The more I read and learn about the looming Fiscal Cliff, the more concerned I get for our local design and construction economy. Two weeks ago, sixteen of the presidents of leading academic institutions in the Boston area co-signed a letter to Representative Ed Markey articulating the grave impact sequestration would have on the research community. While the authors of the letter did not focus on the role of capital projects in a thriving and expansive innovation economy, it is important to understand that much of the resurgence of construction activity going on here now is directly due to that leveraged inflow of federal and private dollars.
News & Ideas
Revisiting the Test Fit
Almost exactly one year ago today we wrote an article about test fits for biotechnology. Focusing on how Revit can assist in the analysis of space, our article demonstrated how, through BIM software, we can develop simultaneously plans, three dimensional space and program. Since then, our office has continued to work with clients on multiple such test fits, often recreating their spaces in three or four different locations. Interestingly, this opportunity has allowed us to see how the expression of a company’s vision is transformed through its location, from one property to the next.
Forging Identity
When we began our firm over a year ago, we spent time thinking about how we want to represent ourselves. The development of a clear identity was important for both expressing our uniqueness and solidifying the concept of our company. Likewise, the process of designing for a client is an opportunity to assist in clarifying their own sense of who they are and shape how they are perceived. We have found that many of our clients are looking to us to find this collaboration. As architects, we enjoy the challenge, and two very different projects show how such exploration can drive a design process.
Lab takes home “Best in Show” at SMPS Boston ROC Awards
This summer, Lab’s brand identity was awarded “Best in Show” at the 2012 SMPS Boston Recognizing Outstanding Communications (ROC) Awards for Marketing Communications and Marketing Achievements. The identity package also won first place in it’s category. Read more about the awards program and read an excerpt from the nomination summary.
Chilling Out in the Lab
“Let’s meet in the Chill Center” is a frequent request we hear from one of our Cambridge-based R&D clients. The “Chill Center” is a 1,500sf somewhat nondescript, cafeteria area set in the middle of an open office environment near a lab zone. Furnished only with school cafeteria style tables, a kitchenette and a bank of vending machines (all items sold for 25 cents), the Chill Center is constantly buzzing with activity as scientists and engineers work out issues of R&D, often with unsolicited commentary from adjacent work cubicles. In our experience, it is one of the mostly highly collaborative and productive work environments out there.
Lab completes peer review for University of Sydney’s Australian Institute of Nanoscience
Principal Mark Reed and Professor Charles Marcus recently reviewed the design development drawings for the national center for advanced microscopy, nanofabrication, condensed matter physics, optics and other high performance laboratories. This is the fourth peer review completed in collaboration with the international offices of architects CH2MHill, Architectus, and Jestico|Whiles. Reed and Marcus consult to numerous […]
The Agile Firm: Using the Cloud to Boost Design and Client Service
At Lab, we recently celebrated our first year in business and are able to reflect upon our strategies for success. As a start-up, we had the opportunity to design and define a new model for delivering architectural services. We considered all aspects of the practice, from the details of technical infrastructure to our method of articulating design choices with our clients. Wanting to focus our time and effort on design and client relationships, we sought to create a company that is nimble and free of technological and infrastructural issues. Coming into being in the virtual age, Lab is built on the idea of portability and effective harnessing of the internet.
Lab wins IAVA Communicator Awards
Lab has won a silver award of distinction for its website and a gold award of excellence for business cards at the 18th Annual IAVA Communicator Awards. The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program recognizing big ideas in marketing and communications. The awards are judged by the International Academy of Visual Arts, an […]
Trending Upward: Physics Labs
Physicists are proud to call their field the “mother of the sciences,” and based upon our recent experience they have every right to boast. From medical device companies, laboratory equipment manufacturers, biotech startups to software development corporations, the role of physics has trended upward and is now a significant driver of laboratory design for many of our projects. This is an important new direction for lab design because the requirements for physical labs are fundamentally different from traditional life science spaces.
Lab on LEED and Living Walls in High Profile
Stephanie Goldberg talks with Steve Sundius of Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering P.C. and Janice Goodman of Cityscapes, Inc. about the considerations and benefits of vertical gardens in interior spaces in the latest update of High Profile. Read the Feb 23rd article in High Profile »
