Future-ready labs: 10 questions to ask about your life sciences space

In the ever-changing domain of biopharmaceutical innovation, research techniques and strategies evolve with every scientific breakthrough. As new treatment modalities emerge to solve complex human health challenges, biopharmaceutical leaders must ensure that their labs are positioned to support long-term business goals.

Whether you are considering lab renovations, constructing or adapting lab space, or creating a lab in a new location, missteps can undermine your investments in research and development (R&D). The following are the top 10 questions to consider when optimizing the return on investment (ROI) in your lab.

When evaluating a facility, space optimization will be crucial for maximizing the lab's return on investment (ROI). Key elements include an efficient layout for benches and equipment; easy access to shared services and instrumentation; adequate storage for consumables, chemicals and hazardous waste; and seamless integration of required safety equipment.

Multiple research teams occupying a single facility potentially can share lobby spaces, meeting rooms, clean rooms, bench areas and even MRI machines, spectrometers and other high-value equipment. Enabling multiple research teams to access sophisticated instrumentation not only prevents significant redundant purchases but also boosts overall operational efficiency.

Measuring the utilization of equipment and space is a great way to evaluate the maximum efficiency of facilities. In many cases, equipment is not used as it was designed to be, and spaces remain underutilized. Flexible and agile design concepts can also enhance the utilization of these spaces. Lan management practices can increase the utilization of equipment.

New laboratory technologies—including high-speed computing, artificial intelligence, virtual modeling, 3D printing, and smart devices—create opportunities to bring diverse teams together into a single facility. By co-locating researchers, marketing professionals, compliance experts and other critical resources in the research workflow under one roof or even on a single floor, organizations can significantly improve operational efficiency and accelerate time-to-market for new products.

Outside the lab, collaboration is more convenient when informal meeting spaces and whiteboards are located nearby or within the lab space. Another leading industry practice to promote seamless collaboration and networking among team members is to avoid boxy, square laboratory designs in favor of open, adaptable spaces with minimal physical barriers.

In recent years, the planning of laboratory spaces has increasingly incorporated collaboration areas, separated by glass writing walls, to enhance connectivity among departments and teams. The designs prioritize both visual and physical connectivity, as well as the travel paths of researchers, to foster natural interactions that promote creativity. Additionally, many contemporary design concepts emphasize a connection to nature, integrating elements such as sunlight, natural airflow, and gardens into the workspace.

Given the substantial investment required for laboratory infrastructure, a leading practice is to prioritize immediate and near-term requirements for the scientific work your team is already performing. For example, adequate power availability, airflow and extraction capabilities, the right ceiling heights and instrumentation space are fundamental.

While you might consider vibration-free floors or additional ductwork, investing in potentially unnecessary features could compromise the facility’s ROI. If minimal vibration is essential, vibration-minimizing tables or platforms may be feasible alternatives to infrastructure investments.

However, keep an eye on future technologies. As revealed in JLL’s 2025 Life Sciences Trends to Watch research, AI and lab automation have the potential to streamline research and free scientists to focus on the next big discovery. If your labs are exploring these new tools, assess the potential impact on your lab space, power and safety requirements.

Speed and efficiency are key to bringing therapies to market quickly and being able to reconfigure a lab easily can accelerate time to market. As AI-driven research continues to advance, flexible and technologically sophisticated facilities will become even more important for maintaining competitive advantage.

However, flexibility comes at a cost. Rather than investing in every potential requirement, such as reinforced floor slabs or additional exhaust systems, industry best practice is to strategically prioritize investments to enable agility and optimize resource allocation. Incorporating flexibility with core areas that can support heavy, vibration-free equipment, air extraction, and high airflow for fume hoods and other equipment has been integrated into the latest designs. Instead of having every lab space equipped with its own heavy-duty facilities, centralizing these spaces at the cores of research buildings for shared use. This approach has increased the flexibility of the buildings, reduced construction costs, and improved return on investment for building designs.

For example, a modular laboratory can be rapidly reconfigured to accommodate evolving research requirements while optimizing space utilization and minimizing project transition periods. Innovative flexible design elements encompass mobile furnishings, ceiling-mounted retractable electrical systems and concealed technical infrastructure that opens up researcher workspace. Simply incorporating movable benches introduces adaptability without incurring substantial costs.

When your scientists work with regulated raw materials, including controlled substances, chemicals, biological matter or hazardous materials, regulatory compliance is paramount—and it’s not necessarily assured in lab facilities. Whether you are constructing a new lab, repurposing space or upgrading your current facilities, engaging an integrated project team with specialized lab expertise will help ensure compliance with regulatory and operational standards.

A best practice is to include a project manager and a facility manager that specialize in life sciences on your project team. These professionals possess comprehensive knowledge of compliance requirements, from corridor dimensions and equipment positioning to hazardous waste storage protocols and equipment calibration procedures. Furthermore, a qualified facility manager can safeguard ongoing operational compliance by implementing industry-leading practices for inventory management, delivery logistics, compliance documentation, sanitization protocols and operational continuity.

