Symposium on Design and Construction of College and University Chemistry Laboratories
GENERAL PROBLEMS OF LABORATORY DESIGN' HARRY:F. LEWIS The Institute of Paper Chemistry, Appleton, Wisconsin
CEEMICAL laboratory construction during the war naturally centered around the rapidly expanding essential war industries. The amount of such construction was enormous. In most cases the facilities were needed long before they could be built. As a result, normal laboratory construction for instructional purPoses had to be by-passed. Now we find ourselves trying to teach a suddenly increased number of students, whose interest in science has been greatly stimulated by war experience, in laboratories and laboratory buildings which should have been increased in size and modernized in facilities years ago. This increase in numbers has resulted largely from the G . I. Bill. The increase in interest stems in part from the realization of the practical value of scientific training and in part from the science-course requirements in preprofessional courses in medicine and dentistry, etc. Chemistry buildings are full to overflowing with students in all courses. The necessity of handling the numbers involved is having a Profound influence on the thinking of the staff with regard to improved laboratory design. The report .published in 1930 by the National &search Council on the construction and equipment of chemical laboratories2 reflects rather accurately the best thinking of the time; the laboratories built in the , early thirties were constructed in much the manner described in that report. Since the publication of the National Resewch Council report, there have been many developments adaptable to improved laboratory design and equipment, and it is the purpose of this symposium to bring such developments to the attention of those who have been assigned the responsibility for new laboratory planning. The testing @ound for much of this has been the many new industrial research labo-
ratories constructed during the last five t o ten years where, in general, the conventional laboratory pattern has been discarded in favor of functional design. hi^ meeting is particularly timely ir! view of the large amount of college construction currently in the planning itage. a preliminary step in setting up the program, the speaker sent questionnaires to 350 institutions selected from the 711 colleges and universities listed under that heading in the ~ d ~ ~ ~ t i ~ i for 1946-47 ~ of the~~ t ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~~security d A oficeof ~ d ~ ~ A ~smaller t i number ~ ~ of. professional schools and teachers colleges were included in the list. The schools were not selected a t random; almost all the ,tate universities, the large endowed universities, and the larger liberal colleges were approached. ~h~ questionnaires were so as to yield information on floor-space plans, approximate costof construction, and also a breakdown as to new building, extension of present building, and rebuilding of present building. Over 200 questionnaires were returned, and it may be assumed with some certainty that these represented the majority of the institutions having definite building programs. since less than haif all the institutions were approached, the figures may be accepted as m i h u m . whether all this Construction eventuates in the form of finished buildings .will depend upon a number of unpredictable factors, mch as economic conditions during the next five years, cost of construction, and availability of material-both for construction and equipment, of the institutions answering the questionnaire, 137 have indicated projected laboratory construction, many hoping tohave their operation completed by 1949; 58 of this number are planning entirely new chemical laboratories; 28, new general science buildings; 26 current buildings; and 25 are rebuilding are and modernizing. their present buildings. The estimated b cost of~ this construction ~ approaches ~ $100,~ ~ 000,000. There appears to be no favoritism shown for
' Presented before the Division of Chemical Education at the 111th meeting of the American Chemical Society in Atlantic City, April 14-18,1947. A report of the National Research Council Committee on the -constmetion and ~~~i~~~~~ of chemical ~ ~ ~h~ Chemioal Foundation, New York, 1930, 340 pages. 320
JULY, 1947
any particular area of the country or type of college or university. For example, there are 46 building projects planned by state colleges and universities, 18 by state teachers colleges, and 60 by privately endowed institutions (many of the liberal arts college type). Sixteen schools not in the above 137 are planning new buildings hut are not far enough along with their plans to hazard guesses as to either space or cost. The steps followed in building a chemical laboratory are pretty much the same regardless of the type of school. A departmental committee is set up to help design the laboratories. In the small colleges this may be the head of the department working alone or with the building committee of the Board of Trustees. The function of the committee is largely concerned with supplying the architect with an accurate listing of the number of students, the types of courses, layout of the laboratories, specific services required, etc., and answering many other questions, as Mr. Dowswell will point out later in the program. The site for the building may already have been selected by the buildings and grounds committee