Assumption 1: Growth will result in change
With 19 interviews completed, I am at the point of having enough raw data to begin to propose some design assumptions which can – with further clarification and direction – be formulated into design principles and criteria to be passed along to the selected architect, and ideally incorporated into the Krasnow Institute’s design. Though these assumptions may seem obvious, they are nonetheless worth stating – putting on the table for further elaboration and dissection.
Assumption 1: Growth will result in change.
Just like the addition of a new baby, the family dynamics at Krasnow will be altered to accommodate the new construction. Though we (the Krasnow Institute) welcome this change, we are concerned about how it will affect the way we live and work at Krasnow, both short term and long term. More specifically, …
How will the fMRI affect me? (For additional insights, refer to the Director’s Blog June 28 entry, “Why putting the magnet in the current Krasnow makes sense”)
- The fMRI is known to create a lot of noise that would potentially interfere with my research and physical comfort.
- Will there be an increased traffic flow of general public (the subjects) coming to Krasnow to be used in the scanner experiments?
- How will the health and environmental implications of pollutants be handled: radio, magnetic, noise, vibration, field?
- Will the scanner be able to get quality electrical power? This equipment is very expensive to service in the event of interrupted power.
- Will the scanner have dedicated power that will not affect the electrical distribution to the existing circuits and demands?
- How can we ensure professional safety practices are upheld (one incidence report could be enough to shut the scanner down)?
- Will everyone have access to or training on the fMRI? Having this piece of equipment is a wonderful opportunity for me to build my professional skills and experiences.
Parking: the number of building occupants is subject to increase, and the current number of parking spots are not sufficient to accommodate additional faculty and staff.
- The other lots are a distance away
Construction conditions could be disruptive to my work.
- Traffic and related congestion and security issues – Will the construction schedule be limited to certain days/hours? Can the existing facility still maintain restricted access?
- Noise/vibration from equipment.
- Dirt, dust and “critters’ may be stirred up and in increased presence.
- Where will I be working? Will people have be displaced from rooms/offices/labs on a temporary or permanent basis on account of construction?
- Will the connection of the new addition and the existing building eradicate offices or the seminar room?
Types of research and laboratories may negatively affect one another.
- Increased presence of animals.
Assumption 1: Growth will result in change.
Just like the addition of a new baby, the family dynamics at Krasnow will be altered to accommodate the new construction. Though we (the Krasnow Institute) welcome this change, we are concerned about how it will affect the way we live and work at Krasnow, both short term and long term. More specifically, …
How will the fMRI affect me? (For additional insights, refer to the Director’s Blog June 28 entry, “Why putting the magnet in the current Krasnow makes sense”)
- The fMRI is known to create a lot of noise that would potentially interfere with my research and physical comfort.
- Will there be an increased traffic flow of general public (the subjects) coming to Krasnow to be used in the scanner experiments?
- How will the health and environmental implications of pollutants be handled: radio, magnetic, noise, vibration, field?
- Will the scanner be able to get quality electrical power? This equipment is very expensive to service in the event of interrupted power.
- Will the scanner have dedicated power that will not affect the electrical distribution to the existing circuits and demands?
- How can we ensure professional safety practices are upheld (one incidence report could be enough to shut the scanner down)?
- Will everyone have access to or training on the fMRI? Having this piece of equipment is a wonderful opportunity for me to build my professional skills and experiences.
Parking: the number of building occupants is subject to increase, and the current number of parking spots are not sufficient to accommodate additional faculty and staff.
- The other lots are a distance away
Construction conditions could be disruptive to my work.
- Traffic and related congestion and security issues – Will the construction schedule be limited to certain days/hours? Can the existing facility still maintain restricted access?
- Noise/vibration from equipment.
- Dirt, dust and “critters’ may be stirred up and in increased presence.
- Where will I be working? Will people have be displaced from rooms/offices/labs on a temporary or permanent basis on account of construction?
- Will the connection of the new addition and the existing building eradicate offices or the seminar room?
Types of research and laboratories may negatively affect one another.
- Increased presence of animals.
posted by Meredith Banasiak, ANFA @ 5:04 PM
2 Comments:
Meredith...This is excellent. We're finally getting to the business end of this process. A question: is what we're doing here close to unique. If not, what other projects have used something close to what we're doing here?
Now it's important to make certain that this information gets to the people who are going to install the FMRI and additionally build the Krasnow Expansion.
To answer your question: “Is what we are doing here close to unique?” –
The programming phase of architectural design typically includes interviews with the end users, as well as the facilities managers (including building maintenance), the IT (Information Tecnology) department, and the client (the client being the source of money for the project, which is often different than the end user). My understanding is that a large part of this programming phase, excluding individual interviews, was conducted for Krasnow in order to generate the RFP (Request for Proposal) to the competing architectural teams. Interviews with end users are a critical part of the design process since these are the people most qualified to offer input on how they best use the space.
What is revolutionary, in my experience, is the use of the blog as a tool for recording, processing and distributing information. In this way, the analyses have the ability to remain communal allowing for continuous, collective dialogue/participation and feedback loops. In addition, the blog is an easily accessible resource available to the architect, and even to other scientific facilities who might be undergoing similar development.
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