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Managing Change in Laboratory Design: Lessons Learned in Creating a High-Performance Laboratory at Yale University School of Medicine

David Barkin, JCJ Architecture

The Hunter Radiation Therapy Building 6th floor renovation project (HRT6) at Yale University School of Medicine has been designed to be a high-performance laboratory environment meeting LEED® Gold standards. This 9,000 square foot renovation is the first major renovation to the space originally built in 1967. This is the 6th major laboratory renovation at Yale University School of Medicine following the University's sustainability initiatives.

Major lessons learned include the importance of having an owner advocate to help negotiate the competing interests of Environmental Health and Safety's approach to ultimate laboratory safety versus reduced energy utilization; posessing the ability to technically critique MEP systems to make sure that the engineer is thinking creatively and "outside the box"; and running early materials evaluations for sustainablility and healthy environments as well as chemical resistance and visual appeal.

The major challenges in the HRT6 project focused around finding an open and flexible plan that could take advantage of inherently good daylighting by attempting to provide a non-standard laboratory layout that would enhance communications and collegiality. Additional challenges included getting the engineers to think creatively versus repeating previous design strategies—in other words to continuously raise the bar in generating a high-performance design; convincing the in-house engineering staff to consider HVAC alternatives that would result in significantly reduced energy utilization;and convincing the facilities administration to embrace sustainable materials that would require alternative maitenance regimens.

David Barkin has been devoted to the practice of architecture for large institutional, corporate, and municipal clients for the past 22 years. In 2006 he founded and served as Director of the Science and Technology Practice at JCJ Architecture, a longstanding national architectural firm with offices in Hartford, San Diego, New York and Phoenix.

David began his architectural career with JCJ followed by six years as a project architect with Cesar Pelli & Associates and 14 years in a successful private practice serving predominantly Yale University, Pfizer Inc., and the State of Connecticut. His main concentrations have been in laboratory planning and design and historic preservation, seemingly different but sharing the need for research- and evidence-based solutions. Before becoming an architect, David worked as a financial analyst for General Electric.

David currently serves on the Connecticut Architectural Licensing Board and holds an elected position on the Woodbridge, Connecticut Board of Education. He has previously served on the Connecticut Historic Council, served as Vice Chairman of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, and served on the Board as Secretary of the AIA in Connecticut. David holds a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and a Bachelor of Architecture from RPI.

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