Designing adaptable laboratories with Myah

Myah, a general contractor for interior fit-out serving complex spaces

An entity of the augmented architecture agency Patriarche, Myah is a general contractor specializing in interior fit-out. Its role: to design and deliver turnkey spaces, overseeing the entire project from design through construction, including work carried out in occupied sites.

It is integrated within our multidisciplinary platform bringing together a wide range of expertise : architecture, engineering, construction, QEB environmental design, furniture, and usage design… Myah operates on complex projects requiring technical mastery, precise coordination, and a comprehensive vision."

Laboratories: designing spaces capable of evolving with research

Laboratories host activities in constant transformation. Protocols, equipment, teams, and levels of requirements evolve rapidly. In this context, one of the major challenges of interior design is anticipating change.

A design approach based on uses and processes

Myah’s approach is built on an in-depth understanding of scientific and technical practices. Before any design phase, the teams carry out a thorough analytical process:

• Understanding of professional processes,
• Identification of flows (people, samples, waste, equipment),
• Integration of regulatory and normative constraints (laboratories, utilities, safety),
• Anticipation of potential changes in activities.

This foundational phase makes it possible to translate needs into functional diagrams and coherent spatial organizations.

Macro-zoning, micro-zoning: structuring flexibility

Laboratory layouts are organized around two complementary levels:

• Macro-zoning, which defines the main spatial logics, relationships between functions, and primary flows,
• Micro-zoning, which refines the layout of workstations, equipment, and utilities, as closely aligned as possible with actual uses.

This structure makes it possible to design modular laboratories capable of accommodating different occupants or adapting to new projects without major reconfiguration of the infrastructure.

Careful integration of technical constraints

HVAC, specialist fluids, electrical systems, pressure management, fume hood extraction, safety: the laboratory environment requires close coordination between architecture and engineering. As a general contractor, Myah ensures consistency between design, technical studies, and construction, while meeting cost, quality, and schedule objectives.

Offices integrated into laboratories, serving innovation

Research is no longer limited to experimental spaces. Contemporary laboratories increasingly integrate offices, collaborative areas, and coworking zones, fostering cross-disciplinary work, informal exchanges, and creativity.

The challenge of interior design is therefore twofold:

• Preserving the technical rigor and precision of laboratory spaces,
• While providing comfortable, open, and adaptable work environments for teams.

This hybridization of uses lies at the heart of many projects led by Myah, particularly within innovation centers.

Project focus: Kadans, a turnkey, flexible, and scalable innovation center

As part of the development of The Hive – Innovation Center, Kadans entrusted Myah with an interior design mission aimed at creating spaces capable of meeting the specific needs of leading-edge research and innovation stakeholders in the field of oncology.

A mixed-use program serving occupants

The Hive project is based on the simultaneous interior fit-out of laboratories and offices, designed as a coherent and interconnected whole. The flexible, turnkey spaces of The Hive – Innovation Center have made it possible to meet the diverse needs of occupants such as:

• Sanofi
• Orakl
• Oranomed
• Valerio
• One Bioscience
• Bactabio
• Thycobio
• Skymab

Myah’s contribution

• Laboratory spaces integrating a wide range of scientific uses (molecular biology, fermentation, chemistry, PCR, post-PCR, technical and support areas), organized around dedicated circulation paths and shared facilities;
• Offices and tertiary spaces, including open-plan areas, individual offices, meeting rooms, and support zones, designed to support research, analysis, and collaborative work phases.

The project comprises a total of 1,800 m² of laboratory space within the innovation center, complemented by approximately 2,300 m² of offices, designed for shared and adaptable uses. This programmatic mix makes it possible to accommodate teams with diverse profiles while encouraging interaction between scientific activities and tertiary functions.

Turnkey delivery and adaptability: a key design imperative

For Kadans, whose model is based on accommodating innovative organizations with evolving needs, the challenge was clear: to offer spaces that are immediately operational while remaining flexible and adaptable.

The laboratory design therefore incorporated:

• A rationalized organization of space,
• Modular laboratory typologies,
• Options for future evolution (airlocks, equipment, flows),
• Seamless integration with tertiary spaces.

Through this project, as with all of its work, Myah promotes a clear vision: laboratories and workspaces capable of evolving in step with projects, teams, and innovations.

By placing flexibility, usability, and anticipation at the heart of the design process, interior fit-out becomes a true driver of performance and attractiveness for research and innovation stakeholders.