Why Smart Lab Design Matters
Poorly planned laboratories can drain time, resources, and budgets.
Inefficient workflows slow down research, while scientific oversights in compliance, procedure and instrumentation requirements expose teams to costly risks. Even worse, design mistakes often lead to expensive retrofits and interruptions.
Smart lab design isn’t just about layout; it’s about understanding of scientific workflows, instrumentation operating conditions, and long-term spatial adaptability to support the evolving needs of Canadian laboratories.
Ingenio & Phytronix – Laboratory Design Services
We design laboratories that go beyond compliance to drive innovation. With 20+ years of experience, we turn complex research needs into secure, ergonomic, and efficient spaces. Our expertise in scientific workflows and instrumentation ensures future-ready labs where teams can focus on discovery.
Explore our lab design services to plan your next research space.
Analyzing Your Lab Operations
Getting to know your scientific processes for an efficient lab planning
Design Starts with Science. Planning Starts with You.
Every great laboratory begins with a clear understanding of the people, science, and technology it serves. Our consultation process starts with on-site visits and collaborative discussions with lab personnel, project stakeholders, and leadership teams. By gaining an in-depth understanding of your scientific workflows, research directions, and instrumentation requirements, we create lab environments tailored to your long-term success.
Great Workflow Makes Lab Life Easier
Conducting site visits and in-depth consultations with your team give us a comprehensive view of the overall functionalities surrounding the day-to-day activities in your lab, from sample or material reception to the actual sample preparation and analysis of these. Every laboratory and research is unique, hence the importance of going through every nook and cranny and discerning any possible challenges that may arise during daily routines.
Site visits Open/Close
Give us a comprehensive view of the movements and different sample preparation spots around the existing lab.
In-depth consultation Open/Close
Collect information on the day-to-day activities and the pain points.
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Making Your Lab Flow Like it Should
There are 3 major flows that need to be evaluated while working on a laboratory concept which are crucial to improve efficiency: the sample, raw material and personnel flows. Mapping out these different flows allows us to design a laboratory that is smooth running and efficient while also ensuring the safety of the personnel working in the various rooms.
Complete Coverage of Your Scientific Needs
Whether designing for educational and healthcare institutions, research centres, or pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, we specialize in planning spaces that meet the highest standards of efficiency, safety, and adaptability. With every project, our focus remains on transforming your vision into a laboratory that empowers discovery and innovation.
Our experience is used to design in a wide range of labs and systems
Smart lab design for big ideas (and even bigger breakthroughs)
Life science, including, for example, chemistry, and biotechnology labs, have played a starring role in some of the most exciting discoveries of the past few decades. Whether it’s a wet lab, a dry lab, or a mix of both, these spaces are where the magic happens. And with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of samples moving through a lab each day, it’s important to make sure everything works like a well-oiled machine. Great lab design isn’t just about fitting in the right equipment. It’s about creating an environment that sparks innovation, supports research, and makes collaboration easy.
Designing with Scientists (and Science) in Mind
We plan and design academic, research, production, and institutional labs with one clear goal: to make life easier for scientists. Since we’re scientists ourselves, we know what works and what doesn’t. Whether it’s clever workflows, thoughtfully placed equipment, or planning for future tech, we build labs that feel as smart as the people using them.
From day one, we think about your instruments, your processes, and where your work is headed. That way, your lab is ready not just for today, but for whatever comes next.
Designing safe spaces for science that plays with the risky stuff
Labs that require biocontainment, like those in biomedical, pharmaceutical, and ecological research, present a unique kind of challenge. These are not your average lab setups. They call for deep knowledge of specialized operations, smart technologies, and, most importantly, a strong focus on protecting the health and safety of everyone working in or around the space.
Designing these labs means balancing innovation with caution, and science with security. And we’re here for it.
Built to Keep Pathogens In and People Safe
Health Canada takes biocontainment seriously, and so do we. Getting approval for the right biosafety level (BSL-1, BSL-2, BSL-3, or BSL-4) requires meeting strict criteria for handling pathogens, toxins, and other biological agents.
That’s where we come in. Our team at Ingenio/Phytronix knows how to translate regulations into real-world solutions. From airflow systems and access controls to material choices and lab layout, we make sure your space is designed to meet the required biosafety level. Just as importantly, we make sure your people stay protected while they do their work.
Designing labs that keep the tiniest traces out of your results
Analyzing trace metals is a highly sensitive process where even the smallest contamination can throw off your results. That means every potential source of metal needs to be considered, from furniture and ventilation to hardware, plumbing, surface finishes, and instruments. Creating a wet lab that is completely free of metal is no small feat, but that is exactly the kind of challenge we are built for.
High-Tech, Contamination-Free Wet Labs
The instruments used for this type of analysis can detect in the low parts-per-trillion range, which leaves no room for error. Our designs focus on ensuring that every unavoidable piece of metal is either covered or coated, preventing contamination before it can happen. The result is a laboratory that protects your data and keeps your results as precise and reliable as the science you are doing.
Learning Through Science
Laboratory classes are a turning point in every scientist’s career. For many of us, it is where we first fell in love with science. There is nothing quite like the thrill of running an experiment and getting it right. Because of that, the layout of these classrooms should never be an afterthought when planning the renovation or construction of an educational building.
