UNIVERSITY OR COLLEGE LABORATORY CLYDE S . A D A M S ANTIOCH COLLEGE. YELLOW SPRINGS, O H I O
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THE university or college laboratory must be carefully planned and amply equipped in order to proiide those ph?sical facilities necessary in the training of modern chemists and chemical engineers. The discussion is limited to three classes of laboratories-namel?, the large unirersit? laborator? intol\ing both graduate and nndergraduate facilities, the separate college chemistry laborator:, and the general science laboratory. The trends in planning and constructing such buildings, their oier-all costs, and a breakdown of those costs are reiiewed and appraised. 4 laborator? should be sufficientlr flexible in
design to allow for unforeseen changes. Aids to flexibility in design include simplicity of floor plans, acressibilitj of all plumbing, standardized room sizes, noubearing w a l l s that can be removed, and types of hoods and fume ducts that permit their remota1 or subsequent installation. i t tention is drawn to the need of such special facilities as a constant-tcmperature room, cold room. room for standards, room for x-ray diffraction, electron microscope, and spectroscopic work, isolated and insulated room3 for radioactite isotopes and for tracer chemistry, aud a junk or storage room for equipment which is not being used.
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The writer can well remember some seventeen years ago when his committee was assigned the task of planning the Kettering Science Building a t Xntioch College. A year was spent in gathering information by visits t o various colleges and universities. I n general, the writer found out what not to do, but, from the mass of data collected, certain generalizations were possible. Those were t h e days when college and university laboratories were planned by the school administration and the school architect, who was much more interested in building a monument t o himself and t,o the donor than in considering the function of the building. As an afterthought, i t seemed, chemical laboratories m r e tucked in. Chemical drains were buried in concrete, plumbing services were inaccessible, and hood systems all t o often were nonexistent. In general, the buildings \Tere designed to meet the immediate teaching program with little thought of expamion, flexibility, or future changes. The function of the building was sacrificed for a narroiy concept of aesthetics, Tvhereas aesthetics should be a function of utility. .4bout this time the Xational Research Council appointed a committee t o study the problem of laboratory construction and eqiiipyent (4). Since the writer received much help from the report of this committee and personal interview with its menibers, it is suggested that a similar committee be set up t o bring the rccords u p t o date. ;\mong the many hui:dings visited by the writer in hi:: travels, the Baker Chemical Laboratory at Cornell ITiiivrrsity appeared t o he among the first of the large university laborntories to incorporate the n e w r ideas of laboratory condriictioii. I t TTRS here t h a t the open-fared high-velocity Cornell hood vas first introduced; although laboratory furniture companies h:rve since made a number of improvements on it, its design i i still ljasic. The important feature in the design of most of these neiv buildings ia flexibility. -4lthough a lahoratory should he plaiiiird t o service an immediate program, it should be nufficicutly flesible to a h \ - for additions to the building and unforeseen change> in the functions of the roomP. -4ids to flesitiility include such items 3': simplicity of floor plans, standardized unit room sizes, nonsupporting interior walls which can easily be instnllrd or removed, accessibility of all plumbing and other services, provision for services t o be made available to each unit room wheir needed, and types of hoods and fume ducts t h a t are light, effective, and flesible and permit their later installation or removal. Any architect or engineer will agree that this is a large order; but these features have been achieved in new industrial research laboratories.
