Service Systems via Ceiling By Hansjürg Lüdi General Discussion In today’s building construction (and renovation) environment, most structures designed, that include requirements for laboratory space (or any general space for that matter) are done so without a precise understanding of the actual usage that will occur at the time of final construction, not to mention the decades of reconfiguration after construction. Service systems via the ceiling, provide a mechanism that maximizes flexibility, both with respect to the physical fluctuation in lab space required and the precise delivery of services to anywhere within any open space concept, with minimal effort and no disruption in operations. That is to say, delivery of utilities and services to any point within the open space design, can be easily designed even when the final specific location for usage is unknown. Many owners and designers of laboratories are facing these significant obstacles when they try to design a laboratory with unknown, specific utilization. A lack of known, detailed requirements, provides insufficient information with respect to usage, necessary for proper final designs, thereby forestalling proper planning of laboratory buildings. Additionally, open architecture concepts allowing highly flexible, quick modifications, require a new approach for the engineering of all building services. Pressures to accelerate construction and the pace of real estate resale of laboratory buildings, as well as change of users or tenants and reconfiguration of work flow, create significant consequences for engineering laboratory media services, in addition to constant modification of the requirements for laboratory equipment and furniture. The resultant costs are both substantial and unacceptable, while being completely avoidable through the utilization of a service system via the ceiling. Media services distributed from the ceiling, containing all laboratory utility and service requirements, have been engineered and designed since 2004 throughout western Europe.
Service Systems via Ceiling By Hansjürg Lüdi General Discussion In today’s building construction (and renovation) environment, most structures designed, that include requirements for laboratory space (or any general space for that matter) are done so without a precise understanding of the actual usage that will occur at the time of final construction, not to mention the decades of reconfiguration after construction. Service systems via the ceiling, provide a mechanism that maximizes flexibility, both with respect to the physical fluctuation in lab space required and the precise delivery of services to anywhere within any open space concept, with minimal effort and no disruption in operations. That is to say, delivery of utilities and services to any point within the open space design, can be easily designed even when the final specific location for usage is unknown. Many owners and designers of laboratories are facing these significant obstacles when they try to design a laboratory with unknown, specific utilization. A lack of known, detailed requirements, provides insufficient information with respect to usage, necessary for proper final designs, thereby forestalling proper planning of laboratory buildings. Additionally, open architecture concepts allowing highly flexible, quick modifications, require a new approach for the engineering of all building services. Pressures to accelerate construction and the pace of real estate resale of laboratory buildings, as well as change of users or tenants and reconfiguration of work flow, create significant consequences for engineering laboratory media services, in addition to constant modification of the requirements for laboratory equipment and furniture. The resultant costs are both substantial and unacceptable, while being completely avoidable through the utilization of a service system via the ceiling. Media services distributed from the ceiling, containing all laboratory utility and service requirements, have been engineered and designed since 2004 throughout western Europe.
Services-via-Ceiling-Systems.docx