“Let’s meet in the Chill Center” is a frequent request we hear from one of our Cambridge-based R&D clients. The “Chill Center” is a 1,500sf somewhat nondescript, cafeteria area set in the middle of an open office environment near a lab zone. Furnished only with school cafeteria style tables, a kitchenette and a bank of vending machines (all items sold for 25 cents), the Chill Center is constantly buzzing with activity as scientists and engineers work out issues of R&D, often with unsolicited commentary from adjacent work cubicles. In our experience, it is one of the mostly highly collaborative and productive work environments out there.
Lab Design
Trending Upward: Physics Labs
Physicists are proud to call their field the “mother of the sciences,” and based upon our recent experience they have every right to boast. From medical device companies, laboratory equipment manufacturers, biotech startups to software development corporations, the role of physics has trended upward and is now a significant driver of laboratory design for many of our projects. This is an important new direction for lab design because the requirements for physical labs are fundamentally different from traditional life science spaces.
