As you first saw when Desmond's pattern went awry back in school, practitioners can't always control the patterns they use. That goes tenfold for working with new and untested patterns. You'll need metamagical patterns that can redirect and dissipate the energy you attempt to summon.
Common-use spaces like the placement testing room in the basement—
No, best not think about that.
The practice nooks in Johansen Library have patterns that handle a wide range of common magical energy, but can be overcome by too-strong energy or more unusual patterns. You'll be working with both, so you'll need custom protection patterns that you can swap among depending on what you're doing.
The material that holds those patterns will set the ambiance of your lab and affect how other practitioners view you.