Converting Offices into Lab Spaces at SLCAN Sustainable Laboratory Conference

The 2021 SLCan Sustainable Laboratory Conference is a Canadian national forum focused on strengthening the sustainable laboratory community and sharing knowledge, promoting innovation and best practices, as well as providing a platform for strategic thinking and discussion on the challenges and opportunities related to these assets. SLCan Sustainable Laboratory Virtual Conference will take place October 18-20, 2021. The theme of this year’s conference is Resilience: Planning + Adaptation Beyond COVID-19.

Integral Group is proud to be represented by Principal Kevin Shea and Associate Mary On in SLCan’s panel discussion:

Lab Coat is the New Suit – Converting Offices into Lab Spaces

Tuesday, October 19, 2021 | Stream 6

COVID-19 has shown the world how critical the Life Sciences and Biotech industries are to health and safety and has also opened up significant funding towards growing Canadian companies and the sector as a whole. COVID-19 and this significant growth have also proven how little appropriate leasable space there is available in most major science and technology cities around the world.

With businesses implementing full or partial work from home policy both during and post-pandemic, the vacancy rate of office buildings in urban centers has increased sharply and this has opened up a possibility for the science and technology sector to grow. But it comes with challenges.

Office-to-lab renovations present different challenges compared to standard lab renovation, and it also offers a win-win for developers and those biotech firms looking for suitable space without having to build from the ground up. The idea of converting office space offers significant resilience to the science and technology market as a whole within an urban center looking to attract and keep growing companies local. This plays to the idea of the resilience of the science and technology sector itself, within the Canadian market, but expands to the global science and technology market as well based on the significant growth being seen.

Panelists

• Kevin Shea, Principal | Integral Group
• Mary On, Associate | Integral Group