To accommodate increasing research and development activities, it needed a new laboratory, now being constructed in Albion. Prodesign was appointed by Government to provide all M&E design and consultancy services.

Based on our experience with the Food Technology Laboratory, completed in 2005, we planned services in a flexible manner to allow for the later accommodation of laboratory furniture and equipment. One of this project’s major challenges was to design, specify and select products requiring low maintenance in a difficult coastal environment. Another challenge was to design a deep-sea pumping system to transfer water to breeding ponds.

Indoor air quality in the laboratories was another aspect which required careful consideration at the design stage to ensure that, for the safety and comfort of the scientists, concentrations of possible contaminants were kept within limits.

The complex was designed using green principles, including rain-water harvesting, maximum use of daylight, selection of highly efficient plant and equipment, thermal insulation of walls and roofing, and the incorporation of recycled items in M&E components.