Working in a Fishbowl, and Five Other Trends in Laboratory Design

People are naturally voyeuristic. It’s a trait which reality television has taken advantage of for some time. Now other industries, from restaurants to research labs, are turning this human habit into an opportunity for better management and positive public relations by showcasing their workplace processes in “fishbowl” facilities. As Jennifer Webb states in Lab Manager Magazine, research labs benefit from this new openness in several ways: Investors and others can see and appreciate the lab’s capabilities; regulators can observe the lab in action without disturbing ongoing research; and natural light improves researchers’ productivity – an important factor for both cost control and employee retention.

Of course, the fishbowl trend has implications for space utilization, storage, and workstation aesthetics. Webb discusses six new trends in lab design which enhance the public face of research labs while keeping infrastructure costs in check:

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