How Much Does a Laboratory Building Cost to Engineer?

HVAC: the lab's engine

Ventilation (the 100% outside air — the 6-12 ACH; the fume hoods — the 80-120 fpm face velocity; the energy — the heat recovery; the controls — the room pressurization cascades), the exhaust (the manifolded — the fume-hood exhaust; the scrubbers where the chemistry; the stack dispersion), and the redundancy (the N+1 — the experiments' continuity; the standby power — the full).

Lab types' demands

Chemistry (the fume hoods — the density; the chemical storage — the ventilated), biology/BSL (the containment — the BSL-2/3's directional airflow, the airlocks, the effluent decontamination), vivarium (the animal — the 10-15 ACH; the temperature/humidity — the tight; the redundancy — the life support), and the clean (the ISO classes — the filtration).

Structure and utilities

Vibration (the sensitive instruments — the VC criteria; the isolated slabs), the electromagnetic (the EMI — the shielding where the microscopy), the process utilities (the DI water, the gases — the distribution; the acid waste — the separate drainage), and the flexibility (the modular — the reconfigurable; the interstitial — the maintenance floor). The safety (the chemical — the eyewash, the showers; the fire — the suppression). Plan 18-36 months.

The bottom line

Budget $1-$6M+ for lab building engineering — the 100%-outside-air HVAC with fume-hood exhaust, the containment/vibration criteria, and the process utilities at 10-14% of construction.

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