Re: [Phys-L] new physics lab construction

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 09/11/2014 07:19 PM, Larry Smith wrote:
> We are in the process of “programming” for a new science building at
> our 2-yr junior college.  I meet with the architects next week to
> discuss physics department programming.

OK....

Above all, design for flexibility.  The building will be
there for a long time, and there is no way you can foresee
the changing needs in any detail, but you know that there
will be changes.

> We are considering constructing spaces that could be used as lecture
> classrooms some hours of the day and labs at other hours.  Does that
> work?

That's an excellent question.  That's an example of flexibility.
There is a dilemma here, but it is possible to work around it.
The two horns of the dilemma are:

  a) If you want to do large lectures, it is advantageous to
   have theater-style seating, with each row higher than the 
   one in front of it.  Theaters have been doing it that way 
   for thousands of years, for good reason.

  b) In contrast, a sloping floor is wildly inappropriate for
   lab space.

Here's one possible work-around:  Specify high ceilings
in all spaces, from one end of the building to the other.
Reeeeally high.  Ballroom high.

That way, if you want to use a given room as an ersatz
theater, you can put a dais at one end with a huge screen 
high on the wall.  If people crane their necks a little bit,
the sight-lines are almost as good as in genuine sloping-floor 
theater space.  The cost of making each floor of the building
a few feet taller is infinitesimal.  This is the poster child
for the sort of thing you can cheaply arrange before the 
building is built but cannot possibly retrofit later.

In situations where the high ceiling is undesirable, it is 
very cheap to put in a lower dropped ceiling ... and conversely
the dropped ceiling can be removed if/when needs change.

===

There are folks over on the learning-theory list who would 
bite your head off for even mentioning the word "lecture".
Personally, I don't know the right answer.  With apologies 
to Mark Twain, everybody talks about flipping the classroom,
but (almost) nobody does anything about it.  And there's a 
reason for that:  it's really hard to do.

No guarantees, but my best guess is that you should minimize
the amount of sloping theater space and maximize the amount 
of flat lab space, for two reasons:
 -- The profession seems to be moving in the direction of
  less lecturing and more work-group activity.  There is
  such a thing as a "learning lab" setting, even if it does
  not involve physics experiments or wet chemistry.
 -- You can "make do" with lectures in ballroom space 
  immeasurably more easily than you can do lab work in 
  sloping theater space.


On 09/12/2014 06:59 AM, Peter Schoch wrote:

>> I lived through this.  At the time I was Dean and the only Physics person.
>>  The architects swore up and down they had designed labs before and knew
>> all the nuances.
>> 
>> The end result of what the architects gave us is a train wreck in many
>> respects.
>> 
>> I made certain to specify every detail in the physics lab,

We agree about the importance of specifying the details ... but 
let me make a meta-suggestion:  Rather than having the college
come up with all the questions and all the answers, shift that
burden onto the architects!

They should have a thousand-page checklist.  If they don't, or 
if they won't show it to you, fire them and hire somebody else.

 -- There should be several pages on fume hoods alone.
 -- There could easily be half a page just on backflow preventers
  for the water supply to the hoods and other prep stations.  
  Such things are required by code in some places.  Even if 
  they're not required now, they are likely to be required later,
  and retrofitting them is ridiculously troublesome and expensive.
  Even if they weren't required you would want them in the name 
  of prudent good practice.
 -- There should be a detailed checklist for fire safety, including
  emergency egress.  This includes two exits for every room, at opposite
  ends of the room.
 -- There should be a detailed checklist for emergency communications.
  Among other things, there needs to be *two* files containing MSDSs
  ... one in the building for people to look at routinely, plus one 
  somewhere else, so the fire department can look at it /before/ 
  they go into the building.
 -- There should be a detailed checklist for earthquake hazard
  mitigation;  for example, you really don't want chemical storage 
  cabinets falling over.
 -- There should be a long checklist just for acoustics;  your 
  average Joe Architect considers acoustics to be a black art, 
  so you will have no idea what you're getting unless you press
  the point.
 -- Check the floor-loading limits.  You don't want a situation
  where the floor won't support a big heavy optical table.
 ++ etc. etc. etc.

Again:  It's not my job to come up with all the answers, or even
all the questions.  The architects should provide *you* with a list.
There should be a thousand questions where the answer is predetermined,
or at least strongly recommended ... plus a smaller number of items
where they present you with a menu of choices.

Another meta-suggestion:  There exist fat books on this subject.
  https://www.google.com/search?q=laboratory+design&tbm=bks