Warwick Imaging Facility
Specific design considerations
 | Each imaging workstation must be maintained in "real" darkness and at constant, controlled temperature |
| Personnel access in darkness to avoid disturbing ongoing experiments |
| Adjacent office area for analysis computers, as close as possible to the cameras to allow easy access for liquid nitrogen, power and data cables |
| Incubators and laminar flow hood to maintain and manipulate biological samples, usually outside the imaging room to avoid light and heat leakage |
| Each circadian rhythm experiment can necessitate a week of continuous imaging |
| Plant samples can be exquisitely sensitive to light |
Plan (mm)
Notes
| Large bench in dark room 1 can house a complete imaging system, including computers. |
| Data collection area houses all other computers, printer and liquid nitrogen tanks; two skylights for natural light |
| One microscope each in dark rooms 1, 2 and 3; there is sufficient space for ancillary equipment (e.g. macro imaging chamber) in each room |
| Two service holes per inner dark room provide cable access |
| Access route minimises light exposure of inner dark rooms, even when their doors or illuminated incubator doors are opened |
| Large rear door allows easy equipment access but requires careful light-proofing |
| Each room has independent temperature control (+/- 1C in inner dark rooms), with temperature alarm in data collection room |
| Ventilation must be sufficient to cope with liquid nitrogen venting |
| All internal walls except data collection painted matt black; floor is light coloured to aid navigation |
| All doors fitted with rubber and/or brush seals to aid light-proofing |
| Strip lighting for maintenance with switches at head height |
| Green ambient safe lighting on pull switches, from filter-wrapped low-power fluorescent lights (sold as wardrobe lights) at ceiling level |
| Work surface lighting from filtered low-power bulbs in desk lamp housings |
Design team:
Andrew Millar, Dennis Jones, Bob Chamberlain, Paul Goode (Biol. Sci.)
Steve Walker and colleagues (Estates)
We are very grateful to the University of Warwick for funding this building
