Science facilities pose unique challenges: complex mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems, stringent safety standards, and intensive energy demands. Yet these constraints also make them excellent candidates for integrated, lifecycle-based design.
The SLRB feasibility study highlights the importance of designing high-performance research and teaching environments without sacrificing adaptability. The study’s room data sheets and lab configuration models emphasize modular casework, adaptable MEP connections, and standardized equipment zones — features that allow teaching and research priorities to evolve without costly overhauls.
This is especially important as universities face workforce transitions in STEM fields. Curricula shift, industries change, and research funding cycles demand flexibility. Facilities designed with plug-and-play infrastructure, shared instrumentation rooms and flexible teaching labs support rapid adaptation and maximize the lifespan of academic investments.
The push toward carbon neutrality and operational efficiency is particularly challenging in laboratory buildings, which consume significantly more energy than typical academic spaces. Universities are increasingly prioritizing high-performance envelopes, advanced mechanical systems and heat recovery technologies — strategies reinforced in the SLRB feasibility study.
The report outlines sustainable design considerations such as:
These strategies reflect a broader shift in higher education: sustainability is no longer an environmental ambition — it is an economic necessity. By designing smarter building envelopes and right-sized mechanical systems, universities can reduce operational costs over decades of use while improving indoor environmental quality and resiliency.
STEM buildings have the potential to strengthen campus identity when they are both architecturally expressive and strategically located. In the SLRB study, connectivity diagrams show how the building strengthens east-west and north-south links across campus, tying together major academic and student-life districts.
This approach supports a growing expectation among institutions: that new science facilities must do more than house equipment and research. They must anchor community, signal innovation, and serve as cultural connectors. By aligning STEM buildings with pedestrian networks, outdoor spaces, and interdisciplinary programs, campuses can enhance both usability and institutional storytelling.
As campuses face increasing pressures to manage budgets, improve outcomes, and meet sustainability targets, the long-term performance of science and education buildings becomes a core metric of success. Post-occupancy evaluations — examining how labs are used, how systems perform and how students engage with spaces — are essential for informing continuous improvement.
Treating buildings as evolving assets rather than static projects enables campuses to stay resilient in the face of demographic shifts, technological change and new academic demands. The SLRB feasibility study is a model of this approach: it looks beyond immediate needs to create a facility that can grow with the institution, shaping STEM learning for decades to come.
Craig Atkinson is the director of higher education for Carrier Johnson + Culture. He has more than 30 years of experience in the planning, designing and construction of educational projects ranging from athletic facilities to student centers and technology complexes. He is also active in the design industry as the president of the Southern California chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects.
Designing Higher-Ed STEM Facilities for a Rapidly Changing Future
Modern STEM Buildings Balance Flexibility and Sustainability
