The partitions and joinery are the straightforward part.

Physical containment levels are certified by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator. They are a different axis from cleanroom classification under ISO 14644 and from GMP grades. A PC2 laboratory is not “equivalent to” an ISO Class 8 cleanroom, and conflating the two is the fastest way to price the wrong building.

Design and construction is governed by AS/NZS 2982 ; microbiological safety and containment by AS/NZS 2243.3 ; fume cupboards by AS/NZS 2243.8. Cleanroom classification, where it applies, sits under ISO 14644-1, with design and construction under ISO 14644-4.

In a containment laboratory, air must move inwards at all times, from the corridor, through the anteroom, into the laboratory, and out through filtered exhaust. It must not reverse, including on fan failure. Everything else in the mechanical design follows from holding that cascade.

Fume cupboard selection

Face velocity, cupboard width and quantity set the exhaust volume, and exhaust volume sets the make-up air, the plant size and often the roof structure. Adding one cupboard late in the design can force a plant upgrade, so we count them at estimate stage, not at tender.

Biological safety cabinet class

A Class II Type A2 cabinet can generally take a canopy connection. A Type B2 is hard-ducted and fully exhausted. Changing from one to the other after the mechanical design is set means recalculating the exhaust and, frequently, replacing the fan. It is a decision we push to resolve early.

Air change rates and outside air

Containment and chemical laboratories generally run on full outside air with no recirculation, which is the single biggest driver of both plant size and running cost. It is worth deciding deliberately rather than by default.

Exhaust discharge

Stack height and discharge velocity are set to prevent re-entrainment into the building’s own intakes. A detail that is cheap on paper and expensive once the plant is installed.

Energy and running cost

A laboratory is several times the energy intensity of an office. Variable-volume fume cupboards and heat recovery carry a capital premium against a running-cost saving, and that trade-off is a conversation for the design stage, not the commissioning stage.

This is where laboratory projects most often lose time, and where the division of responsibility is most often left vague. Ours is stated plainly.

What JCGAU does

We build and commission to the certification requirement, seal and document the containment boundary as it is constructed, arrange the testing, and hand over the evidence pack your biosafety committee and the regulator will ask for.

What JCGAU does not do

We do not certify your facility. Physical containment certification is granted by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator, through your Institutional Biosafety Committee. Any builder who implies otherwise is describing something they cannot deliver.

Change of building classification

Converting an office tenancy to a laboratory changes the building classification under the NCC and triggers a change-of-use application. It needs to be identified during feasibility, because it can move the programme by months.

Trade waste and dangerous goods

Laboratory effluent generally requires trade waste consent from the water authority, and chemical storage brings dangerous goods obligations. Both are commonly discovered late. We raise them at the first design meeting.

Commissioning is the phase that most often decides whether a laboratory opens on time, and it is the phase least often explained. On our projects it is a workstream with its own programme, its own milestones and its own budget line.

• Pre-commissioningInstallations checked against the design and the specification before anything is energised.
• BalancingAir and water systems balanced and recorded, with the results issued rather than filed.
• Containment verificationDirectional airflow and pressure differentials demonstrated and witnessed; boundary integrity tested where the containment level requires it.
• Equipment qualificationInstallation, operational and performance qualification coordinated with your equipment suppliers and your quality team.
• Regulator readinessThe evidence assembled in the form your biosafety committee and the regulator expect to receive it.
• Operational handoverDocumentation, training and as-built information handed over so the facility can be run from day one.

Most laboratory projects are decided by the base building long before the fitout is designed. These are the things worth checking before you sign a lease.

• Slab-to-slab heightEnough depth for a services zone above the ceiling, once ductwork, hydraulics and containment are stacked.
• Riser and shaft capacityRoom for exhaust risers to roof level, and a path that does not cross another tenancy.
• Roof plant space and loadingStructural capacity for air handling units, exhaust fans and any heat recovery.
• Floor loadingPoint loads for heavy equipment, and vibration isolation near balances and sensitive instruments.
• Power supplyThree-phase capacity and space for essential-services backup where the facility needs it.
• Drainage and dilutionFalls, dilution or neutralisation where the effluent requires it, and a trade waste path.
• AccessGoods lift and door dimensions for air handling units, autoclaves and cabinets.
• Hours of accessWhether noisy and disruptive work can be done outside the operating hours of neighbouring tenancies.

Staging and decant

Most laboratory work happens next to laboratories that cannot stop. Shutdown windows and decant sequences are agreed with the operator before the programme is fixed.

Dust, vibration and noise

Sealed hoardings, filtered construction air and vibration control near balances, sequencers and microscopes. These are line items, not goodwill.

Equipment lead times

Fume cupboards, safety cabinets, air handling units and controls carry lead times that can exceed the construction programme. They are identified at estimate stage and ordered against a design frozen for that purpose.