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Connecting Campus and Community at George Mason University: Special Mention—Campus to Community Integration
The Life Sciences and Engineering Building at George Mason University redefines academic lab design by using transparency, shared interdisciplinary spaces, and community-facing features to seamlessly connect campus research with public engagement and regional innovation
High-Performance Labs, Right-Sized Budgets: The Value Design Approach
Replacing traditional cost-cutting value engineering with a proactive, collaborative value design approach enables science and technology facilities to optimize performance, flexibility, and lifecycle costs from the outset
User Input, Real Impact: Simulation Lab Recognized with Special Mention—User Engagement
At WashU School of Medicine, the Multidisciplinary Surgical Simulation Lab demonstrates how intensive user engagement and iterative mockups shaped a highly flexible, ergonomic training space that earned Special Mention for User Engagement in the 2026 Design Excellence Awards
Aggie Square Wins Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—New Build in Design Excellence Awards
Aggie Square at UC Davis, winner of the Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—New Build category in the 2026 Design Excellence Awards, brings together research, industry, education, and community functions within a connected ecosystem, where shared spaces and “soft” programmatic connections support everyday interaction and large-scale collaboration
Future-Ready Labs Take Focus at Lab Design Conference in Orlando
The Lab Design Conference’s second day of sessions highlighted adaptive reuse, sustainability, automation, and user-centered design through a mix of expert-led presentations and interactive discussions
The Science of Today’s Lab Design: Creating Shared and Versatile Spaces
Laboratories are increasingly being designed as flexible, long-term assets using “long life, loose fit” principles—emphasizing modular layouts, shared resources, and adaptable infrastructure—to accommodate evolving research needs and multi-tenant use
Helping Lab Tenants Start and Scale with Confidence
LifeSciKY, located within the OneNKY Center in Covington, KY, combines flexible lab design, shared infrastructure, and scalable private suites to create a cost-effective, customizable incubator environment that supports the growth of early-stage and international life science companies
Designing Flexible Laboratories with Overhead Power Distribution
Overhead plug-in busway systems enable more flexible, scalable laboratory design by replacing fixed conduit-based wiring with repositionable, continuous power access that reduces renovation disruption, improves efficiency, and supports evolving lab layouts over time
From Baked Beans to Scientific Breakthroughs: Northeastern’s Roux Institute
The Roux Institute project transforms Portland’s historic B&M Baked Beans factory into a flexible, all-electric research campus by combining adaptive reuse, advanced digital design, and Maine-sourced building materials to support evolving needs in digital engineering and life sciences
Custom University Labs: Attracting Top Talent with Design Collaborations
Universities are increasingly partnering with architects to design highly customized labs—often within aging buildings—to attract top-tier researchers, translating complex scientific needs into flexible, future-ready spaces that support cutting-edge discovery