Power availability, changing cooling requirements and the need for flexibility are placing new demands on data centre projects. Hyphen’s Matilda Marku and Darragh Beggan contributed to a recent RIBAJ and Tate discussion examining these issues.
Power constraints, more demanding cooling requirements and rapidly changing technology are influencing how data centres are planned and designed. These were among the subjects discussed at The future of data centre design, an event hosted by RIBAJ and Tate at the Royal Society of Arts in London.
Across three panels, architects, engineers and suppliers considered the immediate challenges of delivering data centres, the effects of changing technology and the difficulty of planning facilities whose requirements may continue to evolve.
Power, location and community understanding
Matilda Marku, an associate at Hyphen, joined a panel focused on sustainability, power and the relationship between data centres and their locations. The discussion covered the availability and cost of power in the UK, delays in connecting projects to the electricity grid and the importance of considering how data centres relate to the places in which they are built.
Matilda highlighted that many everyday services depend on the digital infrastructure housed in data centres. Schools and hospitals, for example, rely on technology connected to these facilities. She explained that helping people understand what data centres provide is important in building awareness of the role they play in communities.
Changing cooling and spatial requirements
The event also examined how developments in computing technology are affecting the buildings that support them. RIBAJ reports that the greater heat generated by powerful artificial intelligence chips is driving a move from air-cooled facilities towards liquid-cooled racks.
These changes can affect the balance between data hall space and the supporting plant and equipment needed to operate a facility. The discussion also covered the difficulty of obtaining precise technical information. Requirements may change during design and construction, particularly in facilities intended to serve several customers with different needs.
Retaining flexibility can help accommodate those requirements, but the panel also considered how this can create inefficiencies in space, plant and carbon.
What flexibility can involve
Darragh Beggan, a senior associate at Hyphen, joined a panel examining how data centres can respond to continuing technological change. The discussion considered several approaches to flexibility, including modularity, scalability and reuse. It also covered components that can be relocated, reassembled or repurposed as requirements change.
These approaches do not all offer the same benefits. The panel discussed the importance of understanding what flexibility means for different stakeholders and whether the priority is expansion, reuse or another requirement.
The architect’s wider view
Darragh highlighted the broader view that architects can bring to data centre projects. He explained that architects are trained to consider the building as a whole and take an objective view, while also bringing knowledge of planning, management and communication. This allows them to consider technical requirements alongside the wider needs of the building and project.
RIBAJ’s report concludes that architects can help bring together the technical, power, planning and stakeholder requirements involved in data centre design.
Read the full RIBAJ article: What is the role of the architect in data-centre design?
