From Start-Up Lab to Scale-Up: Is Your Space Ready to Grow With You?

Is your laboratory environment capable of growing with the business?

It was a question that felt particularly relevant following the BioYorkshire Bioeconomy Cluster Conference 2026 at York Guildhall, where scaling the UK bioeconomy, bioprocessing scale-up and commercialisation were among the topics explored.

For an early-stage business, laboratory space can often evolve incrementally. Another bench is added, a new piece of equipment arrives, storage is adapted and teams find ways to work around the space they have.

Eventually, however, there comes a point when adapting is no longer enough.

Whether the next step is relocation, extension or refurbishment, scaling a laboratory isn't simply about securing more square footage. It is about creating an environment capable of supporting the science, equipment, people and processes behind the next stage of growth.

So, before committing to a new laboratory or substantial fit-out, what should businesses be considering?

1. Start with the science, not the floorplan

Before deciding where walls, benches and storage should go, start with what actually needs to happen within the space.

What processes will take place? What equipment will be required? How will people, samples and materials move through the laboratory? Where will samples be received, processed and stored? Which activities need to be separated? How will waste move through and leave the environment?

These questions help establish the operational brief before the physical layout begins.

A laboratory designed around a small team may need to accommodate more people, greater throughput or additional equipment as the business grows.

From a design and fit-out perspective, the aim should be to develop the environment around the scientific processes and operational relationships it needs to support, rather than making those processes fit a predetermined floorplan.

Before fixing the layout, map how people, samples, materials, equipment and waste need to move through the space.

2. Think beyond today's requirements

Scale-up businesses rarely stand still.

Teams grow. Research evolves. Equipment changes. Storage requirements increase. Processes that once shared space may need to be separated.

Predicting every future requirement is impossible, but identifying what is reasonably likely to change can influence today's design decisions.

Depending on the scientific, cleaning and containment requirements, this might inform decisions around laboratory furniture, partitioning, storage and the distribution of building services.

The question is not necessarily how much empty space should be left for future growth.

A more useful question is:

What might we reasonably need next, and what would be difficult or expensive to change later?

Building appropriate adaptability into the fit-out can make the laboratory better prepared for the next phase of the business.

3. Understand the building, not just the available space

A property may have the right location, floor area and appearance without necessarily having the infrastructure required for the proposed laboratory.

Electrical provision, ventilation, drainage, plant space, structural considerations and potential routes for specialist services can all become important depending on the proposed activities.

Ventilation is a good example. Health and Safety Executive guidance distinguishes general workplace ventilation from the control of harmful airborne substances and points organisations towards COSHH and local exhaust ventilation guidance where appropriate.

Understanding the existing building and its limitations early can therefore be extremely valuable.

Before committing to a property and investing in its fit-out, ask not only:

"Can we fit the laboratory in here?"

But:

"Can this building support what needs to happen inside it?"

Early technical due diligence can identify potential constraints while there is still an opportunity to respond to them.

4. Make compliance part of the brief

There is no single compliance specification that applies to every laboratory.

Requirements depend on the work being undertaken and the risks associated with it.

For organisations deliberately working with biological agents that pose a risk to human health, for example, Schedule 3 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 includes additional provisions concerning biological agents. HSE guidance covers their classification and relevant control measures.

Organisations carrying out contained-use work involving genetically modified organisms may also have duties under the Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 2014, including requirements around risk assessment, classification, controls and specified notifications.

This is why compliance is better treated as a design input than a final check.

Establishing the applicable technical and regulatory requirements early gives the project team an opportunity to accommodate them within the design rather than trying to resolve them once layouts and services are already advanced.

5. Plan the equipment and the fit-out together

One of the easiest ways to create problems in a new laboratory is to design the room independently from the equipment that will occupy it.

An equipment schedule can help the project team understand what the laboratory actually needs to accommodate.

Depending on the equipment, factors could include its footprint, installation and maintenance access, operational clearances, weight and vibration considerations, together with requirements for power, data, cooling, drainage, ventilation or extraction.

And there is one particularly practical question that is easily overlooked:

How will the equipment get into the building?

Access routes, doors, corridors and final positioning may all need consideration before the fit-out is completed.

Bringing laboratory users, equipment suppliers, designers, building-services specialists and the fit-out team together early can help identify potential conflicts before installation begins.

6. Don't leave storage until the end

Storage may not be the most exciting part of laboratory design, but it can have a significant impact on how the finished environment works.

