White Paper: Co-lab(oration): Leveraging Technology and Architecture to Support Collaboration for Scientific Research
What if you could take an imaginary, visionary tour of an interdisciplinary science and engineering building that features an extraordinary variety of spaces and innovations? You could be offered a “what can be” glimpse into the future of academic and private institutions globally, in a cordial, humorous manner. The attached 16-page white paper does just that—it envisions a tour though a state-of-the-art interdisciplinary science and engineering building showcasing current and future trends emerging in many academic and private intuitions around the globe.
There are ideas based on feedback, architectural visioning sessions and lessons learned from top research groups preparing for the next generation of scientific minds. This article offers just a sample—download the free white paper to learn more.
Come join such a tour by exploring the "Co-lab,” where researchers and students intersect with science, engineering, business, and society.
Image: Courtesy of CannonDesign
The tour highlights a variety of spaces that constitute the research ecosystem, generally grouped into common areas, research spaces, making and incubating spaces, as well as formal and informal instructional spaces. The tour includes illustrations of how the spaces are inhabited and how they support one another with examples and photos from recent state-of-the-art buildings that demonstrate the concepts.
Beginning with the Common Areas, you will step into a vibrant hub designed to foster collaboration, mirroring the unpredictability and dynamism of scientific discovery. In spaces named after natural processes, technology and architecture converge to facilitate interdisciplinary interactions. You will marvel at how the integration of smart building technologies leads to efficient space utilization, as this building is a testament to both foresight and adaptability, and the well-being of its diverse users.
As you move through the "Co-lab Research Spaces," the building's flexibility becomes evident. Research labs are designed to evolve with changing needs, equipped with advanced IT infrastructure, big data visualization, and welcoming spaces that foster partnerships between the arts, computer sciences, and the humanities. Adaptable laboratories empower researchers to explore a range of scientific domains, with features such as specialized cleanroom suites and an anechoic chamber. Visual connection into these active spaces is an important component of adding energy to the building, but also to showcase the interesting work and bridging the research components with the instructional labs and classroom spaces.
Image: Courtesy of CannonDesign
Students and researchers enjoy spaces to enable interaction with the latest in technology. For example, areas for students to review a project with AR googles on allows them to virtually interact and test an experiment before they make a physical mess. The exposed tech infrastructure serves as a teaching tool, revealing the building's supercomputer and creating not just space for “teachable moments” but “teachable environments.” Maker spaces, classrooms, teaching labs, and an idea incubator are evidence that this science and engineering building is a testament to innovation, adaptability, and the limitless possibilities that emerge when technology, architecture, and human creativity converge. Students, researchers, and staff collaborate to craft experiments and inventions, armed with an array of traditional and cutting-edge tools, fostering an environment where innovation thrives. Specialized areas cater to biological research, ensuring safe experimentation with biosafety measures in place. Recording booths facilitate the creation of online tutorials and maker podcasts, enhancing knowledge sharing.
Image: Courtesy of CannonDesign
A spirit of DIY (do it yourself) and DIWO (do it with others) innovation thrives, driving continuous enhancements and improvements. With areas for small group work to larger formal sessions to large hack-a-thons, this venue is built on a customizable framework to harness the creative energies of the maker crowd. The fundamental concept is that a future-focused building should offer “places for doing” as a public resource just as “places for learning” are found in the academic environment.
In educational areas, hybrid class-labs, named after scientific icons, foster collaborative interactions among students and faculty. Interactive touchscreens on laboratory benches empower self-paced learning and active participation in experiments. The labs are adaptable, supporting diverse teaching and learning pedagogies. With biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering under one roof, the potential for groundbreaking cross-disciplinary research is boundless. These instructional labs seamlessly meld with a recording studio, facilitating the capture of experiments and lectures. Faculty can record and refine lectures, accommodating flexible teaching methods like the "flipped classroom" and participate in hybrid teaching/learning.
A dynamic “sandbox” environment empowers faculty to explore emerging teaching technologies and methods. It offers opportunities for pre-recording lectures using advanced systems and experimentation with virtual and augmented reality, nurturing faculty development and teaching innovation. Not every space is high-tech, however—a seminar room provides a space for high-level intellectual exchanges; a sanctuary where stimulating discussions unfold, with students defending their dissertations, culminating their educational journey.
As the tour concludes, the Co-lab’s commitment to fostering innovation, collaboration, and learning is emphasized, aligning with Albert Einstein's belief that true research is an ever-evolving process. The authors/tour guides, both experienced lab facilities designers and practitioners, invite you to participate on this journey to envision a future where science, engineering, and education intertwine to shape the next generation of scientific minds.
To learn more, please download our free 16-page white paper at the link below.
Regal Leftwich, AIA, AICAE, LEED AP BD+C, is Vice President/Laboratory Planner at CannonDesign. Joseph Bocchiaro III, PhD, CStd, CTS-D, CTS-I, ISF-C, is Principal Consultant at NV5.
Fill out the form below to download this free white paper.