Webinar Review: Building the Sustainable Automated Lab of the Future
Adam Harper, studio director, senior associate, Gensler
As automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) transform the pace and possibilities of scientific research, laboratories are entering a new era—one defined as much by data and energy demands as by discovery itself. But this transformation isn’t just happening at the bench. It’s fundamentally reshaping how labs are designed, built, and operated.
In the on-demand Lab Design webinar “How to Build a Sustainable Automated Lab,” experts from Gensler—Adam Harper, studio director/senior associate; Megan Skarkas, architect; and Monica Moore-Žigo, AIA, laboratory architect/associate—discuss the implications of automation on lab infrastructure, sustainability, and human experience. The conversation offers valuable lessons for architects, facility managers, and research leaders seeking to future-proof their investments.
The webinar can be accessed for free on demand viewing. Contact Lab Design at aia@labdesignconference.com to obtain 1 LU for completing this course.
Harper, Skarkas, and Moore-Žigo spoke to Lab Design News about this webinar and how the convergence of automation, sustainability, and flexible design is redefining what it means to build laboratories for the future.
A rapidly evolving landscape
Over the past decade, automation has moved from a specialized capability to a defining feature of research environments. Yet the panelists emphasized that while the benefits are transformative, the design challenges are equally significant.
“There are a few different perspectives on this: from a sustainability perspective, the biggest shift is the simply amount of power required. A 10X increase in electricity needs for an industry that is already power-intensive is a daunting proposition. From a research perspective, the rapid increases in the discovery process are drastically reducing speed to market and allowing organizations to increasingly target personalized medicine. From a design perspective, the balance of space types is evolving,” say Harper, Skarkas, and Moore-Žigo.
Automation is also driving a rethinking of workplace culture and spatial priorities. As the speakers explain, “The advent of lab automation should lead to more collaboration outside of the technical space, which means more collaboration space. We are also seeing a significant increase in Allied Staff headcount and associated space needs as companies customize and maintain increasingly complex automated systems.”
For project teams, that means design strategies must address not just the machines, but the people who work with them. “Project teams need to pay attention to all of these trends as the industry evolves in order to maximize the value of their investment in the new technology,” they note.
Managing power—and carbon—at scale
Megan Skarkas, architect, Gensler
Among the most urgent challenges facing automation-ready facilities is energy. Labs already consume three to five times more energy per square foot than office buildings, and automation is pushing that figure higher.
“There are a number of sustainable lab buildings already on the market using a number of tried and true sustainable strategies. A high-performance envelope, heat recovery wheel, and ground source heat pumps, for example, can be used together in a Net Zero lab building,” says the Gensler team. “As the power demands increase, however, these strategies become the baseline and additional measures are needed to maintain carbon neutrality.”
To stay ahead, they recommend layering in both established and emerging technologies. “Some established approaches, like in-line cooling and raised floor distribution, can help offset some of the demand, but innovative new technology is what will really tip the scale,” they say. “Air source carbon capture, for example, has enormous potential when applied to lab systems that are already changing 100 percent of the air six times an hour.”
Beyond systems-level interventions, they point to activity-based lab design—an approach that organizes equipment by task rather than assigning each researcher a dedicated workspace—as a promising sustainability strategy. This approach, says the team, “may also hold the key to reducing lab space needs. Less lab space will in turn reduce the associated energy consumption.”
Lessons from the field
While the opportunities of automation are immense, so too are the risks of failing to anticipate its evolution. The speakers caution that one of the biggest pitfalls in automation-ready design is overcommitting to a single vendor or technology.
“A major lesson is that the lab automation market is rapidly evolving and specific vendors may fold and/or be acquired by a competitor. Thus, we should be cautious to design lab space with a specific product/vendor in mind,” they advise. “Using flexible design strategies that can support a variety of different automation vendors often delivers the greatest value.”
This principle—design for flexibility—is echoed throughout the webinar as a key to long-term success. Whether anticipating future equipment, new workflows, or different staffing patterns, adaptable infrastructure is essential to sustainability and cost control.
The speakers also share insights from a recent project in New England that demonstrates both the promise and limits of current sustainable design approaches. “We can share that a recent headquarters project in Cambridge, MA was designed to be carbon neutral using the strategies noted above (high performance envelope, heat recovery wheel, heat pumps, etc.). This project did include automated labs, but does not use the full capacity of the building systems—i.e., if the footprint of automated labs increases to match the building’s capacity, it is unlikely that the project would remain carbon neutral. Additional strategies, such as carbon capture, would be needed to fill the gap.”
Designing for people in the age of automation
Monica Moore-Žigo, AIA, laboratory architect, associate, Gensler
Automation is not only transforming the physical lab—it’s transforming the people who work within it. As the speakers observe, “The advent of engineering and computer science appears to be the greatest shift.” The modern research lab is increasingly a multidisciplinary environment where biologists, engineers, and data scientists collaborate side by side.
That shift demands more than just power and data connections; it requires environments that foster collaboration, adaptability, and learning. Spaces that once prioritized bench density must now make room for flexible meeting areas, programming labs, and visualization zones—environments that reflect the growing fusion of physical experimentation and digital innovation.
When asked for their top piece of advice for teams starting new lab projects, the speakers offer a pragmatic roadmap: “Design the central building systems with everything you think you’ll ever need, but only build out what you need Day 1 in each lab space. This will create space above the ceiling for future pathways, etc.”
Looking ahead, the speakers envision a future in which automation could help decouple research from traditional real estate constraints. “Fully remote research space,” they say, could change the geography of science itself. “The most sustainable thing we can do is to reuse existing building stock. If automated lab space can be fully remote, the lab can be in an abandoned suburban mall while the scientists continue to live in the city—i.e. close to the amenities, universities, and transportation options that attract and retain talent.”
Watch the webinar on demand
For those planning, designing, or operating research facilities, this on-demand session offers a deep dive into the practical and strategic dimensions of automation-ready, sustainable lab design. From infrastructure planning and lifecycle thinking to flexible design and future-forward sustainability measures, “How to Build a Sustainable Automated Lab” provides actionable insights from one of the industry’s leading design teams.
Watch the full webinar on demand to explore the complete conversation and gain tools to help your organization prepare for the next generation of automated, sustainable research environments. Contact Lab Design at aia@labdesignconference.com to obtain 1 LU for completing this course.