S E of the functions of colleges and universities is t o supply industry with well trained chemists and chemical engineem t o man industrial research laboratories. T o accomplish this objective, colleges and universities require ample and modern facilities with which t o train men and nomen to the high standards expected and demanded by industry. ITith the exception of a few isolated cases, colleges and universities have not been able t o replace their outmoded laboratories with modern ones, either during or since the war. They now find themselves with wholly inadequate mean:; t o cope with the student load that has descended upon them. The writer had several experiences lately which illustrate this condition. The firat \va.q an interview with a chemistry graduate who has spent the past, several years working in the new research laboratory of one of our large industries. He recently decided t o go back t o school t o complete hie graduate work. On visiting the school and examining the laboratory equipment t h a t he would be obliged to use, he expresscd somc doubts as t o whether he could adjust t o less modern facilities than those he had used in industry. A similar feeling was espressed by a young doctor of philosophy who had spent the past several years in a modern government laboratory and decided t o go back t o teaching. H e admitted that he had been so spoiled by the luxury of working in a well equipped modern laboratory t h a t it would be difficult for him to return t o old dingy laboratories containing obsolete and inadequate equipment. Since industry depends on colleges and universities for an ample supply of basically trained men and \Tomen, industry should ensure t h a t our schools have the best teachers at salaries comparable with those of industry and the best physical facilities in the form of laboratories, equipment, and annual budgets, essential in the training of students. To meet the urgent need for more adequate laboratory facilities, committees in many colleges and universities have been appointed t o prepare plans for new buildings (3). Sever in the hiatory of science has there been such a m a l t h of information availahle t o these committees, and, although most of the new laboratories are industrial, they contain many new features equally applicable t o college or university lahorntories. One of the first duties of such committees should be to visit as many modern laboratories as possible. I t is the author's opinion that modern industrial research laboratories are better planned t o meet their respective needs than are college and university laboratories. The designers for industry have learned t o listen to the suggestions of their chemists and chemical engineers. 457
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Each university or college wiil have its own problems to solve in the design of laboratory buildings. Such conditions as objectives of their program, size of the appropriation, estent and character of land available, prevailing architecture of the campus, etc., must obviously be considered. However, certain basic planning principles should be considered if the laboratory is t o be serviceable and adaptable t o the changing needs of the future. ONE-STORY OR M U L T I S T O R Y LABORATORY
If there is plenty of space and the land is not too valuable, the one-etory laboratory with saw-tooth roof seems t o have some advantages over the multistory type. l m o n g these advantage5 are light weight and resultant economy of construction, elimination of elements of vertical circulation vhich, in comparison with element,s of horizontal circulation, are aln-ays complicated and costly, and the inherent advantages of a low buildingnamely, orientation and the avoidance of large areas of shadon-. Also, in permitting all laboratories t o be a t or near the ground level, the one-story building allows greater stability for chemical balances, galvanometers, and other instruments affected by vibrations. It permits quick evacuation in the case of fire and saves the energy of both faculty and students in going u p and down stairs. Panel or radiant heating is peculi:il,ly suitcd t o one-story laboratories; consequently radiators, n-hich often utilize valiiahle wall space and clutter up rooms, cnn be eliminated. Through a carefullj- planned system of floor trenches with removable covers, all plumbing, drninage, and electrical .;emices can be made accessible; such a system contributes to the important requirement of flexibility. The eshaustion of I~oods through comparatively short fume ducts is facilitated also. Inherent disadvantages are loss of compactnerq, iiicrenaed amount of land necessary, increased amount of footings, increased roof area, and increased dependence upon mechw~>icnl means for distributing air, water, chemical drainage, and sexage, since there is less opportunity for gravity flon-. I n general, the one-story laboratory appears to be \vel1 suited for the undergraduate problem in large universities. There is a trend on the part of large universities to subdivide large laboratories for undergraduate work. This results in more nall space, facilitates ventilation or air conditioiiing, and gives the student the feeling of individualized instruction rather than t h a t of ~vholesaleor mass education.
Vol. 39, No. 4
many other precise physical arid chemical measurements. Most new laboratories are air-conditioned. On the other hand, it can be argued t h a t a building without n-indows is not so dependable as one n i t h windows. Such buildings depend on mechanical supplies of light and air, and if for any reason the machinery ceases to function, the building cannot be used, whereas a building with windows can always be inhabited somehow. Besides serving their ordinary function, window provide a n emergency esit in the case of fire and give way in the case of a serious esplosion, thus saving the ~ a l l s .'The use of glass blocks for exterior walls is advantageous for the same reason. It can also he argued that landscape views from windows offer the student relief from concentration but teachers find i t difficult t o tolerate distraction. If windowless laboratories are desired, the selection of the proper color scheme and interior decorations will largely offset a need for relief from a feeling of confinement. Psychologists may help us with this problem. The n e x Firestone research laboratory in Akron has been so planned that the perimeter of the building containing v-indows is re.served for offices,library, stairs, etc., whereas the laboratories in the iiiterior of the building are windowless. The result is a daylighted office huilding which serves as the enclosure for a Kindo\vle,s, air-conditioned laboratory building. The idea might be well suited to the problem of the university laboratory v i t h its graduate and undergraduate requirements. FLEX I B I L I T Y I N M U L T I S T O R Y LABORATORI ES
Since flesihility of facilities play such an important role in all modern laboratories, the foilowing suggestions for pianning multi>tory laboratories are given: ACCESSIHILITI-OF SERTICES.At .intioch ( 5 ) this objective was accompli.~hedby the simple espedient of l i o l l o ~corridor walls (Figure 2). The doors opening on the corridor of the long rcctnngulnr building are spaced on the ieverd floors so t h a t the hollow n:dli are C O l l T i l l l l O l i ~from a plemim tiirinel beneath the base-
LABORATORIES W I T H OR W I T H O U T WINDOWS
Kindovr.less buildings are strongly indicated in cases where the rigid control of working conditions, such as temperature, humidity, lighting, etc., is desired. Such buildings lend t,liemselves t o panel heating and have more wall space for hoods, blackboards, storage cabinets, and various lahoratory services. Also, wall space permits a greater opportunity for visual education (Figure 1). Kindorvless Iiuildings are easy t o insulate and air condition to permit uniform control of temperature and humidity throughout the year. This is important for the control of constant temperature baths, calibration of volumetric flasks and burets, and
Figure 1.
