s top technical builders. With extensive experience in laboratory construction and renovation, he specializes in integrating construction-driven solutions that enhance research environments, improve efficiency, and ensure long-term adaptability.
No team is going to identify everything. Every renovation has a challenge that comes up once a wall is opened or a tie-in is made. But when the team has taken the time to talk through the likely issues, the possible issues, and the building impacts that could affect safety or operations, it is much better prepared to respond without losing control of the project.
Occupied lab renovations are absolutely doable, but they take discipline. The better owners understand the risks early, validate existing conditions, involve the right partners, and communicate throughout the process, the more likely the project is to stay on schedule, stay on budget, and minimize downtime for the people doing the work inside the lab. And in these environments, quality matters because when the team is done, it needs to be done-done.
