Re: [Phys-L] new physics lab construction
Wow! I'm not a lawyer.So what happens in cases like this? Lawsuits?
Builders did not follow the blueprints?
Did they take shortcuts to trim costs? What happens when the building is
not what
you asked for (or what the designs illustrated)?
Phys-L@Phys-L.org writes:
>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, from bench
>height, to cabinet space to type of doors on the cabinets, to the type of
>chairs I wanted (NO WHEELS). The physics lab is the only one that 'works'
>the way it is supposed to.
>
>1. The hoods specified in Bio. and the Bio. prep room were not Biological
>hoods -- just Chem. hoods. So, they are inappropriate for culturing
>bacteria or doing any Biology work. The Chem. hoods were not connected
>correctly, creating a mold problem!
>
>2. The cabinets in the Chemistry lab were not VENTED! The lab storage
>area was too small and quickly outgrown -- we are having to store things
>on
>top of cabinets. The lab storage room was not sufficiently vented, nor
>was
>there venting for the extra chemical storage cabinets (even though we
>showed them what was to be moved in and what was to be added for storage.
> The shelving in the room was originally not to be sturdy enough nor allow
>flow through venting.
>
>
>I could go on and on. In short, don't assume the architects know crap.
>Go
>visit a few labs nearby, think hard about how you work and organize
>things,
>remember your undergrad. lab and grad. lab spaces, study areas, etc..
> Then, take a LOT of time to go and plan out your space(s). Tape out the
>area(s) on a floor -- open spaces look bigger than they are when you have
>to put benches, etc. in them and get students to mill around them.
> Remember lighting and to be sure you can turn off correct lights if you
>have a projection system in the room. Last, I specified NO WINDOWS in the
>lab room so that I could get it dark enough for Optics labs. Turns out
>that works very well; and ,it also makes my lab the safest in the building
>now when we did the security audit preparing for a possible 'lockdown' --
>for a possible shooter, etc.
>
>Peter Schoch
>
>
>
>On Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 10:19 PM, Larry Smith <larry.smith@snow.edu>
>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. If anyone has recent experience
>building
>> for physics labs, please share your advice (this could be off-list to me
>> directly at larry.smith@snow.edu to keep list traffic down).
>>
>> 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?
>>
>> Are there web sites with suggestions about what to put in a new college
>> physical science building, both in terms of labs and in terms of
>displays
>> and study areas? Duckduckgo.com didn’t turn up much.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Larry
>> Larry.Smith@snow.edu
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
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