facilitating a. successful.
For Containment Level 3 (or BSL3) and above or cleanrooms, air-changes will increase further still, often becoming impractical for an office conversion.In addition, it may be necessary to separate lab HVAC systems from other parts of the building..
The top priority should be to optimise the HVAC design with a view to reducing the amount of plant and riser space required.Techniques such as transferring extract air from adjacent office spaces to partially make-up the new lab supply can sometimes be used, however their compliance must be carefully reviewed..Even with an optimised design it is likely that new, larger HVAC plant and additional ductwork will be required.
For some office buildings this can be difficult to incorporate, with limited roof, external, riser, and ceiling void space available.Ideally, new riser space can be formed in such a way that it doesn’t significantly reduce net usable lab space or cause issues with adjacent tenancies (where relevant).
Where this isn’t possible, external ductwork can be considered, however there are other issues such as building appearance and Planning Permission that can make this unfeasible.. Exhausts for fume cabinets, ducted MBSCs, storage cabinets, and LEV (local extract ventilation) will also need to find their way to roof level.
With limited riser space this means upper-floor office conversions are preferable, though these tend to be less advantageous from an access or structural point of view..Significant volumetric changes can occur to timber exposed to changes in moisture, including swelling perpendicular to grain direction, warping, and bending of straight elements.
With engineered timber overall deformations are less likely due to the controlled material use and grain directions, but it is still sensitive to swelling if exposed to moisture and water.This makes it necessary to adequately waterproof the envelope of the building and protect the material during transportation and construction.. Due to high demand, timber sold in the UK is typically not dried out properly.
As it dries it changes geometry losing original accuracy.This is a problem as connections cannot be relied on geometrically and presents a challenge particularly for DfMA solutions and other situations where small tolerances are required.. Our response is to:.
(Editor: Rechargeable Webcams)