Animal facilities often must accommodate highly focused, shorter-term research projects - a requirement that demands more vivarium capability and capacity and better space utilization.  SmithGroup demonstrates new decision making criteria for space allocation ratios, caging options, barrier facility designs and bio-containment requirements.  They profile facilities at Texas Tech University, UC San Francisco, Astellas, University of Louisville and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to illustrate high-performance solutions ranging in size from 5,000 - 60,000 square feet.

Bio:  Steve Hackman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Steve Hackman is a Prinicpal with SmithGroupJJR based in SmithGroupJJR's Phoenix laboratory planning group, supporting science and technlology clients nationwide with needs for all project types from research, teaching, corporate and clinical applications.  Exceptional project solutions include specialty environments for bio-containment, animal care facilities and other technology-driven facilities. 

Bio:  Jonathan Romig, Senior Planner
Jon has over 29 years experience in laboratory and vivarium planning and design for institutions, corporations and government agencies.  He has frequently presented and published on vivarium planning at TurnKey and in other venues.  Jon leads the SmithGroupJJR lab planning group in Detroit.

Bio:  Victor J. Cardona, AIA, NCARB
An experienced architect with a national practice, Victor serves as SmithGroup's Director for Laboratory Programming and Planning.  Victor has programmed, planned and/or designed over four and a half million square feet of corporate, government and academic instructional and research laboratory, vivarium and classroom project development, from programming and preliminary design through construction observation.

He has proven design methodology based on an intensive analysis/programming phase.  This integrated, multi-discipline oriented approach leads to an innovative, quality design product that above all meets the client's/users needs.  He created SmithGroup's LABSim™ , a computerized laboratory programming simulation model.