And making sure that the lighting controls are working properly can reduce the lighting load (which also creates heat) during bright days..

Existing office buildings may struggle to accommodate new laboratory HVAC plant and distribution..Laboratory air-changes will be many times higher than those found in an office.

This is driven by the regulations, pressure cascades, cooling loads, dispersion rates, local extraction, higher levels of filtration, and ideally some degree of futureproofing.For Containment Level 3 (or BSL3) and above or cleanrooms, air-changes will increase further still, often becoming impractical for an office conversion.In addition, it may be necessary to separate lab HVAC systems from other parts of the building..

The top priority should be to optimise the HVAC design with a view to reducing the amount of plant and riser space required.Techniques such as transferring extract air from adjacent office spaces to partially make-up the new lab supply can sometimes be used, however their compliance must be carefully reviewed..

Even with an optimised design it is likely that new, larger HVAC plant and additional ductwork will be required.

For some office buildings this can be difficult to incorporate, with limited roof, external, riser, and ceiling void space available.However, if reused or upcycled, carbon remains stored offering long-lasting environmental benefits..

Some of these end-of-life difficulties with engineered timber relate to its size.The use of screeds, which are bound to the surface of timber and structural fixings also make it difficult to dismantle and reuse.. Long span engineered timber elements also undergo non-reversible long-term deformations that can limit its feasibility to be reused as a structural element.

However, upcycling of these elements is still a viable solution.. Our response is to:.- Engage early with contractors to plan deconstruction scenarios and reduce waste sent to landfill.. - Adopt circular economy strategies for deconstruction and reuse, including:.