CREJ - Building Dialogue - December 2016
Over 30,000 Coloradans work in the bioscience field. The biotechnology industry has experienced accelerated growth in recent years. The major factor influencing this growth has been large pharmaceutical companies looking for their next blockbuster drug coupled with an aging population facing a long list of chronic diseases. Colorado is home to numerous bioscience research assets that have demonstrated a strong commitment to building research excellence. The Fitzsimons Life Science District and the adjacent Anschutz Medical Campus are among the most ambitious medical developments ($5.2 billion) in the nation. Colorado ranked 12th in number of U.S. patents granted – a key indicator of future innovation in the marketplace. Bioscience employers are engaged in a heated talent battle, looking to hire from a small pool of elite scientists from major universities and institutions. Additionally, biotech workplaces themselves are changing under technology’s influence. Scientists are spending less time in the lab due to increased automation of tasks and the ability to gather data remotely over the internet. Knoll invested in this growing vertical market research to cover key trends, and provides planning and design strategies that biotech companies can implement within their workplaces. Priorities of the Modern Biotech Workplace Several factors are driving up the cost and complexity of the biotech workspaces today, including the pressure to be near an innovation hub, the need to attract top talent with excellent amenities and the need for flexibility to change workspaces as the company grows. Balance of lab versus office space. The ratio of office-to-lab space varies over time as a biotech company grows. Young companies typically require less square footage and most of that is taken up with lab equipment and bench space. Contrast this allocation with when the drug is approved, marketing and sales teams move in and the office-to-lab ratio may be 70/30. One way that small-company owners have adjusted to meet their varied square footage needs is to band together and occupy tenant buildings that accommodate multiple, similar-stage companies. Attract and retain employees. Building location, facilities and amenities matter to biotech companies because they matter to recruits. Class A, fully outfitted lab space can be a way to attract top scientists. In addition, common amenities include healthy eateries, walking paths, outdoor seating, fitness areas, showers, game rooms, coffee break areas and bike parking. Companies in more suburban areas often offer more amenities because of the cheaper cost of real estate, and because many feel they must make up for being outside of a major hub. Encourage collaboration. With all these top minds gathered in one space, biotech companies want to make sure their employees are talking, collaborating and innovating together whenever possible. To support that goal, more biotech offices than ever are moving to open seating, more meeting rooms, fewer private offices and more interstitial spaces with comfortable seating, monitors and power outlets to encourage interaction. “Socializing may be hampered because you cannot have a cup of coffee or eat in the lab … but collaboration is still top of mind,” says Bill Holt of TK&A Architects in Boston. Adapt to technology. “We’re finding that research is more and more automated. Very few people spend a half or whole day in the lab, which is different than 10 years ago. Now there’s more space for equipment, not people, in the labs,” says Brian Horman of Just Biotherapeutics. Thanks to digital advances like 3-D modeling software, robotics and data transfer through the internet from lab to laptop, lab space is not as populated as it once was. Scientists set up the process they need a machine to complete, and then step away from the lab to work on other projects, as results automatically send when the work is done. Finding space to analyze data is becoming more important than lab bench space. As a result, lab spaces are often shared, with fewer assigned areas. Each piece of equipment has a space and likely has a shared computer attached to it for setting up processes and collecting data. Allow room to focus. Like many industries that struggle to find the right balance of open plan areas to focus spaces, biotech’s need is even more acute to create areas for silent, concentrative work. Many PhDs and others involved in research analyze data or prepare papers and need long stretches of time in silence. Workplace Solutions and Strategies To help biotech companies create a workspace that balances pressures like real estate costs, recruitment and producing innovative medicines, we suggest the following solutions and strategies, which can be explored in the full white paper on www.knoll.com 1. Encourage knowledge sharing. 2. Provide choice in workspace. 3. Use space efficiently. 4. Design for maximum flexibility. 5. Offer workplace amenities. Future Outlook The ebb and flow of research for new medicines, influenced by regulatory changes, continued talent wars and further globalization of R&D, all make the future of biotech difficult to predict. It is, by its nature, always transforming as new technologies and ideas emerge. The only thing that is certain is change. \\ Also cited: http://choosecolorado.com/key-industries/bioscience/