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Lab Design During COVID: Hub For Emergency Preparedness Opens Doors

Lab Design During COVID: Hub For Emergency Preparedness Opens Doors

Casey Prevette
Adaptable Systems

ETEC outdoor

The Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex (ETEC) at SUNY Albany will serve students, industry, and researchers for years to come with the help of Kewaunee casework and products.

ETEC is a hub for innovation, scholarship, applied research, and commercial development designed to foster cross-disciplinary collaborations to confront complex problems. Inside, students, faculty, and researchers work hand-in-hand with entrepreneurs to translate new knowledge into creative solutions that fuel economic growth and create jobs.

ETEC is a $180 million, 245,000 gross square foot state-of-the-art building that will house researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs under the same roof as some of UAlbany’s fastest-growing programs.

Although the schedule of the job was delayed due to COVID, this made the project timeline more fluid and allowed for facility planners to make changes at the beginning of the project. These changes improved the functionality of the building and made it possible to accommodate the influx of students interested in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity.

laboratory casework

Kewaunee Sales Executive Greg Deso said serving university researchers and entrepreneurs was a major focus of this project. A combination of fixed and flexible casework was chosen for the labs in the center.

“Designs utilized in these labs include perimeter casework, peninsula casework, and freestanding tables with both overhead service carriers and ceiling service panels,” notes project manager Erik Rausch. These layouts promote collaboration while also allowing for distancing or individual work.

This unique facility is designed to drive economic growth, create jobs and enhance New York’s competitiveness in key sectors such as emergency preparedness, homeland security, renewable energy, weather, and resiliency.

As many as 800 students will work in its 20 classrooms and teaching labs and other innovative spaces: a decision theater to replicate emergency operations scenarios, a campus makerspace, a visualization development center, science-on-a-sphere room, weather research map rooms, and a glass-enclosed weather observation room.

ETEC aligns with SUNY’s goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions and is on track to achieve LEED Platinum. A geothermal field of 190 wells and solar panels on the Uptown Campus Podium will ultimately save about 70 percent in energy costs.

Kewaunee products installed in ETEC included alpha partition lab benches with fixed laboratory steel cabinets. Deso worked with facility managers to provide both custom and standard furniture solutions to the buildings state-of-the-art labs. This combination of standard and custom solutions fulfill the functional needs of scientists while fitting the desired design aesthetic of the architect.

perimeter lab casework

Once the install was complete, Deso was able to see the project through to the end and tour the building with facility managers and lab managers from the university to train them on equipment and provide additional products they discovered were needed.

Kewaunee products will provide ETEC with the ideal environment to conduct this important research for years to come. Kewaunee SEFA certified products are an investment in the future. SEFA sets the standard in laboratory furniture ensuring safe and long-lasting products for years to come.

lab casework and fume hood

Explore more Kewaunee-installed labs and products in the Kewaunee Lab Design Lookbook.

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