Lecture room a t Northwestern University Technological I n s t i t u t e
Indirect lighting, sliding blackboards, sound-insulated walls, portable demonstration tablet, and easy student visibillty are shown.
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
nient corridor to the attic space. A-lllvertical heating, ventilating, fume ducts, plumbing, and electric and other service lines in the building are conccaled xithin these walls b u t are easily reached a t any point by the removal of one or more bolted panels of Ambler asbestos hoard, which constitutes the corridor wall. These hollow n-alls are designed t o permit horizontal distribution of service lines from one end of the building to t h e other. Repairing, renioving, or adding neiy services is thus facilitated. Flexibility in tlie distril>utionof services Tya: accomplished in tlir ne^ I'irestonr research laborntory by a coripletely free pipe A a f t a t every 2-1 feet alorig the center of tlie building. A special
colunin arrangement was required to keep the shaft free of supporting steel. \There normally there should be one single column, t'here are actually four separate ones, one a t each corner of a space measuring 4 X 6 feet,. One side of this rectangle is closed by a large vent shaft for air conditioning, but service lines can ired out in the otlier threedirections. SIZEOF ~IODL-LE o R Lx1.r ROOM. One of the most important, decisions t o he made in plnnning a chemical laboratory liuiltiing concerns the size of the unit room. This size in general pretleterniinrs the diatance lietwern bay3 or columns, the g e n r d architectural possibilities of the building, and the size of offices and
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Figure 2.
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LABCGATCRY
PLAN
Floor plans of science building a t Antioch College
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
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l l o s t laboratory furniture companies have this probIrm well in hand, and t,heir advice should be followed. In some of the more recently built l a b o r a t o r i e s d o w n - d r a f t table hoods, located on the students’ clesks, are replacing openfi,oiit fume hoods which are 11-iinllylocated along a wall. This is particularly true in freshmen laboratories where tlie bulk of t h e teaching lbad is located and rrhere there is a demand for facilities t h a t will simplify the teaching problem (Figure 4). Dorm-draft table hoods are not usually tis efficient as the open-faced hood in the removal of heavy fumes, but by tlie proper selection of e x 11 c r i x i i e i i t r: tlii- 1imii.d niny be eliniiiiiited. The use of down-draft hoods Figure 3. Physical chemistry laboratory a t Northwestern University also precludes the reagent Technological I nstit u t e shelf in f r o n t of t h e student, necessitating - wall larger laboratories which are multiples of this unit. h concabinets for these bottles. However, i t is apparent from the siderable difference of opinion is found among Ixofessors as t o t h e photograph t h a t t h e student, has more working space. Another novel feature of this freshmen laboratory is the enclosed size of the unit room; it varie!: from aliout 9 X 21. feet to 15 X case housing tivo balances and mounted on the top of the 25 feet. I n general, the size of the unit room depends upon the desk midn-ay b e t m e n the t,wo down-draft hoods. The two principal function of the laboratory-namely, for undergraduate balances face in opposite directions and are made accessible or graduate work. Graduate schools prefer larger unit rooms which offer more freedom for research viork (Figure 3). by lifting n door of the case. The balance used is a Chain-omatic with n I-gram rider giving a weighing capacit’y of eleven The unit room size in the Kettering Science Laboratory a t Antioch measures 9.5 X 22 feet. It was determined by t h e spaegrams lvithout use of the usual box of rreights. This arrangement will certainly encourage the introduction of more quaning and size of t h e standard chemical locker table adopted for titative experiments. larger laboratories-namely, 4 X 12 feet of n-orking surface, or Many improvements in the construction and design of fume 4 X 13.5 feet including the end