of the Board of Trustees and the faculty committee has not toomuch to say ahout it. Even if this is the case, there are certain things this committee should check with regard to the site, such as the nature of the terrain, accessibility to trucking roads, to main lines of service for sewage disposal, gas, water, power,etc.,freedom fromvibration, from external fumes, fly ash, dirt, and noise (railroads, main traveled streets with trolley car service), the nearness of the location to other related buildings of the university, such as medical, dental, and agricultural schools, whose students will be serviced by the chemistry huilding. There are classic examples of college laboratories located by trustee building committees in conformity with campus patterns where teaching and research were carried out under real handicaps due to lack of appreciation of some of these external factors. One rather famous huilding intended for very careful work in analytical research had so much vibration from the street that certain types of work could only be done a t night. Another is adjacent to the boiler house stack and when the wind is right and the day warm the unknowns blossom out in all directions. Having selected the site, the next recommendation to be made deals with the general plan of the building. One of the first questions relates to the type of the building. For small schools with small teaching staffs a one-floor building may possess many attractive features such as one centralized stockroom opening into all teaching laboratories, and the grouping of student laboratories, with saving of time and energy by ease of supervision from a safety standpoint. There are many features of a one-floor building which warrant consideration when chemistry huildmgs are being planned for smaller schools. Time will not permit the discussion a t this point but those who may be interested are referred to a recent article by the speaker.3 a
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What should the materials of construction be? How should main service lines be carried to the different locations-in chases, in the outer wall, in the inner walls? Construction of staircases, elevator service, air conditioning for all or a part? Naturally your architect will provide the answer for many of these but be sure you have studied the decisions and agree. You are going to use the building, not the architect. In considering the general plan, it is important that the faculty building committee advise the architect as to the probability of the need for expansion in future years and the direction of such expansion. Only in this way can additional space he provided without the disruption of important services. Here it is necessary to consider the expected increase in student enrollment, in staff, and in research operations. As these expand, storage and service facilities must expand likewise. Also important in considering the general plan is the location of the lecture rooms and recitation rooms with respect to distracting outside noises, such as coal chutes, unloading facilities for express and freight, and prohable student gathering places on warm spring days. Likewise in placing research laboratories, libraries, etc. thought should be given to preventing as much distracting inside noise as possible. Balance rooms and laboratories concerned with the use of delicate instruments should be piotected from fumes and vibration. If possible, large lecture rooms and first-year laboratories should be on the first floor of the building and provided with relatively direct exits to the outside. One of the important points commonly neglected in the general planning of a laboratory building has to do with the projected expansion of the library. It should he possible for the faculty building committee to advise the architect with a reasonable degree of certainty both as to the current shelf space requirement for unbound and bound publications and reference books and also as to the probable expansion in feet per year for new publications and new books. If the building is projected for 20-year use, library expansion should be set up on that basis. There are many supplemental services associated with the library that seem to come to mind after the plans are drawn and the building is built. These include film reader service, photostat service, carrells for graduate students and faculty. Of all the rooms in the huilding, the library room should be the one most adequately provided with comfort facilities, such as adequate lighting, acoustic treatment, and ventilation. One real annoyance in departmental libraries is the library attendant who has to do her typing in the reading room. In the planning it should be possible to make provision for work of this type. If the subway system in New York can have telephone booths so perfectly insulated acoustically that the outside noise does not interfere with the phone conversation; i t should be possible to provide accommodations of a similar type for the library attendant who may have to he available to the general reader and yet has typing to dq. Details of library operation will generally be established for the department by the library-staff.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
