May 2022
A sharp increase in construction of life sciences labs in the U.S. has included big gains in a premium category: conversions of office buildings to labs.

According to a report from CBRE, office-to-lab conversions in progress in the 12 largest U.S. life sciences markets at the end of 2021 amounted to 9.9 million sq. ft., up 49 percent from the beginning of the year. In comparison, ground-up lab construction increased 42 percent to nearly 18.8 million sq. ft. by the end of 2021.

To be sure, both measures increased greatly. But the jump in conversions underscores the challenges in building enough lab space to meet demand in recent years. Lab vacancy in many top markets sits at 4 percent or less.

Created for the way we live, AirAssure™ panels

Combine the performance of our best ceiling panels – plus more. Collectively these benefits improve the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) in spaces where we work, learn, heal, and play. Not only do AirAssure ceilings contribute to space cleanliness, they offer ISO Class 5 Clean Room performance and direct airflow for better containment of odors, dust, particulates and pathogens. Panels install on standard or existing grid with no hold down clips while maintaining accessibility above the ceiling. 

AirAssure™ panels reduce air leaks and improve room pressure.
  • Designed with a factory-gasketed edge to reduce air leakage through the ceiling plane.
  • Achieve Clean Room performance up to ISO Class 5 (Class 100) with standard non-gasketed suspension systems.
  • Supports easy conversion to negative or positive pressure-controlled spaces (without hold down clips).
  • Offers Total Acoustics® performance while meeting the most stringent industry sustainability standards. 

by Eileen McMorrow

The Donald and Priscilla Hunt Cancer Institute on the Torrance Memorial Medical Center campus is the South Bay’s first standalone cancer center, providing patients with access to comprehensive cancer care. “When our team embarks on a project, we learn about their day to day experience in the current facility,” says Connie Senner, Director of Design & Construction/Administration, Torrance Memorial Medical Center. “In this case, it was a 42,000-sq.-ft. two-story facility with 18 bays for infusion therapy, a second-floor chemo lab, and pharmacy operating five days a week.” It was confined with tight quarters; the new facility provided an opportunity to update lounge and waiting areas with Kwalu furniture and banish the old look of a cancer center.

The new facility, architecturally designed and planned by C l A Architects, Long Beach, California, opened in December 2019 and provided patient cancer treatments throughout the Covid-19 pandemic with its expansive space design and furniture layout, allowing for distance between immunocompromised patients. Each station is set up for a single patient, providing ample space for family members to remain with loved ones during treatment.

With $545 million in design fees in 2021, Gensler once again is number one on Interior Design’s Top 100 Giants in 2022 — a spot it has held for the past 42 years.

Yep, you read it right. Forty-two years. Doubt that Art Gensler ever envisioned that when he started the firm in 1965. Sadly, Art passed away in 2021 at the age of 85. Interior Design’s Edie Cohen wrote a great tribute to him in December 2021.

While the majority of its annual design fees ($341 million in 2021) have always come from office design, Gensler has always been a multi-disciplinary firm. Its healthcare design fees last year were a little over $50 million, placing the firm fourth behind HDR, CannonDesign, and Perkins&Will.


Findings published in the American Journal of Infection Control can help inform practices to better protect HCP from infectious illness during future outbreaks
A study conducted by researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides the first assessment of reported Covid-19 exposures over time among U.S. healthcare personnel (HCP) during the global pandemic. Findings from the study, published last month in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), suggest that HCP diagnosed with Covid-19 were most likely to be exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in their workplaces as Covid-19 cases increased in their communities, and offer insights for reducing HCP exposures and risk during future outbreaks.

NeoCon 2022 is expecting to host a large number of healthcare facilities managers, administrators, and designers looking for new products to suit renovations and unit expansions following the pandemic. Healthcare practice waiting room solutions and flooring can be found in a wealth of exhibitor showrooms and booths. From June 13-15, NeoCon will offer daily on-site keynotes and special programs as well as 47 virtual CEU-accredited programs from leading industry experts from a wide cross-section of fields. The sessions will span eight program tracks: Workplace, Healthcare, Education, Facilities, Wellness, Sustainability, Design Skills, and Industry Direction and delve into the topics that are making an impact on the design industry.

Fast reads . . .
With a limited talent pool and a competitive hiring landscape, a key challenge for employers is finding enough talent to effectively manage their facilities and enable their organizations to meet their strategic goals. Instead of relying on external recruitment, more employers are using internal training funds to help FM staff with high potential build the right skills while increasing confidence and credibility.

For built environment professionals, 2022 is proving to be a year of rebuilding and growth worldwide.

Since 2019, the Professional Facility Management Institute (ProFMI) and Building Operating Management (BOM) magazine have been conducting the Facility Management (FM) Training Outlook Survey to determine the need for facility management training and credentials from both the management and staff points of view. The latest survey was conducted in February and March of 2022 to identify FM workforce trends, determine the current need for FM training and credentials, and gauge how sentiments may have shifted over time.

The editors of The McMorrow Reports & FMLink are always reading about emerging trends in workplace planning and built environments that enable work to flow in a purpose-built space or in the cloud where many teams meet. We are following workplace experts’ wisdom on return to the office, hybrid working, facility management expectations, work culture, and practices in terms of real estate and space usage, planning, corporate culture, and engagement.

Here are links to several articles we think are worthy as workplace professionals respond to the expectations of leadership, collaborators, and fellow workers in built environments:


Initiated in 2008 by Global FM and earning renewed exposure due to the pandemic, World FM Day aims to recognize the vital work that facility management professionals contribute to business, healthcare and educational institutions worldwide. Further, the day raises the profile of the FM profession due to its influence on the health, safety, productivity, and well-being of people who use the built environment. During the pandemic, FM teams are at the forefront in making environments and digital platforms available to meet unanticipated demands and have been important in keeping many sectors operating. With a renewed emphasis being placed on human health and safety, coupled with building sustainability and resilience, the FM is thrust into the center of the “Return To” conversation.

The Hospital, Outpatient Facilities & Medical Office Buildings Summits offer in-person educational and networking with five hours of CEUs and two hours of networking. This summit sells out every year in New York, but has not occurred since 2019, so register now if you want to attend. “What’s Next for Healthcare Facilities in These Unsettled Times?” will be held live 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., June 14 at the Lincoln Center Campus of Fordham University. Lunch will be provided.

The healthcare summits are customized to each market and also will be held on June 8 in Boston and June 28 in Chicago. Click the date links to review the programs for each city. The McMorrow Reports/Healthcare is the Summits’ media partner.

The Clemson University School of Nursing is hosting the 3rd Annual International Nursing Conference for Excellence in Healthcare Design: Reimagining the Unimaginable: Designing for Readiness, Rapid Response, and Resilience, for nursing and design leaders in healthcare environments to present their research and work.

The keynote speakers are Oriana Beaudet, vice president of Nursing Innovation for the American Nurses Association Enterprise, and Karen Hill, former chief operating officer/chief nursing officer of Baptist Health Lexington, located in Kentucky.

STAY CONNECTED