sink. ( V o s t laboratory furniture companies now recommend a table 54 instead of 48 inches \%-vide). ducts also have been made in recent years. The ceramic duct ~ n popul:ir s fifteen t o twenty years ago, but its great weight, vhich R e decided on an aisle of 5.5 feet between locker tables, which results in the 9.5-foot bay. Since a 54-inch wide locker table is nourequired tli:it duct risers be built in as a permanent part of the building, did uot conti~ibutet o flexibility. The large heavy cerecommended, it, follows t h a t a 10-foot bay would be needed for ramic ducts that snaked over attic floors used u p too much valuproper spacing of the modern laboratory furniture. A room able space, and their high cask forced corisideration of other depth of 22 feet also appears ideal, for i t permits hoods along the materials, such as prc>fabricatedtransite and sheet steel. corridor or outer 1%-allsand leaves ample space a t the ends of locker Lead-clad sheet steel d u c k , designed in sections with outside tables for freedom of movement on the part of students and inbolted flanges, are n o v recommended. These ducts are light structors. and can easily be niouiited in hollow n-all.5, ,so t h a t they can be reT h e ends of the locker tables are opposite the coluniiis so t h a t paired, reniovrd, or replaced. They are light enough t o h e SIRlight from t h e windows illuminates the aisles betm-een t h e tables. p~iiderlfrom :ittic ceilings and can thereby conserve floor space. h70NSUPPORTING SCREEN TT-ALLS. The use of nonsupporting dome nie coated inside with asphalt or other acid-resisting paints n-alls t o separate rooms is essential in tlie construction of a modfor added protection. \Ye used this type of construction in our ern laboratory. This is easily accomplished by utilizing comscience hiilding, arid during the past sixteen yenrs not n singlc pletely prefabricated steel nalls and partitions with fully deduct Iias foiled, despite the fact t h a t many have taken heavy mountable and interchaiigeable panel units, so t h a t cliniiges can daily punishment from acid and other corrosive fumes. be made easily mid economically. K h e r e changes in room sizes or functions are not made too frequently, the use of gypsuni block covered n-ith plaster is useful. T h e architect c:tn suggest other w a p t o accomplish this objective. TABLE I. C O S T BRE.LKDOM-S HOODS~ S DE’i-arE 1 3 - c w . Rem:irl;:ible inipr(~v~:nie~its iii Itenis yo of Over-all Cost both desigii and coiistructioii oT funic h o d s have iiecn nxitlc iii Geueral building contract 50-60 Plumbing, heating, a n d ventilating 10-15 recent yenrs. 13nffleplates Tvitli ndjust:it,l(~openiiigs a i i d d:impers Electrirnl eqiiipiiient 5-7.5 make it pclssible t u coiitrol : i r i d i’rmove nll typc~.kof funies with n Fiirnitiire iind eqiiiprnerit 12-2 1 General buildiiig itriiis: including elevatur, minimum of a i r removul. .llso, light niaterinls witli cheriiic:dly seating, grading, a n d lvndscaping 3-8 Planning a n d supervision 4-7 resistant finishes baked n u the cui face; plen:iug to t h e ?yet reduce niaintenance cost and nicreahe the iiht)fiil l i t ~of n huod.
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
461
C O N S T R U C T I O N A N D E Q U I P M E N T COSTS
One of the first qriritions asked by committees intcrrsted in prcparing plans for a new laboratory building concerns the tjrrakdown of construction and equipment co.sts. T h e following prcliniinary iniormstion cl1art.i the costs of construction irom 1013 to 1946 (I). T h e premit index compnred to 1013 is 3.5 with prices still rising. However, i!i spite of inflation, the relative price percentages of the large items m2king up the totnl cost h2ve remained fsirly uniform. I n cornparing the construction and equipment co>ts of some tivelve multistory college and university Inboratory buildings from 192G t o the p r c v n t , the gencral breakdown shown in Table I c4ri be made. I t is expressed in terms of the \variations of the percentage of final oirer-all cost of the building, including the furniture and equipment. .-\lthough construction cost-: vnry considerably 111 various parts of the country in any given yrar, the comparative relations of Table I appear t o be consistent over the period 1926 to 1946.
