Data centres roundtable: how to design for a changing world
Booming demand for AI processing power requires data centres to pack a higher computing punch, with additional plant, cooling systems and structural support. The resulting issues faced by architects and engineers were the focus of RIBAJ's latest roundtable, held in May in London in association with Tate Europe.
The retrofit dilemma
“I think we’re reaching a point in the evolution of technology where many data centres built in the 2000s, or even early 2010s, have equipment coming to the end of its life, and they’re not necessarily fully utilising the power connections available to them,” explained Dylan Bussey, associate principal at Corgan.
“They’ve not been fitted out to the highest level of efficiency, so there’s a chance to revisit the tech deployed, assess how to make best use of the power – now a very precious commodity – and densify the facility,” he added.
