Construction Magazine April 2020 | Page 32

SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES
LEADERSHIP
32 fact that approaches to design and construction will have to change ,” says Atthis . “ Connectivity and location are key to their success , at some point in the future we may struggle to find land in the right locations to build data centres , which is prompting some of our clients to look at alternative solutions .” Some of the most unusual prototypes trialled in recent years include a Microsoft data centre submerged in the sea off the coast of Scotland and a floating 6MW facility from Nautilus Data Technologies aiming to utilise a natural water source to reduce the cost of cooling servers .
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES
Atthis believes there is space in the data centre market for better alignment with the UN ’ s Sustainable Development Goals ( UNSDGs ). “ There is a global framework of planning metrics to drive certain sustainable factors around energy consumption , but the industry has a lot to gain from increased engagement with the UN- SDGs . We have an evolving strategy that will enable us and our clients to increase their understanding of how best to apply these , to find different mechanisms to drive resilience and offer a broader response to humankind .”
“ We have to ask what we can do to make these buildings more efficient and carbon friendly ,” adds Tolmie . “ We ’ re looking at cooling techniques , from direct air to chiller technology , and whether we can remove generators from certain systems to aid carbon reduction .”
Arup was responsible for the design of the world ’ s first LEED Platinum certified data centre for Citibank in Frankfurt , Germany . “ We worked on this project over 10 years ago and it is still amongst the most sustainable data centres in the world ,” comments Atthis . Arup ’ s research found that if every data centre in the world were built like this , enough energy would be saved to power a country the size of Belgium . Though still proud of Arup ’ s multi-disciplinary achievement , Atthis is keen to see more of the mission critical buildings planned for the future not only mirror but improve upon the technologies deployed for Citibank and hopes to see them improved upon .
On a positive note , Tolmie highlights
APRIL 2020