Real attention should be paid by the faculty committee to the matter of lecture and recitation rooms' facilities and comfort. Here, also, it is important to provide comfortable seats, adequate lighting, good acoustics and proper ventilation. There is no reason today for any chemistry lecture or recitation room to be lacking in any of these features, and yet, as I have gone around visiting chemistry departments and speaking before American Chemical Society sections, time after time 1 have been impressed by the lack of thought evidenced in the design of the lecture rooms. Equipment for demonstration should be visible from all parts of the room; fume ventilation should be provided in the demonstration area; slide and film projection equipment and housing should be handled in the original planning and not as an afterthought. Speaking from personal experience, automatic projection equipment operated from the lecture table by the mere pushing of a button is much to be desired by a speaker. Careful consideration should be given to the method for darkening the lecture room for opaque and movie projection, while a t the same time there should be sufficient light for students to take notes. Air conditioning is highly desirable but the system selected should be quiet. Acoustical treatment should be provided on the ceiling and, if necessary, on the walls. Sleeping students do not always mean a dull lecture. The building planner is urged to visit the Rackham Memorial in Detroit and see what can be done to make the lecture room a real addition to the academic program. Much more attention has often been paid to the design of laboratory equipment than may seem necessary; it sometimes appears as though every college professor feels he is especially called upon to design laboratory furniture, and there was a time when every installation was different from every other installation, and no two rooms within one installation were the same. The actual differences in design are often small and unimportant to all save .the planner. This makes interchange of equipment between divisions of a department difficult. This is changing, partly because of the pressure of the current situation, and there is a trend toward providing laboratory space for common use by two or more different courses. One evidence is the elimination of complicated cabinets and the increasing use of large drawers in the desk, common space being provided for the storage of ring stands and other ironware and equipment common to all the students using the same desk area. This particular point will be considered in the papers to follow and I will not attempt to cover it here. As an aside, may I suggest that you order laboratory furniture from the suppliers' catalogs when possible. There are many advantages in such an action. The faculty committee next has to decide on the materials used in the desks. Should they be wood or steel? A definite trend toward steel is now taking place. Should the table tops be alberene, kemrock, wood, or what type of construction? There are points in favor and against each. Should the desks be provided with
individual hoods or should the laboratories have large hoods to handle groups of students? In the past this has been a matter of individual preference. Ho~v should the service piping from feeder lines be brought in? What particular services are required by the laboratory courses being given in the room? The common services are gas and water; electricity, air, vacuum, afid steam are frequently provided. What kind of floor covering should be used-cement alone, cement with rubber mats, mastic, wood, linoleum? The manufacturers of laboratory furniture are to be applauded for the interest they have shown in improving their products. There has been much research on chemically resistant materials for finishing wood and steel furniture and for table tops. The results are not yet completely in evidence, for it is still difficult to obtain some of the necessary resins, but definite improvements are on the way. One of the matters on which more research needs to be done is that of an adequate laboratory floor covering. The most common flooring is a cement floor; this is also the hardest on the feet of the students. Many industrial laboratories are using mastic tile, which is easier on the feet. This is better for industrial than for student use, for such flooring is affected by acids and alkalies and by organic solvents. With proper upkeep and good housekeeping, this can be very satisfactory and damaged tile can be replaced. Wood floors have been widely used in the past but in times of flood or fire, these are not too good. Research has been carried out by the makers of materials like linoleum, substituting vinyl resins and other resistant resins for linseed oil and similar oil binders. There is some hope that these new floor coverings may be of use in the laboratory. Other laboratories use rubber mats over cement. We in our own laboratory use a heavy roofing paper over cement. This comes in the form of 36-inch wide strips, is. cheap, quite satisfactory to work on, and can be easily replaced. In addition to the usual laboratory services, there are special services for which provision must be made in planning a building. One such is glass blowing. Most universities have a glass blower with a room provided for special work; student glass blowing is generally done out in the open laboratory. One of the most distracting noises in a laboratory is the blast lamp. Why should not the glass-blowing bench either be provided with some type of sound insulation or one of the quiet blast lamps be made available for student use? All research laboratories today need constanttemperature and constant-humidity facilities. New designs for such equipment have evolved from wartime needs which are sensitive and not too expensive. Likewise many laboratories will wish to install hot and cold rooms. In our own laboratories we have frequent need for temperatures as low as -20°F. and as high as ' 1nnow _. The up-to-date laboratory provides special rooms for micro or semimicro analysis. Dark rooms are required
