Animal Research: From Rodents to Ruminants—An Australian Story

Colin Sakinofsky, S2F P/L, Architects and Engineers

S2F has in recent years been designing animal facilities for a variety of size and species type research, literally from rodents to ruminants and everything in between. These facilities provide state of the art laboratories from mice to 600 kilogram bovines (oxen).

This presentation seeks to outline a range of projects in Australia and New Zealand that are dedicated to research based on animal models, at PC 1, 2, and 3 (Biosafety Level-1, -2, and -3) levels of containment. Each project and location has unique characteristics that drive different design solutions:

• Designing high-containment facilities in a flood plain.
• Science dedicated to eradicating an Australian native possum in New Zealand with transgenic nematodes.
• Designing high-containment facilities in pastoral land used by the United States Army as a medical dump during World War II and now classified as contaminated land.
• Movement Control:
  1. High and lower security zones.
  2. Segregation of farm vehicles from pedestrian and personnel movement.
  3. Waste and clean material separation.
• Waste Treatment - a range of options to provide flexibility in operation and budget.
• Different climatic zones; wet and cold to dry and hot.

With all these concerns, what place does ecologically sustainable development (ESD) hold in the pecking order? The presentation will end with a description of the ESD features included in the building design.

Biography:

Colin Sakinofsky is an architect working as a specialist laboratory designer for S2F P/L. S2F is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy firm specializing in complex, highly-serviced buildings such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotechnology, and research and animal laboratories.

Colin's projects include an extensive and diverse range of laboratory facilities in Australia, China, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Singapore, India, and Taiwan.

Colin has designed a considerable number of research facilities to BSL-1, -2, -3, and -4 levels of containment, and for science research focused on:

• Infectious diseases for humans and animals, with animal species varying from rodents to 600 kg ruminants (cattle) and primates.
• Entomological models.
• Human applications laboratories for vector gene and cell transfer to sterile BSL-2 and -3 conditions.

Some of these projects include: Queensland Biosciences Precinct; Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical Sciences Building; CSIRO Entomology Biosciences, Sydney University Central Rodent Facility; Agresearch and Massey University Research and Animal Holding Facilities in New Zealand; University of Queensland and DPI Centre for Advanced Animal Science; Johnson & Johnson Analytical & Pharmaceutical Development Centre of Excellence India.

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