Professional Profile: Jamie Huffman
Jamie Huffman, science + technology project director with Taylor Design
Jamie Huffman is science + technology project director with Taylor Design, based in San Diego, CA. Lab Design News spoke to Jamie about how his passion for ecology, design, and human-centered collaboration shapes his approach to lab planning and the future of science environments.
Q: If you weren't in this profession, what job would you like to have instead?
A: Five years ago, I would have said furniture designer and maker, going back to a passion and past life. But after diving headlong into the science and technology sector a decade ago and learning about the innovative technologies and discoveries our clients and others are so deeply passionate about, I would be a scientist and researcher. Couple that with my affinity for the great outdoors, my focus would be either in soil science, hydrology, forest ecology, or all the above. I’ve become fascinated—short of obsessed—with the science and health of our water, soil, and forests. All life, and everything we do, depends on these systems. And these systems depend on us to conserve and sustain them. I would want to lend my expertise in support of the greater mission, and I imagine that would take me into some pretty epic environments in the process.
Q: What is your favorite building, lab-related or not?
A: There are many for many reasons, but the bespoke “lab of the future” designed and built by Neri Oxman with Foster + Partners in NYC currently tops the list. Oxman integrates her atelier, BSL2 lab, and robotics lab into an interdisciplinary research and product development wonderland of creative process and scientific discovery. It celebrates the art of architecture at play with the beauty of nature explored within it. It’s stunning, spatially and conceptually.
Q: If you could collaborate with any architect, designer, or scientist (past or present), who would it be and why?
A: Dr. Suzanne Simard or Neri Oxman. Or both.
I first heard Dr. Simard several years ago on a podcast, sharing her discovery of the vast interconnectedness of forest ecology—that trees are in relationship, care for each other, and communicate through the mycorrhizal network in the forest floor. I was floored, changed forever—refer back to the job I’d like to have if I weren’t planning and designing lab environments. Her work continues to shape our understanding of our natural world and the management practices of our forests. I’ve been inspired to learn more, understand to a greater degree, and actively participate—especially through my role in AEC—in the conservation of our natural resources.
I would love to talk with Dr. Simard about a design scenario that supports her efforts to amplify her message and extend her research across the globe to elevate understanding of the beautiful complexities of forest ecology and to impact forest management policy and practice.
Neri Oxman—designer, researcher and curator of the Oxman Lab—and her research blending biology, art, architecture, product design, and manufacturing are of more recent interest. Oxman’s work honors the past and at the same time pushes into the future, creating new ways of looking at the natural and built world, challenging traditional standards and practices, even the formal process of design.
I’m interested in how Oxman might translate the principles that drove the concept and development of her lab to labs of other types and uses. With her focus on the natural environment, I’m also curious how her nature-centric perspective (co-production, co-habitation, and communication) might inform and perhaps cause us to reevaluate how we understand and employ sustainable practices in our projects at various scales.
Q: What trends are you seeing in lab design that you think will shape the future of the industry?
A: Current trends that are typically discussed—sustainability, biophilic design, views to nature, connection, collaboration, flexibility, adaptability, etc.—should maybe just be considered foundational at this point. AI and automation are certainly the latest influences on design considerations and there’s a lot baked into those two concepts alone that will continue to shape scientific processes and how AEC delivers labs and facilities long into the future. What I’m striving for and would like to see more of across the industry is twofold: a deeper intellectual and financial investment in context and beauty, and spaces that are uniquely and meaningfully informed by and respond directly to the science or process they are designed for. Both can be challenging prospects—for reasons of cost, turnover, repurposing, perceived necessity, and others—but there is value in effort and execution. It is on us that believe in the impact that a beautiful, meaningful space can have on wellbeing, productivity, and other benefits to advocate for it.
Q: What’s the most rewarding feedback you’ve received from a lab end-user?
A: Years ago, I left the firm I was working for, which meant I also left the client group I had the privilege of working with during that time. On my last day, the facility manager of one of the institutions wrote to thank me for my efforts on the projects we worked closely together on. I was grateful for the opportunity and moved by the sentiment. That appreciation is powerful; it proves to me that the investment we make in people is key to our collective success.
Q: What strategies do you use to engage scientists and researchers in the design process and gather meaningful input?
A: There are some typical fact-finding tools that I’ll offer early in the design process and throughout a project to inform process and program. Questionnaires and equipment lists are critical, and workshops lend valuable insight, but this is straightforward data collection. While necessary and helpful, in and around the data is the character and soul of a space, which can only come from context, from recognition of place and meaningful active engagement with the teams in the lab and those keeping the lab running. When possible, opportunities to connect with our principal investigators, end-users and facilities teams should start outside the lab, on a personal level, sometimes even before a project is discussed. When we invest in the people we serve in meaningful ways, we gain insights into how we might craft a space that far outweighs what an equipment list or room data sheet can tell us.
Q: For someone entering this career field, what advice would you give them?
A: Wear your passion for this work on your sleeve and be ready to roll those sleeves up to dig in alongside your end users. Be vulnerable and advocate for the success of the team. It’s not about what you know and proving it; it’s about showing up and listening and understanding the significance of the project beyond performance and profitability.
Q: What’s one lesson you’ve learned from working closely with lab end users that has changed the way you approach design?
A: Our scientist, research, and facilities partners will always know more than I do about what they do and be more attached to their “why”—why their job, their role, the project is important to them. It is my job to work alongside these teams and to advocate for their why. The design or planning, in the end, will reflect that.
