science facilities projects require the collaboration of many different parties , and an effective coordination between these individuals leads to successful outcomes . architects with experience in designing laboratories bring expertise and creativity as they provide their clients with a variety of issues and examples to consider as decisions are made about optimal space configurations . the success of the project is dependent upon the effective teamwork between the client , the architects , and the construction management staff . in the design phase of the process , there is a recursive aspect to the exercise , as concepts get refined and translated to actual construction documents . although the campus planning , physical plant and administration ( e.g. , dean of the faculty or financial affairs ) staff are critical representatives of the institution , it is also important to have faculty perspectives heard as they pertain to the evolution of the program for the building . as described below , a  faculty shepherd  is a desirable addition to the team . this person represents the faculty and is charged with maintaining the integrity of the program as the design and construction go forward . the opportunity to provide input into the development of new spaces comes with the responsibility to provide the lab designers with as much information as possible . descriptions of how teaching and research are accomplished , expectations of new equipment or staffing changes , and needs and desires to have shared spaces are all important issues to raise . it is important to balance the vision for new spaces with a flexibility to seriously consider suggestions from the architects , who have the benefit of knowing designs that have worked well at other institutions . for any project , one of the first considerations is how the objectives fit into the campus curricular and strategic plans . at some campuses , there might be a master plan indicating how renovations or expansions of science facilities contribute to the strategic objectives of the institution . in some cases , specific curricular programs are considered important to develop as focal points for the science offerings . in others , increases in science enrollments have occurred or buildings that were effective years ago no longer support modern science , both in terms of the increased demand on technology or laboratories that need to be renovated for safety concerns . one common driving force for renovation of science facilities is that science education has changed over the decades . one of the main changes at many institutions is the incorporation of student research as a focal point in the way in which students learn science , either in laboratory courses or in conducting independent studies . in other cases , the changes in teaching style might not match the spaces that were appropriate for teaching in a different era . for example , in some disciplines , there is less division between laboratory and lecture ; new spaces are constructed to allow for a seamless transition to both types of teaching within the same spaces . extensive faculty discussions are critical in developing an optimal set of perspectives regarding the needs and the priorities of the spaces to be developed . a self - study serves the purpose of identifying where the opportunities and needs lie . the discussions of how to build on strengths and how to deal with weaknesses have the potential to alter the educational environment for years to come . if possible , faculty discussions across departments are helpful , particularly when incorporating the opinions of younger faculty who will benefit the most from the new spaces . benchmarking data can be helpful to the administration and trustees as they decide on the magnitude of a project . in the case where there is a possible these data are particularly relevant to faculty when there are multiple departments involved in the project . departments have different needs , and comparative data provide the information to enable appropriate allocation . once the appropriate determinations of total space have been made , departments might decide to partition the space in different ways . one way to accomplish this successfully is to have a faculty member serve as the  shepherd  of the project . ideally , this person would be involved in all meetings with the administration , architects , and construction professionals to represent the faculty and to be responsible for ensuring that the academic program is maintained as the many decisions occur throughout the duration of the project . as a central figure , this person serves to keep all parties informed of the progress and issues that arise . faculty shepherds become so familiar with the different faculty and departmental needs that they can be critical in keeping important program considerations at the forefront . they provide an effective way for architects to communicate with the faculty and staff , and they assist the deans in dealing with committees and meetings that would otherwise be organized by an administrator from the dean s office or physical plant . particularly in large projects , the constituencies that need to be involved thus , several committees are helpful to have in place , each with a specific charge . for example , a general building committee would bring together a larger number of people to review progress of the design , but a health and safety committee might be responsible for reviewing and revising the policies regarding storage of and access to chemicals . in our project at hamilton , one committee consisted of representatives of the departments or areas included in the project , and this group played a fundamental role in coordinating the deliberations within the different departments regarding their teaching and research spaces . other items require the input from other members of the campus community who will have a significant impact on the operation of the building , including those in the maintenance , registrar , information technology , and food service areas . if there are classrooms that will serve other departments , then conversations should take place with faculty from non - science departments . it is desirable to include students on many of these committees to provide their perspective on the important and desirable features of new spaces . many faculty members are so heavily involved in their own work that they have not had the opportunity to examine the best practices and spaces at other institutions . it is well worth the investment of time and money for them to see the most interesting projects that have been constructed . when the faculty members visit these buildings , they become aware of different approaches and come up with creative ideas of their own . although each project has its own unique features , some general characteristics can be seen in many modern science buildings . one of the trends at small colleges has been to bring several disciplines ( and sometimes all of the sciences ) under one roof . this serves interdisciplinary programs particularly well , but also recognizes the fact that the traditional disciplines have blurred boundaries between each other . these arrangements benefit neuroscience programs in particular , since those students typically take courses in biology , chemistry , and psychology , and the faculty and student research sometimes requires access to equipment that is housed in different departments . modern undergraduate science education is exciting to watch , with students engaging in laboratory work , collaborative activities , and oral presentations with attractive slides ( see figures 1 and 2 ) . buildings are energized when the activity in the classrooms and laboratories is visible to visitors passing through the building . the presence of glass in doors and walls also provides an element of safety by allowing students to be seen from hallways . of course , there are times when visibility is counterproductive to a particular laboratory experiment or demonstration . at hamilton , a few faculty members have covered the glass windows to their laboratories with shades . in the behavioral neuroscience testing rooms , when we are conducting experiments that require privacy , these panels are easily inserted for the times when testing is taking place . at hamilton college , offices are located near laboratories to let faculty members always be in close proximity to the student research . the teaching laboratories are also in the same areas , which makes those spaces available