Figure 4.
MISCELLANEOUS I T E M S
SPECIAL Roohis. I n addition t o the conventional complement of offices, lecture rooms, class rooms, laboratories, stockrooms, library, ete., that make up many prewar college and university laboratory buildings, modern chemical research requires special facilities to be conducted successfully, economically, and with the least waste of time. Committees planning new laboratories, particularly graduate school laboratories, should consider rooms designed for constant temperature, rooms for lovr. temperature, isolated and carefully insulated rooms for radioactive isotopes, tracer chemistry, and x-ray work, air-conditioned darkrooms for spectroscopic studies, vibration-free rooms for infrared work, and dark rooms for the electron microscope, ultramicroscope, etc. An ample storage room for used equipment will free laboratories of accumulations, save headaches, and conserve the nervous energies of teachers for more creative m-ork. Careful consideration should be given to rooms designed for the storage of dangerous chemicals and t o facilities for safeguarding the lives and health of the students and teachers ( 8 ) . A symposium on this item alone would prove profitable to planning committees. Since writing the first draft of this paper, the writer was severely gassed with hydrogen sulfide. I n the act of removing the metal hood (which protects the valve mechanism during shipment) from a tank of hydrogen sulfide, the safety plug blew out. This accident illustrates how quickly and unexpectedly such events happen. T h e writer may be forgiven for stressing the importance of this subject for planning committees, since he is just recovering from concussion received when he fell unconscious outside the building as a result of the accident. DISTILLEDWATERSUPPLY.I n communities where the water supply is hard, a considerable amount of trouble may be experienced by the residue yyhich collects in the still and condenser jacket during the preparation of distilled water. At Antioch this situation was corrected by storing rain water, collected from the slate roof, in a large cistern buried in the ground outside this building. T h e cistern is fitted with a filtering wall t o remove any sediment. T h e cistern water is then pumped to the still located in the attic space, where part of it is boiled and condensed to produce the distilled water; the other part serves t o cool the condenser jacket and is then returned to the cistern. T h e still is automatic and steam-heated, and v,-ith this arrangement it requires very little attention from year t o year. The water is of
Freshman chemistry laboratory, Northwestern University Technolog ica I I nstit u t e
the best quality, essentially a redistilled distilled water; a number of schools adopted this scheme and have found it effective. CHEbfIc.iL LIBRARY. Chemists constantly depend on ample library facilities, which should be readily accessible and, consequently, located in the laboratory building. There is pressure on the part of the administ,rations of some of our smaller colleges t o combine science libraries n-ith the main library in a separate building, sometimes quite remote from the chemical laboratories. This attitude cannot be defended in colleges where research is encouraged. I n many prewar college and university laboratories the chemical lihrary space has become inadequate t o accommodate the rapidly expanding literature and forces encroachment on the reading space to allow stacking of books. Planning committees should give careful consideration to this problem. LOCKER SPACEFOR CLOTHISG. Planning committees are frequently so absorbed in getting good laboratories that they fail t o provide locker space for clothing. This problem may be anticipated by making the corridors wide enough to accommodate a locker system; otherwise cloakrooms near laboratories will suffice. The writer realizes that the above treatment is sketchy, but if it has called attention to some significant items, it will have served its purpose. Perhaps some day we can have that laboratory designed t o provide every possible facility, every safeguard to e q u i p ment and personnel, every possible aid to flexibility, and every possible provision against obsolescence-in a building devoted t o teaching students hon- to make things obso1et)e. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The writer n-ishes t o thank Herbert Baumer for valuable suggestions in the preparation of this paper. LITERATURE CITED
(1) Eng. Yews-Record, 136,566-77 (1946). (2) Fisher Scientific Co., The Laboratory, 16, No. 3, 58 (1946). (3) Lewis, H. F., Chem. Eng. S e w s , 24, 2187 (1946). (4) Natl. Research Council Committee, rept. pub. by Chemical Foundation, Inc., 1930. ( 5 ) Patterson, A. M., IXD.ENQ.CHEM.,NEWSED.,9, 172 (1931). ~
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