Lab Design Conference Speaker Profile: Joss Hurford
Joss Hurford, building performance consultant at Affiliated Engineers, Inc.
Joss Hurford, building performance consultant at Affiliated Engineers, Inc., will be speaking at the 2025 Lab Design Conference in Denver, CO. His presentation, “Too Much Water and Too Little—Protecting Vital Operations,” will take place on May 13 at 12:30pm.
Joss's session will cover how disaster-scale climate and weather events threaten institutions' research stature, research outcomes, and vivarium species welfare. The session will outline best practices for siting, designing, and operating critical research laboratories to ensure continuous operation during climate or weather events that could otherwise disrupt utility services or require staff to shelter in place. Joss will also review National Institutes of Health (NIH) design standards and examine case studies to share lessons learned from critical facilities in both higher education and the private sector.
Lab Design News recently spoke with Joss about the need for robust operational procedures, camping and Brazilian jiujitsu, and what you can expect from his Lab Design Conference presentation. Be sure to secure your spot at the conference so you don’t miss this session!
Q: How is your Lab Design Conference talk particularly relevant to today’s laboratory design landscape?
A: Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” The risk posed by climate change, extreme weather events, and a reliance upon an aging utility infrastructure is steadily increasing. As organizational operations become more interwoven with other activities or resources, the potential for disruption multiplies. Resilience is essential to ensuring supporting both research development and preservation.
Q: What are some key takeaways that attendees can expect from your session, and how can they apply these lessons to their own lab projects?
A: A deeper understanding of the level of connectivity that needs to be considered when addressing risk, and the means to engage others in emergency management planning.
Q: What are your top tips for lab users to optimize their current lab space, without undergoing a new build or a major renovation?
A: When addressing resilience around critical research, it is often impractical to mitigate all risk through design. Having robust operational procedures with training can led building users being better prepared and a more effective response in an emergency.
Q: Why is it important for professionals involved in lab design and operations to attend your session, and how will it help them stay ahead of industry trends?
A: The trend of climate change extreme weather disasters isn’t slowing down and so it’s imperative to get ahead of the curve and develop the means to stay there.
Q: What kinds of hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?
A: Camping, Brazilian jiujitsu, and trying to keep up with two young kids all makes for a good mix.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about the Lab Design Conference?
A: Meeting and hearing from folks from a broad range of roles, responsibilities, and unique experiences from the S&T sector.
