In today's modern forensic facility many criminalists and examiners have expressed the need for flexible laboratory space. Rapid changes in laboratory instrumentation and forensic science methodologies, as well as increased case loads, have made a more flexible and open laboratory environment a goal. How can the multiple benefits of an open laboratory environment (improved floor plan efficiency, introduction of natural light, increased communication among staff, and future flexibility) be achieved and still provide a secure and safe environment for both evidence and staff? Today's forensic planning consultants have the knowledge and the skills to deliver a safe, open laboratory environment for the forensic community.

Forensic Laboratory Planning
In the last eight years, the planning of forensic laboratories has evolved. Historically, they were planned by healthcare or criminal justice architects, where now they are programmed, planned, and designed by specialized forensic laboratory consultants. These new forensic laboratory consultants combine the lessons learned from a variety of laboratory facility types to create tomorrow’s state-of-the-art forensic lab. Today's forensic facility occupants wish to be a part of the design process that will provide the best possible space for today and the future. One tool forensic planners use to achieve this is called modular design planning. While modular design organizes the laboratory building, it also organizes the utility systems and their distribution throughout the facility. The combination of building organization and infrastructure creates a facility that is intrinsically more flexible and adaptable, easier to renovate and modify, extending the useful life of the laboratory.

Modular Planning
Modular planning uses blocks of space of proportional sizes to give the designer and the user multiple options for achieving a flexible facility. These blocks of space, or modules, respond to the functional dimensions necessary for forensic science activities. Modular planning takes into consideration acceptable lengths and depths of laboratory casework, structural systems and column bay spacing, fixed and movable laboratory equipment, ergonomics and the user's health & safety, along with code requirements.

Once a module size is developed for a specific user or facility, the modules can be laid out together as a floor plan and the laboratory begins to take shape. Modular planning does not mean that each module has four walls and a door, rather it is a space assigned to a specific function, activity, or occupant.

Let’s look at an example for a typical firearms section with six examiners. Through interviews, benchmarking, and industry standards we have determined that each examiner requires 120 NSF (net square feet) for an examiner's workstation, 120 NSF for an office, and another 720 NSF of support space for reference weapons, ammunition, and temporary evidence storage within the section. The programmed NSF is equivalent to 960 NSF or 4 modules of 240NSF for each examiner. The firearms section, therefore, is made up of 5,760 NSF or a total of 24 modules of 240 NSF for six examiners.

An industry standard in firearms is the combination of office space with the examiner's workstation area. This is possible because there are no chemical hazards present at the examiner's workstation. If we apply this practice in a planning concept, an open laboratory environment of 1,440 NSF (six modules) for office and examination activities is created, giving the examiners a larger flexible space, rather than their individual space, in which to work.