for use for research during summer months when they are not being used for classes . when possible , shared prep rooms and support spaces allow for efficient shared access to equipment and chemical storage . over time , faculty members will change , curricular programs will evolve , new areas of inquiry will develop , and student course selections will differ . over many years , the distribution of faculty might change from discipline to discipline . as part of the design process , it is useful to ask how the configuration of spaces would accommodate an additional faculty member or a faculty member with a different specialty area . one objective might be to include expansion spaces that are shared and thus not designated for any particular department . as needs change and some programs become smaller and other new ones are formed , these spaces can serve different departments at different times . flexibility can also be incorporated into the way individual spaces are arranged . for example , for wet lab bench work , it might be useful to have a shared student - faculty research lab that serves more than one faculty member . in this way , during a semester when one faculty member needs more space and another one less , their use of the area in the laboratory can expand and retract accordingly ( see figure 3 ) . for other situations , all other things being equal , a larger number of small spaces might be more helpful than fewer spaces that are larger in size . some neuroscience teaching laboratories have incorporated both laboratory and seminar areas in the same space , and others have had adjacent rooms configured for wet lab and seminar or computer work , thus making it easy to have students engage in both types of activities in the same class period ( see figures 4 and 5 ) . if built - in benches are not required , then sturdy but moveable tables can be considered . in teaching laboratories , this can make it easy to have different configurations from semester to semester or even from week to week ( see figure 6 ) . for those classes where reconfigurations are frequent , casters might be placed on the legs of the tables . tables with built - in outlets and umbilical cords to connect to floor boxes keep sight lines free . behavioral neuroscience laboratories often require lighting , curtains , and cameras that are sometimes suspended from the laboratory ceilings . they are connected to the steel structure of the building , can be configured to provide power , and have tracks to make the position of equipment easy to adjust ( see figure 7 ) . finally , although the teaching and research areas are the focus of the attention of faculty members , there are other types of spaces that create a successful academic building . when students are asked about the spaces that are the most important for them , they place good study areas at the top of the list ( see figure 8) . similarly , a science center that has a caf and attractive classrooms is used by students and faculty from all disciplines and ensures that the building serves the entire campus . modern undergraduate science education is exciting to watch , with students engaging in laboratory work , collaborative activities , and oral presentations with attractive slides ( see figures 1 and 2 ) . buildings are energized when the activity in the classrooms and laboratories is visible to visitors passing through the building . the presence of glass in doors and walls also provides an element of safety by allowing students to be seen from hallways . of course , there are times when visibility is counterproductive to a particular laboratory experiment or demonstration . at hamilton , a few faculty members have covered the glass windows to their laboratories with shades . in the behavioral neuroscience testing rooms , when we are conducting experiments that require privacy , these panels are easily inserted for the times when testing is taking place . at hamilton college , offices are located near laboratories to let faculty members always be in close proximity to the student research . the teaching laboratories are also in the same areas , which makes those spaces available for use for research during summer months when they are not being used for classes . when possible , shared prep rooms and support spaces allow for efficient shared access to equipment and chemical storage . over time , faculty members will change , curricular programs will evolve , new areas of inquiry will develop , and student course selections will differ . over many years , the distribution of faculty might change from discipline to discipline . as part of the design process , it is useful to ask how the configuration of spaces would accommodate an additional faculty member or a faculty member with a different specialty area . one objective might be to include expansion spaces that are shared and thus not designated for any particular department . as needs change and some programs become smaller and other new ones are formed , these spaces can serve different departments at different times . for example , for wet lab bench work , it might be useful to have a shared student - faculty research lab that serves more than one faculty member . in this way , during a semester when one faculty member needs more space and another one less , their use of the area in the laboratory can expand and retract accordingly ( see figure 3 ) . for other situations , all other things being equal , a larger number of small spaces might be more helpful than fewer spaces that are larger in size . one example of this might be for spaces used for behavioral testing . some neuroscience teaching laboratories have incorporated both laboratory and seminar areas in the same space , and others have had adjacent rooms configured for wet lab and seminar or computer work , thus making it easy to have students engage in both types of activities in the same class period ( see figures 4 and 5 ) . if built - in benches are not required , then sturdy but moveable tables can be considered . in teaching laboratories , this can make it easy to have different configurations from semester to semester or even from week to week ( see figure 6 ) . for those classes where reconfigurations are frequent tables with built - in outlets and umbilical cords to connect to floor boxes keep sight lines free . behavioral neuroscience laboratories often require lighting , curtains , and cameras that are sometimes suspended from the laboratory ceilings . they are connected to the steel structure of the building , can be configured to provide power , and have tracks to make the position of equipment easy to adjust ( see figure 7 ) . finally , although the teaching and research areas are the focus of the attention of faculty members , there are other types of spaces that create a successful academic building . when students are asked about the spaces that are the most important for them , they place good study areas at the top of the list ( see figure 8) . similarly , a science center that has a caf and attractive classrooms is used by students and faculty from all disciplines and ensures that the building serves the entire campus . effectively designed science facilities produce long - term benefits , not only in teaching and research , but also in admissions and in the success of the institutional mission . although the examples and descriptions mentioned above have been in the context of large renovation and expansion projects , there are lessons that can easily be applied to small projects . it is remarkable how providing appropriate furnishings to a room can change the effectiveness of the space . regardless of the magnitude of the projects and their eventual design features , the process is critical . when all parties become involved in the discussions , then they can all contribute constructively in the difficult choices that sometimes have to be made because of budgetary limitations . the increases in the effectiveness of the spaces and in the morale of the users can be impressive .
science facility renovation and expansion projects provide opportunities for faculty members to play a role in working with architects and administrators to produce effective spaces for teaching and research . 
 this article summarizes information regarding the process and design features that have proved beneficial for many recent science facilities projects . 
 although the context focuses on large projects , the general principles pertain to smaller changes in spaces that individual departments might be pursuing .