Imagine the laboratory of the future – chemical reactions that measure themselves, microscopes appearing on a scientist’s desk with the power of his or her mind, cures for diseases simply leaping out of organic compounds and into computer models.

Those might be a slight stretch (though you have to admit it would be pretty cool to psychically summon microscopes – or anything for that matter). But exaggeration aside, companies designing and building lab space are in the midst of envisioning just what the most important considerations for life science companies and labs will be in the future.

And according to some industry professionals, one of the most pressing issues for biotech and science firms large and small is the ability to easily and quickly convert office space to lab space, and vice versa.

On parcel L1 of Seaport Square along the South Boston Waterfront, Boston Global Investors has engaged architecture firm Perkins+Will to create what an industry insider called “the most flexible lab space imaginable.”

Preliminary plans for parcel L1 call for 400,000 square feet of office space, but it will be designed to be flexible between lab and office, sources told Banker & Tradesman.

The point is to create a highly energy-efficient property that attracts and retains the world’s best scientists who could work at any company, anywhere, for any salary, but choose to be in the Seaport because their building – and the area – is so cutting edge. According to a presentation on Seaport Square’s website, parcel L1 is at the corner of Seaport Boulevard and Boston Wharf Road. But the plans are so new, and details so precious, that Perkins+Will and Boston Global Investors would not comment about design specifics.

But while Boston Global Investors’ plans are new, it’s not the first developer to try its hand at ultra-flexible lab space for science firms.

One major player in the local lab market, BioMed Realty Trust, has installed its Universal Flex Lab (UFL) system into approximately 80,000 square feet of lab space in Cambridge at 325 Vassar St. and Fresh Pond Research Park properties on Moulton Street and Concord Avenue. The company said it plans to convert an additional 80,000 square feet of lab space to the UFL system at its 301 Binney St. property in Cambridge, a 417,317-square-foot lab and office building.

William Kane, senior director for BioMed, said he has seen a shift in the lab market dynamics. Not so much in the shape and size of companies, but in a push for operational and programmatic flexibility. Now, he said, BioMed isn’t positioning its properties for small or large tenants, but for both.

BioMed finished redeveloping 325 Vassar St. last year after the 60,000-square-foot property became vacant. The company faced the question of positioning the property for one 60,000-square-foot tenant, or to go after smaller tenants. So they went for both. And within one year of the building emptying out, it back to being fully occupied.

“We can accommodate several shapes and size of tenants,” Kane said. “But with our flexible spaces, as they contract or expand, they do so with screwdrivers instead of sledgehammers. We were surprised about the market’s reaction to that building. Given that, we decided to use that same approach to other assets. At 301 Binney, we’ve positioned an 80,000-square-foot floor plate for 80,000-square-foot users or for [multiple] 20,000-square-foot users. We haven’t positioned ourselves for the small tenant market. We’ve positioned ourselves for a market that is demanding a high level of change.”

But BioMed’s system doesn’t come cheap. And life sciences firms often start out with small needs. Putting it simply, the firms might start with a few scientists working on a drug. Then that drug is perfected and gets approvals. Then the drug starts to fly off the shelves. Then the company needs to hire more administrative and professional staff. So they need a lot of office space, and they need it quick.

So life science companies and biotech firms talk the talk of needing ultra-flexible space when they’re looking to lease or for a build-to-suit project. But in the end, most companies don’t really change their office or lab configurations all that much – they just find other space to lease or build, according to Tom Andrews, senior vice president for Alexandria Real Estate Equities. Alexandria recently broke ground on a 307,000-square-foot, build-to-suit project for Biogen Idec. It’s the first phase of what will eventually be the 1.73 million-square-foot Alexandria Center, a mix of office, lab, entertainment space and housing.

“It’s easy to convert lab space to office space just by moving the benches out of the way,” Andrews opined. “It’s harder to turn it back to lab space unless you build the infrastructure, and that’s pretty expensive to do. You need someone to pay a premium for that kind of space. The company will build lab space and use it as lab, and they’ll build office space as office space and use it as office space. That flexibility is very costly and most tenants don’t need it. We haven’t seen enough of that requirement among our tenant base to say it’s a strong trend.”

Tim Rowe, president of the startup-friendly Cambridge Innovation Center, said it’s a lot easier to move people than it is to move ceilings or fixed HVAC units. And the cost to have the kind of flexibility that the universal labs BioMed offers is just too much for most companies to afford.

“Some companies, because of their particular business, just can’t know exactly what they’ll need, like drug companies that don’t know how long they’ll be in certain trials,” Rowe offered. “But if you’re growing quickly, you can solve these problems by growing into space that has a mix of spaces to fit what you need. Anyone who’s growing can fix their space problem by building the new space in the configuration they need.”