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for photomicroscopy and photochemistry, as well as Tor electron microscopy, spectroscopy, and spectrophotometry. Consideration should be given to the probable need for these special laboratory services. In any building there are the service rooms to consider. Small rooms for interviews will be appreciated by personnel men who interview senior and graduate students day after day. Adequate rest rooms should be provided for men and women with separate rooms for students and staff. Industry is ahead of educational institutions in providing attractive and adequate facilities. Adequate storage space is needed by the maintenance staff for supplies and heavy equipment. Do not make this a last minute item. Time will not permit any real coverage of the subject of the most effective type of dispensing service for chemicals and glassware, but generally just enough space is set aside for this purpose to meet the immediate needs a t the time of the opening of the building; no thought is given to the fact that supplies will increase a t a greater rate than the enrollment. For one thing, there is constant purchase of special equipment for staff research projects; such equipment is never dismantled but is always kept in storage for the time when it might again be required. Dead storage space should not be expensive space; in fact, there is no real reason why dead storage should be provided within the confines of the laboratory building. The larger laboratories will want to install dishwashing service on a pickup and delivery basis. Adequate provisions should be made for departmental and staff offices. I t is common practice to install a laboratory desk in an office, under the assumption that the faculty man will wish to do his research in his office. Industry has found this to be a mistake, as it probably is for educational institutions, particularly the larger ones. What ordinarily happens is that the faculty man thinks he will do his own work, gradually gets away from the laboratory desk, brings in a graduate student to work a t the desk, and then the room is no . longer available for private faculty-student conferences.
It is much better to provide small offices adjacent to the research laboratory, such as has been done in the Regional Laboratories of the United States Department of Agriculture. Many industrial laboratories have a fire-protected vault for research notes and valuable records. Educational laboratories could profit from such an installation for academic and rcsearch records and valuable papers. Consideration should be given to adequate fire protection for students and staff and for the building. Sprinkler heads have many advantages. Safety showers, fire blankets, and fire extinguishers should be 'easily available; asbestos suits should be stored in prominent positions where they can be easily reached in case of an emergency. Every building, large or small, should have some kind of first aid facilities, preferably an equipped room used for that purpose alone. There are many other problems which I have not even approached in this brief introduction to the subject of general laboratory design, but I cannot refrain from stressing the desirability of working toward the objective of an attractive, well-ventilated and lighted, acoustically-satisfactory laboratory building. Halls do not need to echo to the march of tramping feet; o5ces and classrooms do not need to reek with the memory of by-gone experiments; laboratories need not be reminiscent of antique shops. Resistant laboratory finishes, both light and attractive, are available. Lecture room chairs do not have to squeak and groan in vocal protest to the unhappy squirmidg of the uncomfortable occupant. An ounce of prevention here is worth many pounds of c u r e a s our architect will tell you this afternoon. The authors of the papers which follow have all been actively engaged in very recent building programs. They present the fruits of their experiences. You may not agree with all they say, you may think you have a better way, but they do not guarantee to answer all the questions.
THE SIMPLE TRUTH The man in the street is frequently accused of dealing in half truths. Thequestion is, where is the whole truth to be found: In the loboratdry of science or i n the ivory tower of philosophy? To unlock the secret of atomic energy required the work of many scientists allover the world, both practical and philosophical. So i t may be with the truth in any area of science or life. Like atomic energy, thepower of truth only becomes awilable when one manputs his atom of truth into action and sets up a chain of reactions in other men. The man i n the street, as well as the scientist and thephilosopher, has his tiny atom of truth to contribute, shaped and colored by his erperienee in living. In the end neither lobomtory nor ivory tower, alone or in combination, can provide the truth. Forpart oj'it is locked up in the minds and hearts of ordinary men.-From The Research Viewpoint.
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