The issue isn't simply how much storage to provide.

What needs storing? Where will it be used? How frequently will it be accessed? Does it require particular conditions or controls? What needs to remain within the laboratory and what could be housed elsewhere?

The answers can influence both storage provision and the overall workflow of the space.

Where hazardous substances are involved, storage decisions may also need to address risk assessment, compatibility and appropriate segregation rather than simply convenience or available space.

Storage should therefore be considered as part of the operational brief, rather than fitted into whatever space remains.

7. Remember that a laboratory is also a workplace

Technical performance is fundamental, but laboratories are still workplaces.

Scientists and technical teams may also analyse results, write reports, hold project discussions, collaborate with colleagues and undertake focused individual work.

As organisations grow, the relationship between laboratory and non-laboratory environments can therefore become increasingly important.

Write-up spaces, focused work areas, collaboration settings and breakout spaces all need to be considered in relation to how the organisation actually works.

Rather than viewing laboratory, office and supporting spaces as entirely separate projects, there is an opportunity to think of them as one connected working environment.

The workplace should support the people using the laboratory as well as the technical activities taking place within it.

8. Look at movement, not just individual rooms

An effective laboratory layout is more than a collection of appropriately sized rooms.

The relationships between those spaces matter.

Which activities need to be close together? Which need separation? Where do samples and materials enter? How do people transition between different areas? How does waste leave? How frequently are teams moving between laboratory and non-laboratory spaces?

Mapping these movements at briefing stage can identify inefficiencies or conflicts that may not be immediately apparent on a conventional space plan.

It is also why engaging laboratory users early in the design process is so valuable.

They understand the everyday processes and practical workarounds that may never appear on an accommodation schedule.

9. Plan how the fit-out will happen around the science

Scaling doesn't always involve moving into an empty building.

Growth may require the refurbishment of existing laboratories, expansion into adjacent space or the conversion of another part of an occupied facility.

If scientific activity needs to continue during the project, phasing becomes part of the design challenge.

Depending on the project, considerations may include equipment relocation, temporary facilities, controlled access, service shutdowns and the order in which different areas can be completed.

The programme should reflect the organisation's scientific activities, risk assessments and any applicable environmental or containment requirements.

The question therefore isn't always simply:

"How quickly can we complete the fit-out?"

It may be:

"How can we deliver the project while protecting the activities that need to continue?"

10. Bring the right people together early

Perhaps the common thread running through all these considerations is coordination.

A laboratory project can bring together science, property, engineering, compliance, equipment, design and construction. Each discipline sees the project from a different perspective.

Laboratory users understand the processes. Equipment manufacturers understand their technology. Building-services specialists understand the infrastructure. Designers consider how the environment functions. Fit-out teams consider how all of those requirements can be coordinated and delivered within the building.

Bringing those conversations together early creates an opportunity to identify challenges before they become site problems.

That becomes particularly important as the scientific requirements become more specialised. Official guidance for specialist microbiological containment environments, for example, addresses matters including design and operation, risk controls, microbiological safety cabinets, decontamination and waste management. Appropriate controls depend on the activities, biological agents and assessed risks involved.

There is no one-size-fits-all specification for a laboratory.

The environment needs to respond to the science taking place within it.

Designing for the next stage, not simply the next move

The physical environment won't make the science successful.

But it can either support that science or create barriers around it.

For a growing life sciences business, laboratory design and fit-out should therefore be considered as part of the wider scale-up strategy, rather than simply the final stage after more space has been secured.

Before committing to the next laboratory environment, five questions are worth asking:

• Can the building support the science?

• Can the infrastructure support the equipment?

• Can the layout support the workflow?

• Can the wider workplace support the people?

• Can the environment respond as the organisation continues to grow?

Getting these decisions right early can help create an environment that doesn't simply answer today's requirement, but creates a stronger foundation for what comes next.

The discussions at the BioYorkshire Bioeconomy Cluster Conference 2026 highlighted scaling and commercialisation as part of the wider opportunity for the sector.

For organisations making that journey from start-up to scale-up, perhaps the question isn't simply:

"Where can we fit a bigger laboratory?"

It is:

"What environment do we need to support where the business is going next?"

Emma Dodsley, Director, Ben Johnson Interiors

Emma Dodsley is a Director at Ben Johnson Interiors, a commercial interior design, workplace and fit-out specialist. Her focus is on helping organisations consider how their physical environments can respond to growth, changing operational requirements and the needs of the people who use them.