A generously illustrated examination of the boom in luxurious,
resort-style scientific laboratories and how this affects scientists'
work.
The past decade has seen an extraordinary laboratory-building boom. This
new crop of laboratories features spectacular architecture and
resort-like amenities. The buildings sprawl luxuriously on verdant
campuses or sit sleekly in expensive urban neighborhoods. Designed to
attract venture capital, generous philanthropy, and star scientists,
these laboratories are meant to create the ideal conditions for
scientific discovery. Yet there is little empirical evidence that shows
if they do. Laboratory Lifestyles examines this new species of
scientific laboratory from architectural, economic, social, and
scientific perspectives. Generously illustrated with photographs of
laboratories and scientists at work in them, the book investigates how
"lifestyle science" affects actual science. Are scientists working when
they stretch in a yoga class, play volleyball in the company tournament,
chat in an on-site café, or show off their facilities to visiting
pharmaceutical executives?
The book describes, among other things, the role of beanbag chairs in
the construction of science at Xerox PARC; the Southern California vibe
of the RAND Corporation (Malibu), General Atomic (La Jolla), and Hughes
Research Laboratories (Malibu); and Biosphere 2's "bionauts" as both
scientists and scientific subjects; and interstellar laboratories.
Laboratory Lifestyles (the title is an allusion to Bruno Latour and
Steve Woolgar's influential Laboratory Life) documents a shift in what
constitutes scientific practice; these laboratories and their lifestyles
are as experimental as the science they cultivate.
**Contributors
**Kathleen Brandt, Russell Hughes, Tim Ivison, Sandra Kaji-O'Grady,
Stuart W. Leslie, Brian Lonsway, Sean O'Halloran, Simon Sadler, Chris L.
Smith, Nicole Sully, Ksenia Tatarchenko, William Taylor, Julia Tcharfas,
Albena Yaneva, Stelios Zavos
