Flooring & Walls Digital Conference
Original Air Date:
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Join Lab Design and our experts for this free digital conference where experts will cover key factors like material selection, chemical resistance, and maintenance
Laboratory flooring and wall design are critical in ensuring safety, durability, and compliance in lab environments. Understanding the specific needs of these surfaces is essential to creating spaces that support long-term functionality and meet industry standards. Careful attention to material selection, installation methods, and maintenance considerations helps ensure performance, cleanliness, and regulatory compliance. What questions do you need to ask lab end users in order to plan the ideal layout and select the right materials for your project?
Join Lab Design on June 26, 2025, for this virtual event on Flooring & Walls, part of the Lab Design Digital Conference series. Industry experts will discuss the key factors in selecting and installing lab flooring and walls, including material durability, chemical resistance, ease of maintenance, and safety features. The event will cover the latest innovations in sustainable materials and finishes designed to enhance both functionality and aesthetics. Attendees will gain valuable insights into best practices for designing and renovating lab spaces with optimized flooring and walls, ensuring compliance with safety and industry standards.
Interactive Q&A sessions will provide opportunities to engage directly with experts and receive customized advice for your lab projects. Register for free to join live or access on demand.
The webinars in the Lab Design Digital Conference series are free to attend live and/or on demand. Select sessions will be available for AIA/HSW continuing education credit.
View on demand
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Agenda
11:00am-12:00pm ET
Materials Matter: Getting to the Bottom of Laboratory Flooring Selection and Design
When considering key design criteria for lab environments, materiality can sometimes become an afterthought, particularly flooring. However, the performance and design of flooring can have a critical impact on whether a lab is able to function correctly. Not only do different environments require different flooring materials, but the patterns designed into the floor can also align with a facility's standard operating procedures to make the space both more functional and aesthetically pleasing. It is beneficial to understand a project's flooring needs early on, since costs can vary widely and it is important to have the correct amount allocated in the budget before progressing too far the in the rest of the design and material specification for the project.
This webinar will delve into some common laboratory environments, their flooring requirements, and how to use flooring to effectively optimize functional design.
Learning objectives:
Identify the performance and safety requirements of various laboratory environments and how flooring materials can meet these needs.
Evaluate how flooring design—such as color, patterns, and transitions—can support workflow, zoning, and standard operating procedures within laboratory spaces.
Recognize the importance of addressing flooring specifications early in the lab planning process to avoid budgetary and design conflicts later in the project.
Apply best practices for selecting and integrating flooring solutions that contribute to both the functional and aesthetic goals of laboratory facilities.
This course is approved by AIA CES for 1 LU credit
Speaker
Lori Ambrusch
Director, Science & Technology
Ware Malcomb
12:30-1:30pm ET
Supporting Laboratory Flexibility with Demountable Walls
Demountable walls are changing laboratory design by offering unparalleled flexibility. With the right utility and infrastructure in place, these cost-effective walls can be reconfigurable in a timely manner, allowing laboratories to adapt to changing research needs and technological advancements while minimizing downtime and disruption. This adaptability supports a dynamic research environment, fostering innovation and collaboration. Their modular nature also promotes sustainability by minimizing waste, and they enhance health and safety by allowing for better airflow and ventilation and offering easier cleaning and maintenance. Additionally, these walls can be equipped with advanced safety features, such as fire-resistant materials and soundproofing, to protect researchers and equipment.
Join this session to learn more about how integrating demountable walls in laboratories can help end-users efficiently respond to evolving scientific demands, optimize space utilization, and create a versatile, future-proof workspace.
Learning objectives:
The attendee will take away from the presentation references to designing a flexible and seismically safe demountable wall partition for laboratories
The attendee will be able to identify cleanable/safe demountable wall material types per the laboratory’s unique cleanliness requirements
The attendee will get a brief on strategies for safe mechanical and electrical zoning designs with the utilization of demountable walls
The attendee will get an overview of pressurization opportunities utilizing demountable walls
This course is approved by AIA CES for 1 LU/HSW credit
Rebekah Gandy
South Central Sciences Practice Area Leader
Gensler
Fannie Cheung
San Francisco/Bay Area Science Leader
Gensler
2:00-3:00pm ET
Floor Vibration and Sensitive Environments: Ensuring Performance in Lab and Medical Spaces
Vibration control in laboratory and medical facilities is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of floor and wall design. In these environments, even low levels of floor vibration can impact sensitive equipment, experimental results, or procedures involving delicate instruments. As labs are increasingly located in repurposed buildings or multi-use developments, addressing vibration becomes more complex—and more important.
In this webinar, structural engineers Mohamed ElBatanouny, Christine Freisinger, and Richard Lindenberg will share practical guidance on identifying, evaluating, and mitigating floor vibration issues specifically for laboratories, medical spaces, and research environments. The session will emphasize how flooring design plays a critical role in supporting sensitive operations—and how, in adaptive reuse scenarios, special attention must be given to identifying and addressing vibration-related limitations inherited from the original structure.
Learning objectives:
Describe industry specification and vibration criteria relevant to lab and medical environments (e.g., VC curves and ISO standards)
Understand the effects of vibration on laboratory procedures, imaging systems, and precision equipment, as well as on occupant comfort
Identify techniques for investigating vibration issues, including field monitoring, modeling, and predictive analysis in design
Explore practical mitigation strategies commonly used in lab and medical environments, including structural stiffening, vibration isolation systems, and damping techniques—especially critical in adaptive reuse or renovation projects
This webinar is tailored for lab planners, facility managers, architects, and engineers involved in the design or renovation of lab and medical environments where sensitive operations depend on vibration control.
This course is approved by AIA CES for 1 LU credit
Speakers
Mohamed ElBatanouny
Senior Associate and Unit Manager
WJE
Christine Freisinger
Associate Principal
WJE
Richard Lindenberg
Associate Principal
WJE
3:30-4:30pm ET
SEFA Lab-Grade Flooring
Flooring is a critical component in any laboratory and needs to meet the stringent demands of laboratory environments where durability, chemical resistance, and contamination control are critical. The flooring committee at the Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association (SEFA) is preparing a guidance document that will help end-users and specifiers understand the critical requirements of flooring for various types of labs, including pharmaceutical, biotech, and electronics. This important guideline will also provide an understanding of material options, such as epoxy, vinyl, and rubber and how to specify these materials for any given project.
This presentation will give an overview of the contents of that new document and provide the listener a more thorough understanding of what might be considered “lab-grade” flooring.
Learning objectives:
Identify the key performance requirements for laboratory flooring, including durability, chemical resistance, and contamination control, across various laboratory types such as pharmaceutical, biotech, and electronics.
Explain the differences between common lab flooring materials—such as epoxy, vinyl, and rubber—and evaluate their suitability for specific laboratory applications.
Understand how to specify appropriate flooring materials based on project-specific needs, regulatory requirements, and environmental conditions.
Gain insight into the SEFA flooring guidance document and how it supports end-users, designers, and specifiers in making informed decisions about “lab-grade” flooring solutions.
This course is approved by AIA CES for 1 LU credit
Speaker
Tom Ricciardelli
President/CEO
SelecTech, Inc.