Ashworth 2 is a 1970s building which sits behind the iconic Ashworth Building at Kings Buildings. Recent refurbishment has given the building - including its labs - a much needed update with sustainability in mind. The Ashworth 2 building at King’s Buildings has been undergoing refurbishment of its offices and laboratories since September 2014. This month a major milestone was reached when the 2nd floor lab refurbishment was completed. Image The modern labs at Ashworth 2 A flexible approach to the final design has meant that the labs have been able to incorporate improvements and developments in sustainable design and building practices during the refurbishment, such as incorporating light sensor kits to auto dim office lights. During the refurbishment work sustainability has been incorporated into the spaces in a number of ways: Increased wall and roof insulation Reorganisation and repositioning of equipment to reduce the need for energy intensive DX air conditioning units Reduced number of energy intensive externally vented fume cupboards, and replacing with recirculating fume cupboards (incorporating ventilation storage underneath) Cold rooms provided to discourage the accumulation of fridges within labs Design of office and lab spaces to maximise natural daylight, reducing the need for artificial lighting Glass walls between offices and corridor spaces to allow natural daylight into these internal spaces and reduce the artificial lighting requirement Installation of energy efficient T5 lighting Motion sensor controls for lighting LED task lighting at benches, with dimmable controls Operable windows in offices to provide free natural ventilation Generic and flexible design of lab spaces so it can easily be rearranged in future without massive upheaval Dedicated spaces for weighing and sharing of common chemicals and lab consumables. This leaves only the ground floor remaining to be refurbished. This refurbishment project, undertaken by the School of Biological Sciences, demonstrates good practice in many areas and may provide a useful template for other laboratory refurbishments around the University of Edinburgh. Image A new fume cupboard For more information about the lab refurbishment, contact Andrew Arnott. Andrew Arnott SRS Projects Coordinator (Labs) Contact details Work: +44 (0)131 650 4064 Email: Andrew.Arnott@ed.ac.uk Publication date 09 May, 2016
