Rapid Innovation: How Evoqua’s Lab Transformed to Meet Growing Demands

Demonstration space at the Evoqua Water Technologies in Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh, PA. Image: Ed Rombout

Evoqua Water Technologies (now Xylem) found itself outgrowing its old office space, and identified a hyper flexible space in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA for its new home. Evoqua worked with R3A Architecture to address and ameliorate the issues presented by their previous space, and to plan for the future of their laboratory operations and staff. R3A used tools such as BIM technology and virtual reality to complete the project design in under three months, allowing the lab’s end users to make quick decisions on critical systems and design features such as hazardous storage areas and an in-house waste water treatment system.  

Lab Design News spoke to Patrick Russell, AIA, associate and project manager with R3A, about this lab project’s challenges and innovations.  

Q: When and how was the decision reached to develop this lab facility? Did it replace an existing facility or was it developed to meet the need for a new facility?

A: This facility replaces an existing facility. The facility lease was ending and Evoqua saw an opportunity to upgrade and improve their workflows and capacity as their demand and new projects increased.  

Q: What kinds of sustainability initiatives have been included in the design plan? Is the facility pursuing LEED certification or something similar?

A: Sustainability is one of Evoqua’s biggest initiatives and core to the work that they do—however, this project is not pursuing LEED certifications. This project is focused on the research that is going to clean up the fresh water supply for communities around the world. The testing facilities and pilot programs at this facility are discharging water back into the public system that is cleaner than when it came in.  

Q: Is there anything particularly unique or groundbreaking about your facility or the design plan?

A: The program for these lab and pilot spaces had to be extremely flexible because new pilot programs are being brought on board and changed out constantly. The high bay space has lighting, power, piped gas services, and other connections fed from overhead to allow for expanding and changing spaces below. Evoqua needed this double height space because some of the processes required taller equipment that has a top-down workflow, which meant there was a need to design forklift routes into the flexible pilot spaces.  

Q: What sorts of challenges did you encounter during the design/build process, and how did you overcome them?

Water research lab space. Image: Ed Rombout

A: Evoqua had a tight timeline to get the lab up and running to start their new pilot program before the old lease was to expire. We had to work closely with the contractor on the long lead items like the electrical gear, fire alarm panels, and air handling units to release those early while the rest of the facility was still being designed. There was inherent risk in authorizing purchase of equipment before final design or pricing was completed so it was critical that our initial meetings with the researchers and managers uncovered all the needed information up front so that subsequent meetings would not change the design direction of the lab.

Additionally, the nature of the research and experimentation in the pilot spaces produces significant odors which was a challenge for the workers and a concern for the building owner and other tenants. The HVAC system was upgraded to provide more air changes per hour at a higher volume than the base building was planned for. Flexible snorkels were connected to a ductwork loop to provide localized air capture at high odor places and fed to scrubbers that neutralized the exhaust before expelling. The demising walls received an extra build out of studs and drywall with calking at joints and penetrations to increase acoustic, fire, and odor separation. 

Q: How was lab manager/researcher input incorporated into this design plan?

Elevated walkway that overlooks the first floor pilot equipment testing areas. Image: Ed Rombout

A: Through our interactive workshop exercises we interviewed the lab managers and researchers to immerse ourselves in their workflows so that the layout, sequence, and adjacencies of equipment and spaces would optimize their work days and be flexible for future research activities. We overlayed typical day-in-the-life workflows from the researchers with rapid iterations of floor plans and equipment layouts to maximize the efficiency of the layout given the existing constraints of the building.  

Q: How does the design of the lab contribute to community health and well-being?

A: In addition to hyper flexibility and optimized workflows, occupant well-being was a key consideration in the organization of spaces and their design. The open lab allows for maximum daylight across the research spaces, with more light-sensitive spaces concentrated inboard. Direct views to the outside and nature were used in addition to interior color palettes and motifs of nature and using Evoqua’s wave pattern logo as inspiration for more biophilic design features. The nature of the research and equipment can cause significant odor and noise. Acoustically insulated walls and glazing systems were utilized for the break room, conferences room, and training spaces that overlook the high bay labs. Flexible snorkels and scrubbers are used to reduce odors for the researchers.  

Q: If a similar facility or program were to look at your lab for inspiration, what do you think they will take away as an example of what they should also implement in their own lab?

A: I think the flexibility that comes from proper planning is key. Our focus on asking the right questions up front to really understand and diagram the key issues for the lab resulted in lab that is packed with equipment and research, yet remains open and bright and functions efficiently on day one and into the future.