Room Definition
Lecture Facilities
Depending on the programme, lessons are conducted in various facilities such as in auditoriums, lecture theatres, seminar or tutorial rooms, with various capacities and equipments.
Auditoriums - 100 persons and above
Auditoriums are seating facilities with 100 persons or more which are principally used for public performances (music, drama and dance). Auditoriums generally include a performance stage, backroom, tiered seating, a control room and audio-visual devices. Such facilities are sometimes used as lecture halls.
Lecture Theatres - 100 persons and above
Lecture theatres are similar to auditoriums in that they have tiered seating and hold 100 persons or more, but they are designed principally for instructional purposes. Lecture theatres generally include an instructor’s platform or podium at the front and may offer flexible seating design, such as fixed or mobile seats and a choice of fixed benches or tablet arms.
Seminar Rooms- 30 persons and above
Seminar rooms are generally designed to accommodate 30 persons or more for small lectures and group discussions. The seats may be on level or gentle tiered floor. These rooms are generally equipped with audio-visual aids to facilitate formal presentations.
Tutorial Rooms – below 30 persons
Tutorial rooms are designed for presentations and discussions with smaller groups of students. They are less formal than seminar rooms or lecture theatres and are generally equipped with simpler audio-visual devices.
Laboratories
A laboratory is defined as a room for the testing, analysis and examination of articles.
1 A well-organised and coordinated laboratory layout should be designed to provide an efficient and safe working environment.
Laboratories are classified under teaching and research which are identified as either
Wet or Dry laboratories. These are further categorised by discipline. Laboratories dealing with biological material are further classified into four bio-safety levels (BSL1, BSL2, BSL3 and BSL4).
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Teaching Laboratories
Teaching laboratories are furnished with equipment used primarily for group instruction in scheduled classes. Teaching laboratories are often planned with core facilities to serve the needs of a particular discipline. Requirements for teaching laboratories are based on:
a) Academic program needs
b) Frequency of scheduled use
c) Frequency of unscheduled use (e.g. Project work/practice time)
d) Diversity of users
e) Optimum modular section sizes
Research Laboratories
Most laboratory facilities are planned with laboratory, core facility and office support zones. Offices in the form of staff workstations, write-up spaces, conference and break rooms support the laboratory work. The laboratory zone, where the main experiments are carried out, is equipped with key components such as chemical fume hoods, biological safety cabinets and laboratory benches. Adjacent to laboratories are core facility zones used to store core or common equipment.
Ideally laboratory facilities should be designed to accommodate changes in use without significant infrastructural modification. This flexibility should be adopted with consideration of site and building constraints. It is recommended to consult certified laboratory planners in the design of laboratory spaces.
Wet laboratories
Wet laboratories are equipped with benches, sinks and chemical fume hoods for work with a variety of bio-chemical solutions. Services such as piped filtered water, laboratories vents, compressed air, eyewash, safety showers and natural gases are required for experiments to take place.
Wet laboratories concerning biology and chemistry involve core facilities with tissue culture and cell manipulation. It is assumed that core facilities are shared between investigators. Examples of core facilities are:
- Cold/Warm rooms
- Equipment rooms
- Fume hood rooms
- Isotope rooms
- Tissue/cell culture rooms
- Dark rooms
- Microscope rooms
- Autoclave rooms
- Instrument rooms
- Clean rooms
- Wash areas
- Computer rooms
- Laboratory storages
Wet laboratories without core facilities are generally laboratories dressed with basic equipment sufficient to
conduct smaller scale experiments and workshops.
Dry laboratories
Dry laboratories are usually engaged in work involving electronics and large instruments requiring few piped services. These are analytical laboratories housing high-level equipment such as highly calibrated electronic apparatus in shielded spaces requiring accurate humidity, dust and temperature control, structural stability, vibration control, clean power and filtered chilled water. While extensive piped services and built-in casework are unnecessary, consideration must be made to floor loading and ceiling heights as well as planned access for regular equipment maintenance.
Dry laboratories with core facilities are defined as laboratories/workshops housing large/specialised machine, for instance the mammoth Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) apparatus in quantum physics research and the synchrotron radiator used for x-ray lithography in semiconductor research. It is assumed that core facilities are shared between investigators. Examples of core facilities are:
- Equipment rooms
- Instrument rooms
- Clean rooms
- Computer rooms
- Laboratory storages
- Without core facilities (laboratories/workshops)
Dry laboratories without core facilities are predominantly science/engineering workshops which have less machines and where classes/experiments are performed on a smaller scale.
- Without core facilities (drawing studio)
Faculties may sometimes require drawing studios based on the course curriculum such as in architecture, industrial design and civil engineering. These studios are mainly used for designing/drawing and contain drafting equipment.
- Without core facilities (computer laboratories)
Computer laboratories are multidisciplinary, mostly engaged in technology based programmes/research; thus, they contain computer-related equipment, with heavily wired workstations.
Academic & Administrative Office
Relative to the variety of functional titles and job grades, there is a need to establish efficient guidelines to provide equitable and consistent space allocation to university staff. Based on their positions, members are entitled to work spaces or varying floor area with rooms or office system panels (height of 1.6 or 1.2 meters).
Conference/Meeting Rooms
Conference and meeting rooms are
made available to study groups, boards and clubs for discussion and collaboration. The rooms are typically equipped with tables, chairs and audio-visual systems catering to specific departments or organisational units. Conference and meeting rooms are classified by their capacity. Conference rooms can hold 10 and above while meeting rooms hold below 10 persons.
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1The definition is extracted from MOM definition in the workplace safety and health act.
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Space Planning Guidelines
