Assumption 2: Labs must be flexible
I am reminded of a lecture I attended by an architect who was investigating residential neighborhoods in San Diego, California as compared to those in Tijuana, Mexico. The architect found that the same master-planned, tract house communities could be placed in both San Diego and in Tijuana, but over time the architecture and interstitial spaces (the area between the houses) aged and transformed along vastly different trajectories because of the different cultures and demands placed on the residences:
Whereas the gated communities of San Diego remain closed systems due to stringent zoning that prohibits any kind of formal alteration or programmatic juxtaposition, housing tracts in Tijuana quickly submit to transformation by occupants …. The ways in which occupants customize their tract houses - filling in setbacks, occupying front and back yards as well as garages with more construction and overlapping programs …. are perceived as open systems, their inherent uniformity giving way to occupants' collective desire for functionality and flexibility, for the freedom to activate improvisational, higher-density, and mixed uses ….
The imitation tract housing developments in Tijuana …. are inspiring and liberating in their search for strategies of improvisation, layering, juxtaposition, and negotiation of a territory conceived as an operative and flexible horizon.
-From “Border Postcard: Chronicles from the Edge”, by Teddy Cruz. The American Institute of Architects, 2005. http://www.aia.org/cod_lajolla_042404_teddycruz
In lieu of tract housing, the architect Teddy Cruz proposed that Tijuana needed a more fluid, organic architecture that would allow for change and growth in order to accommodate this fluid, organic aspect of its culture.
The parallel here is that Krasnow also has an evolving and organic nature (which, I have been told, is characteristic of a research institution). Therefore, labs must be flexible (aka Assumption 2) because:
1. The forced transformation/reconfiguration and re-appropriation of space and boundaries that is taking place at Krasnow is inhibited by the existing architecture, for example ….
- Storage space has been “created” in the hall in order to open up room in the lab with the result being that the room numbers are obscured and it can be difficult for visitors to find their way because of the visual congestion.
- The corridors are reduced in size which deter stopping for conversation as this will block traffic flow.
- Workspaces and offices have expanded into the hall which makes it uncomfortable for both the user - who is continually distracted and exposed - and for the passers-by - who may feel guilty for distracting those trying to work.
- Retrofitting is expensive.
- Expensive equipment is allocated to small spaces and placed on “homemade” furniture which may prevent the equipment from working properly.
2. Future demands will necessitate flexibility ...
- Different types of research require different arrangements and infrastructure. We don’t yet know who will occupy the new labs. Different research typologies also require different boundary conditions, for example, thick, insulated, shielded walls are needed for the fMRI room, and thin, transparent partitions are needed between subject and investigator for some behavioral studies.
- Equipment and technology evolve and change.
- Funding changes – research groups grow and shrink.
- Workspaces and offices have expanded into the hall which makes it uncomfortable for both the user - who is continually distracted and exposed - and for the passers-by - who may feel guilty for distracting those trying to work.
- Retrofitting is expensive.
- Expensive equipment is allocated to small spaces and placed on “homemade” furniture which may prevent the equipment from working properly.
2. Future demands will necessitate flexibility ...
- Different types of research require different arrangements and infrastructure. We don’t yet know who will occupy the new labs. Different research typologies also require different boundary conditions, for example, thick, insulated, shielded walls are needed for the fMRI room, and thin, transparent partitions are needed between subject and investigator for some behavioral studies.
- Equipment and technology evolve and change.
- Funding changes – research groups grow and shrink.
- Different collaborations and proximities arise when equipment sharing can take place.
- Krasnow itself will grow – we need to accommodate later expansions in a way that does not compromise the existing facilities.
- Krasnow itself will grow – we need to accommodate later expansions in a way that does not compromise the existing facilities.
It is very encouraging that the architects have been asked to address this need - part of the proposal evaluation is how each design accommodates flexibility. One stipulation already in place is a strategy for dealing with the demising walls between labs: these will be built devoid of services so they can easily be reconfigured. Power will be brought in from above and below, versus in the walls.
The hypothesis then is that employing such architectural solutions to increase flexibility will result in increased functionality.
posted by Meredith Banasiak, ANFA @ 12:01 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home