Editorial Article: Is your lab in need of a makeover? L’Oréal is revolutionizing laboratory design

What lab wouldn’t be tempted by the prospect of reduced costs, energy, and time savings, and an overall improved environmental impact? While the adoption of eco-friendly and low-waste practices is an attractive goal, achieving true sustainability can seem a hopeless mission for teams whose projects and research questions are ever changing. Born from this challenge, however, is a novel solution that could change the way science operates forever.

In this exclusive SelectScience^® interview, we speak with Philippe Fristot, Head of Real Estate for Research and Innovation at cosmetics giant L’Oréal, about how he is helping to develop an exciting new wave of sustainable, flexible, and agile laboratories.

Four steps to future-proof your lab

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L'Oréal FlexLab in Chevilly with Erlab Green Fume Hoods © Philippe Fristot

In 2011, Mr. Fristot received a request from a researcher who was eager for a responsive style of workspace that would make it easier to test new scientific instrumentation and workflows. In the process of answering this inquiry, Mr. Fristot discovered a new way to distribute the necessary equipment around a laboratory. The concept, now affectionately referred to as FlexLabs, relies on four simple solutions that enable the quick and easy rearrangement or removal of equipment:

• All utilities are distributed to the benchtops by movable media columns
• The media columns, benchtops, and larger pieces of equipment are housed on castors
• Approximately 30% of floor lab surface is kept free
• Fixed equipment, such as sinks or fume hoods, must be placed around structurally permanent features of the lab, such as pillars or walls

A complete makeover in just one day

Today, L’Oréal has implemented FlexLabs throughout its facilities, with the concept being continually refined over time. “Each time we renovate or build a new lab, FlexLabs are the new norm,” says Mr. Fristot, “and as each project progresses, we learn several new lessons to improve the design of the next space.” He also highlights the importance of input from end-users, explaining how they have “helped the concept evolve into something increasingly more flexible, efficient, and economical”.

This new approach to lab design redefines research management and the potential impact of these new spaces is significant. Research groups will no longer need to rely on costly technicians, project managers, and contractors to change the layout of a laboratory, as it can be reorganized to suit the individual needs of a project in just one day. “When a new approach to research is proposed, you no longer need to spend money on redeveloping your facilities, nor do you need to wait for construction to be completed,” explains Mr. Fristot.

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L’Oréal FlexLab in Brazil © James Steinkamp Photography

GreenFumeHood Filtration Technology from Erlab has been instrumental to L’Oréal’s research for many years and now plays a key role in the new FlexLabs. “Sustainability is a driver for each L’Oréal project,” Mr. Fristot explains, “and having safe technology that allows us to dramatically reduce the required air volume exchange is a benefit we can't ignore.” 

In addition, the flexibility of Erlab products allow L’Oréal to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of its laboratories. “They perfectly complement our FlexLab concept,” Mr. Fristot says. “Due to the lack of fixed exhausts, you can move the fume hoods like simple benches, all you need to find is an electrical plug.”

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Energy consumption chart of different laboratory equipment (CEEL, 2019)

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