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Why Holistic Planning Leads to Better Labs: On the Floor at the Lab Design Conference
In this video interview from the 2026 Lab Design Conference, Aimée Smith of RWDI and the Lab Design editorial board shares practical advice for designing high-performing, sustainable laboratories
In Memoriam: Alyssa Moore
Lab Design and LabX Media Group honor the life and legacy of Alyssa Moore, whose work and relationships helped shape our community and events
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
Elevating Lab Design: AMRF Earns Special Mention for Sustainable Renovation
The NRC’s $77 million AMRF project in Ontario transforms an occupied, conventional lab building into a vertically expanded, LEED Gold, highly flexible, and electrified research facility—earning a 2026 Design Excellence Special Mention while serving as a scalable model for modern, low-carbon laboratory design
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
Breathing New Life into an Old Asset: University of Waterloo Wins Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—Renovation
The University of Waterloo’s Earth Sciences & Chemistry Building Level 3 renovation modernizes a 1960s-era research facility through major spatial reconfiguration and high-performance infrastructure upgrades while maintaining live operations, earning the Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—Renovation prize in the 2026 Design Excellence Awards
Sustainability by Design: L’Oréal’s Prize-Winning Research Hub
The L’Oréal North American Research & Innovation Center earned a Design Excellence Award for seamlessly integrating advanced laboratory functionality with sustainability and human-centered design to create a high-performance, collaboration-driven research environment
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
A*STAR Infectious Disease Labs Earns Excellence in Interior Design
The renovation of A*STAR’s Infectious Disease Labs in Singapore earned the 2026 Design Excellence Award for Excellence in Interior Design by transforming a complex biosafety research environment through strategic planning, intuitive wayfinding, and user-focused design features that enhance safety, navigation, and day-to-day usability
Lab Design Conference Tours Spotlight Real-World Research Environments
The 2026 Lab Design Conference offered guided tours of active research, innovation, and environmental laboratories across Orlando, led by both project teams and lab users, to directly observe how design decisions translate into real-world workflow, collaboration, and operational performance