Spaces That Teach More Than Just Science
While these classrooms need to reflect the requirements of each discipline, they should also be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the curriculum without major rework or reorganization. School labs are the perfect controlled environment to learn the fundamentals of working safely: GLP, WHMIS, laser safety, nuclear material safety, electrical safety, and more. A thoughtful design makes it easier for students to focus on learning the science itself while building safe and lasting lab habits.
Labs where precision meets power
Compared to life science labs, physics and electronics spaces are a completely different challenge. Take an optics lab for example: these labs need non-reflective surfaces everywhere, blackout curtains, and clear “laser in use” indicators. Without thoughtful design, even small oversights can lead to serious risks for both users and nearby personnel.
Spaces That Adapt as Fast as the Science
Experiment setups in physics and electronics can change overnight. Today’s electronics bench might become tomorrow’s quantum computing testbed. That is why flexibility is essential. A well-designed lab makes it easy to adapt to new instruments, fresh ideas, and unexpected breakthroughs, ensuring the space evolves right alongside the science.
Designing labs that work smarter, not harder
Lab automation is one of the fastest ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs. But it is not just about adding robots or liquid handlers. It also means thinking carefully about space, workflow, and infrastructure to achieve the throughput you are aiming for. Details like ventilation, vibration control, or even having enough bench space for that massive liquid handler are often overlooked, yet they can make or break the success of a lab automation setup.
Safe and Efficient Automation Zones
When designing automation zones, safety comes first. Labs that combine autonomous robotics, robotic arms, and human staff must follow strict safety guidelines to prevent accidents. The same applies to liquid handlers, whether enclosed or open. Our lab automation designs balance safety, workflow, and efficiency so your team can work confidently alongside the technology that keeps your lab moving forward.
Designing Tailored Labs
Science Shapes our Space Layouts
When Generic Laboratory Features Are Not Enough
Designing a cutting-edge laboratory goes beyond standard layouts, it requires the thoughtful integration of current and future scientific instruments, paired with meticulous planning of services, utilities, and environmental conditions. Our designs incorporate specialized spaces that ensure every instrument and workflow functions safely, efficiently, and in full compliance. By aligning the layout with scientific processes, we create laboratories that foster innovation today while remaining adaptable to the evolving needs of tomorrow.
Going Beyond Standard Layouts
We go further by advising on specialized chambers and environments tailored to unique research needs — from environmental rooms and greenhouses to robotics and automation labs. These advanced spaces are seamlessly integrated into your facility, delivering precise conditions while meeting the highest safety and regulatory standards.
Instruments at the Core of Design
Designing an efficient laboratory layout starts with inventorying the instruments and equipment it will house. Without a full picture, layouts can feel fragmented and inefficient. By clearly listing the instruments and mapping their relationship to your workflow, we can achieve a layout that is both ergonomic and highly functional. These detailed reports and plans provide architects and engineers with the insights they need to develop construction documents and specifications tailored to your current instrumentation and future acquisitions.
Designing for Every Parameter That Matters
One of the most critical mistakes in laboratory planning is overlooking the infrastructure requirements of scientific instruments and equipment. To prevent costly redesigns, our process analyzes each instrument in detail, considering not only present needs but also future services. Each factor is carefully integrated into the design to create laboratories that are safe, efficient, and future-ready
We take into account:
Relocating Labs and Instruments
Seamless temporary setups & Safe instrument relocation
Precision Instrument & Equipment Relocation
Moving advanced scientific instruments is never simple. Each device must be carefully unplugged, uninstalled, packed, and reinstalled in the right order. Shutting down a mass spectrometer, for example, requires specialist knowledge to avoid costly damage. As instrumentation experts, we know the risks, and how to prevent them. Trust us to handle your equipment relocation with unmatched precision and care.
Safe Transport of Biological & Chemical Samples
Relocating critical samples takes more than logistics, it takes expertise. From powders and solutions to sensitive biological materials, we follow strict industry protocols to ensure safety, compliance, and sample integrity. Our team safeguards every step, ensuring your valuable materials arrive intact and uncompromised.
Temporary Lab Setups to Keep Research Moving
A lab move doesn’t have to halt your work. While your facility is being upgraded or built, we create temporary lab setups tailored to your workflows and instrumentation needs. By keeping essential research activities running, we minimize downtime and help your team stay productive throughout the transition.
We work on a plan with you to
Our projects
Our
Projects
- Liquid Chromatography Laboratory
- Sample Preparation Laboratory
- Gas Chromatography Laboratory
- Aquarium laboratory
- Service Corridor
The Ingenio & Phytronix Edge
Updating, relocating, or designing a lab from scratch demands more than floor plans—it requires scientific insight at every step. Backed by decades of experience, Ingenio & Phytronix unite engineers, scientists, and instrument specialists to bridge research needs and architectural execution, delivering Smart Labs, ready for Bold Science. Our edge is simple: personalized planning, proactive foresight, and innovative design, thus creating laboratories where research thrives.
- Built around your science.
- Co-designed with your teams.
- Instrument-first layouts integration.
- Phasing & swing-space relocation plans.
- Automation & robotics-ready
- Next gen technology strategy
The Ultimate Advantage
By bringing together Ingenio’s deep expertise in laboratory workflows and scientific instrumentation in Canada with Phytronix’s worldwide experience as instrument designers and manufacturers, we offer more than design—we offer perspective.
Our team has learned from, visited, and supported laboratories across the globe for over 20+ years, transforming that knowledge into smarter, safer, and more innovative spaces.
