The Shift in Workplace Design for Labs and Healthcare

Today’s laboratories, healthcare, and life-science environments are no longer just places to work, analyse, or treat. They have become ecosystems where hygiene, wellbeing, and sustainability converge. As facilities adapt to demanding workloads, intensive cleaning protocols, and round-the-clock staffing, the materials specified in these spaces are critical to both performance and health outcomes.

Globally, the design industry is recognising this shift. JLL’s 2024 Design Trends & Cost Guide identifies “human-led design and sustainability” as the defining forces shaping workplaces. While the report focuses primarily on office environments, the message resonates even more in clinical and laboratory settings—where every surface, seam, and fabric choice must stand up to rigorous cleaning, durability, and human-health demands.

This article explores what defines “healthy materials”, why labs and healthcare environments require elevated standards, and how Humanscale’s approach puts material health at the centre of product design.

Understanding Healthy Materials

“Healthy materials” extend far beyond aesthetic appeal. In the context of workplace design, they encompass several interrelated dimensions:

  • Antimicrobial finishes and textiles – Surfaces designed to resist bacterial and fungal growth, supporting infection control and hygiene.

  • Stain resistance and cleanability – Essential in environments where chemical or biological spills occur, allowing frequent sanitisation without degrading the material.
  • Red List-Free materials – Products that exclude the most harmful substances as defined by the Living Future Institute.
  • Circular and net-positive manufacturing – Material choices that go beyond “less harmful,” creating positive outcomes for human and environmental health through reclaimed content and low embodied carbon.
  • Durability and lifecycle performance – Longer-lasting products reduce waste, replacement frequency, and lifecycle cost.
Leading architectural and design firms support this position. Gensler’s Product Sustainability Standards note that “the composition of these products can significantly impact whether the environment is healthy or potentially harmful for you and those who manufactured them.” They also highlight that “materials vary in their impact… even though structural elements are highly carbon-intensive, the repeated churn of interior materials over the life span of a building can add up to an equal or greater share of the whole-life carbon footprint.”
Similarly, HOK reports that of the 7,548 materials assessed since 2021, 42% achieved third-party certification as healthy materials, and 84% were low emitting to protect indoor air quality. These findings reinforce a growing consensus: specifying furniture and finishes is no longer about aesthetics or cost—it’s about human health, safety, and long-term sustainability.

Defining Healthy Materials for Lab and Healthcare Environments

In healthcare and laboratory environments, healthy materials must withstand demanding use while promoting hygiene and wellbeing. This can include:

  • Fabrics rated for hospital-grade cleaning

  • Surfaces suitable for frequent wipe-downs with disinfectants

  • Modular components that enable part replacement rather than full product disposal

  • Textiles certified free of PFAS and Red-List chemicals, with measurable recycled or recyclable content

  • Manufacturing processes that align with or exceed corporate ESG and net-zero standards
These attributes are not optional—they are operational necessities. In spaces where contamination control, safety, and user wellbeing intersect, material performance underpins every aspect of the work environment.

Humanscale’s Approach: Where Materials and Performance Align

The Humanscale Lab & Healthcare Collection is where this philosophy comes to life. Each product is engineered with the same evidence-based ergonomics found across Humanscale’s broader portfolio but refined for the realities of clinical and laboratory use.

The collection features:

  • Hospital-grade textiles engineered for cleanability and durability
  • High-performance surfaces that resist staining and support intensive sanitisation
  • Replaceable components to extend product lifespan and reduce waste
  • Sustainable, Red List-Free materials manufactured in Humanscale’s zero-waste certified facilities
As healthcare and science continue to advance, the spaces that support them must evolve too. Material health is not a design afterthought—it is a foundation for resilience, human performance, and planetary wellbeing. The most innovative environments will be those built from the inside out, where every material decision supports the people who work there and the patients or research they serve.
Explore the Humanscale Lab & Healthcare Collection and discover how material health can redefine performance in your workplace.
 
References:
  • https://www.jll.com/en-us/newsroom/new-workplace-standards-demand-an-evolution-of-office-design
  • https://www.gensler.com/blog/gensler-product-sustainability-standards-v2
  • https://www.gensler.com/climate-action-2021-the-right-materials
  • https://www.hok.com/ideas/research/hoks-sustainable-material-tracking-a-journey-toward-healthier-space/