It’s not unusual to find what appears to be the perfect lab space, only to learn of loading docks that can’t accommodate essential equipment, a lack of centralized gas infrastructure or other unforeseen limitations. An experienced project manager and a life sciences facilities professional on your team will help prevent costly errors and minimize construction delays.

Emerging innovative practices make it easier to manage laboratory infrastructure and equipment. For example, external installation of ductwork and related systems facilitates easier access and simplifies interior modifications. Also useful are removable panels at corridor terminations to streamline equipment delivery, as well as positioning infrastructure beneath raised floors or above suspended ceilings for improved accessibility.

The competition for life sciences talent is driving a growing focus on amenities, aesthetic appeal, state-of-the-art equipment and sustainable design. Leading organizations are creating research facilities that inspire creativity and foster well-being, with natural light, rich amenities, open sightlines, a touch of color and comfortable places for formal or informal collaboration. Ergonomic features like adjustable chairs and benchtops are becoming more standard to support the health of life sciences teams.

Convenience also has become a key feature in leading labs. Instead of locating office space in a different building or a separate floor, many companies opt to create office workspaces inside the lab itself or in an adjacent space to improve workflows.

As explored in JLL’s 2025 Life Sciences Real Estate Trends to Watch, companies are prioritizing high-quality spaces in amenities-rich, premium locations to attract and retain top talent while enhancing productivity. The major global life sciences clusters in Boston, San Francisco, Bangalore, Beijing, Basel, Cambridge and beyond remain popular for gaining proximity to leading research institutions, talent, resources and vibrant neighborhood amenities.

To strengthen their ability to attract top talent, some major pharmaceutical companies are leasing premium lab space in convenient city center locations, rather than in a traditional suburban campus. Others are transforming their campuses into vibrant, amenities-rich innovation parks.

Leveraging location analytics tools can help you balance talent considerations, technical requirements, growth objectives and costs when you are searching for new lab space. For example, you can pinpoint lab locations near green spaces, wellness offerings, dining options and convenient transportation—factors that are important to life sciences talent.

In many labs, scientists are not only responsible for making groundbreaking discoveries, but also for implementing the mundane—yet vital—work of laboratory operations management, maintenance and supply chain logistics. While convenient, this informal arrangement can distract world-class researchers from their mission-critical work—and lengthen innovation cycles.

Informal laboratory management also creates operational risks that can jeopardize scientific progress. Depleted clean glassware for example, can decelerate research activities. Even minor equipment malfunctions can compromise valuable research products or invalidate experimental results. Responding to regulatory inquiries can be time-consuming when scientists must locate facilities records. Maintaining laboratory safety standards alone requires substantial resources, further diverting attention from core scientific endeavors.

To optimize lab operations, leading organizations are partnering with facilities management (FM) providers specializing in laboratory support services to keep critical infrastructure and instrumentation functioning around the clock and to safeguard precious inventories that require precise environmental conditions and regulatory compliance tracking. An FM service provider ensures that laboratory glassware is properly cleaned to prevent trace contamination and reliably provides other scientific support services so lab occupants can remain focused on the science.

Today’s technology-driven research tends to be energy-intensive, and often relies upon waste-generating chemicals, reagents and consumables, including single-use items. Leading practices for lab design, construction and management can make a major difference in your lab’s carbon footprint. A project manager with sustainability expertise will be able to reduce waste—and carbon emissions—by implementing waste-reduction strategies and optimizing the use of sustainably sourced and recycled materials.

Next-generation preventive and predictive maintenance strategies can reduce energy waste and optimize uptime. Examples include the installation of timers, motion detectors, automatic shut-off systems and other power management strategies to conserve energy.

Although laboratory space is more plentiful today than at any point in the past decade, these tenant-friendly conditions are poised for change. Despite a rash of layoffs, consolidations and a difficult funding environment in 2024, the life sciences sector grew employment grew by 2%, added 3,000 new enterprises and had a banner year in FDA approvals, according to JLL’s 2024 Life Sciences Real Estate Perspective and Cluster Analysis.

Most significantly, the volume of biotechnology patents issued in 2023 was 22% higher than in 2013, indicating a pending surge in new company formation and demand for laboratory space. Evaluate Pharma forecasts that worldwide pharma sales will increase by 80% in 2030 over 2023 levels, and the availability of growth capital is poised to rebound.

Innovation will always be central to success in the life sciences industry, and the lab is where it all begins. Well-designed, sustainable and efficient lab space can play a crucial role in sparking groundbreaking discoveries. With layouts, designs and amenities that promote collaboration, creativity and scientific advancement, you’ll optimize the ROI of your lab space while empowering your research talent to stay focused on novel breakthroughs that improve patients’ lives.

Learn more about creating future-ready labs by getting in touch with one of our experts.