Laboratory Design Guide: For Clients, Architects and Their Design Team, The Laboratory Design Process from Start to Finish

Description

Laboratory Design Guide 3rd edition is a complete guide to the complex process of laboratory design and construction. With practical advice and detailed examples, it is an indispensable reference for anyone involved in building or renovating laboratories. In this working manual Brian Griffin explains how to meet the unique combination of requirements that laboratory design entails. Considerations range from safety and site considerations to instrumentation and special furniture, and accommodate the latest laboratory practices and the constant evolution of science. Case studies from around the world illustrate universal principles of good design while showing a variety of approaches. Revised throughout for this new edition, the book contains a brand new chapter on the role of the computer, covering topics such as the virtual experiment, hot desking, virtual buildings and computer-generated space relationship diagrams. There are also 10 new international case studies, including the Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building at the University of Hong Kong. Review: Handy overview that could save you time and money - Brian Griffin has written an excellent overview of the process. Particularly handy are the 'rules-of-thumb' to help with early planning for a new laboratory facility, and the checklists. The examples are good - and in fact, probably take up too much space. Most of the book seems to be examples, with a brief summary, plans and photos of each case study. The photos in the cases studies give lots of great ideas; however I would have liked more text up front about the design process. It would be good if future editions could have a critical analysis of the case studies; perhaps explaining what compromises were necessary or what else might have been done, instead of readers either assuming each is perfect or trying to determine themselves where a design might be sub-optimal. I recommend the book if you are commencing the process of designing a laboratory upgrade or a brand new one. It opened my eyes to issues and has saved considerable time and reduced risks to my organisation. Review: One Star - Surprising low content value