Finalists of the contest: the most beautiful data centers in the world 2017

Beauty is a subjective thing. Recently, during the construction of new server vaults, there has been such a trend: not just modern functional buildings are being created, but real works of art are being built. The unusual architecture of buildings fascinates and attracts the views and not only the views (perhaps to some extent, a successful marketing move to attract customers). It turns out that there is even a competition for the title of the most beautiful data center in the world. What is the main criterion when choosing a favorite: functionality, decoration, unusual approach to construction, etc.? A public online voting was held with the support of Quality Uptime Services; as a result, 15 server storages were identified, each of which can be called the most beautiful.

1. Switch Pyramid (Michigan, USA)

It’s impossible not to recognize the original look and feel of the Switch data centers with their patented power and cooling systems. Pyramid next to Grand Rapids (Michigan, USA) - the building is a seven-story steel and glass construction, originally planned as a Steelcase design center. The two lower floors are reserved for the data center, the occupied area of ​​the campus is 21 thousand square meters. meters

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Modern design builds the structure to the rank of architectural masterpieces. Together with other buildings, the Switch will create a campus with a capacity of up to 320 MW, powered by 100% renewable energy sources, plans to allocate 170 thousand square meters. meters under the data center and 40 thousand square meters. meters for office space.

2. Bahnhof Pionen (Stockholm, Sweden)

By the creation of the Bahnhof Pionen in Stockholm approached creatively and eventually the world was given another functional masterpiece of architecture. The data center, located in the former nuclear bunker, was opened in 2008.







Design Pionen leads the mind to the well-known James Bond, is the embodiment of some elements taken from the movie Silent Running (1970). Located at a depth of 30 meters inside the Cold War nuclear bunker, Bahnhof Pionen rightfully deserves the title of not only the most beautiful, but also the most reliable data storage. The artwork is decorated with waterfalls, greenhouses with exotic plants, and the reigning atmosphere of the dungeon gives a touch of magic and something fantastic.



In a word - fascinates ...

3. Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Barcelona, ​​Spain)

What was once a holy place of worship, known as the Torre Girona, is now home to the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the main hall is filled with glass server rooms. It is a place where the past and the future are intertwined, creating a unique atmosphere of the present.







The building of the former church Chapel Torre Girona, restored after the Spanish Civil War, this summer (2017) installed the world's largest supercomputer of the new generation MareNostrum 4 on Intel processors with a performance of 11.1 petaflops (13 in the list of the most powerful supercomputers TOP500 ).

4. Google Mayes County (Oklahoma, USA)

How to create a unique exterior of the data center and not to turn the buildings into one banal gray complex, into an undistinguished industrial object? Google knows for sure, and not only knows, but also practices. The fresco is an amazing decision raising any building to the rank of works of art.







The nomination for the most beautiful data center in the world is Google Mayes County. Thanks to the creativity of the artist Jenny Odell, the walls found their original style. When creating collages, she used satellite images of the Google Maps map service. Over the transfer of images worked by 15 artists, 400 colors were used, transferring the images to the wall using a technique similar to that used by Michelangelo when painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Cloth served as the facade of the server building.

5. Gak data center (Naver, South Korea)

Naver - the largest Internet portal and the most popular search engine in South Korea - has set up its data center at the foot of Mount Kobon in Chuncheon (Gangwon Province).







Data Center Gak securely stores the media content of its current customers. The data center surprisingly combines traditional design elements with advanced technologies, such as reuse and recycling of rainwater.







The data center Gak (阁) was named after the main skete (vault) of Janggyeonggak in one of the most famous temples of Haeins, which retained about 80 thousand Buddhist sacred texts on wooden tablets. The unique design of the repositories is noteworthy: they were located close to each other on four sides of the highest point above sea level and were aimed at each other in such a way that the wind flows from the Gayasyan valley provided natural ventilation.







Often, system failures occur due to overheating from the heat generated by the servers; cooling is extremely important to ensure the smooth operation of the equipment. A huge amount of energy is consumed to cool the server. In the Gak server storage, maximum efforts were made to cool the servers in an “environmentally friendly” manner. Gak was the first data center in the world to receive LEED Platinum Certificate (LEED -NC Platinum V2009).







The cooling system is a technological development and a decade-long experience. Before servers was created free space for cooling the air inside. Besides the fact that each server has its own cooler and power supply, every four servers in the Gak data center have a single power supply and power source, which allows minimizing the loss of electricity.







Racks have been developed that allow you to densely accommodate hundreds of servers, increasing the efficiency of space use An environmentally friendly approach to server cooling was applied - AMU (Air Misting Unit).







Various methods for cooling server servers were considered, which could minimize the use of air conditioners that are not very environmentally friendly. A method was chosen in which natural air penetrates the server room from outside, is filtered and cooled with the help of foggers. The AMU (Air Misting Unit) filters the air and uses mist; the air temperature is reduced by spraying the smallest particles of water. Air cooling method is highly economical, safe and environmentally friendly.







Ice is used to cool equipment during the hot period. In order to save ice is produced at night, when the cost of electricity is minimal.







Hot air emitted after cooling of the servers is used for growing greenery on the territory of the data center, rainwater is used in fire-fighting systems.







The data center is powered by renewable solar energy. LED LED lamps and electric cars on campus once again underline the company's desire to be green.

6. Green Mountain DC1-Stavanger (Norway)

Green Mountain DC1-Stavanger eco-friendly data center also runs for the title of the most beautiful server storage in the world. Only for its location on the rocky shore of the sea bay of the western coast of Norway - the fjord - inside the mountain, the data center is worthy of first place. Home for Green Mountain was the premises of the former NATO Cold War ammunition depot. Green Mountain DC1-Stavanger is an incredibly safe place: doors 50 cm thick, access to the repository through tunnels deep underground. Such a structure is protected from electromagnetic and radioactive radiation.







DC1-Stavanger is a unique data center with a high level of security. The occupied territory is 13,600 square meters. The data center consists of three two-story concrete buildings built in the mountains.







DC1-Stavanger is powered by three independent environmentally friendly hydroelectric power plants. Cheap electricity makes Norway a tasty morsel for building server vaults.







The cooling source of DC1-Stavanger is water from a nearby deep-water fjord. At a depth below 75 meters, the water temperature is stable and is 8 degrees Celsius all year round. Due to the effect of gravity, cold water from a depth of 100 meters enters the data center cooling system without any energy.







The cooling system (including the cooling station, piping and pumps) is completely duplicated, providing a reliable N + N solution.







Customers can be provided with server rooms ranging from 50 square meters to 1,550 square meters. Servers are located in underground machineries (traditional with raised floor, cold / hot corridors and container solutions). In the cave kingdom, hypoxic air technology is used for fire safety, known as the oxygen reduction system. The advantage of such a system: hypoxic air can prevent a fire. The oxygen level is constantly monitored, the equipment is duplicated by N + 1.

7. NGD (Newport, Wales)

In 1996, LG acquired an area of ​​203,000 square meters. meters for the construction of a semiconductor plant. But the Asian financial crisis in 1998 left construction only in the plans. The land was returned to the government of Wales.







2007 is the year when NGD was founded. There was a need to create a data center, South Wales was the ideal place to host one of the largest data centers in Europe, its area is close to the mark of 93 thousand square meters. meters In 2009, the first contract was signed with the British telecommunications company (BT), over time, many global companies will become NGD clients.







In 2010, NGD was the largest European data center (70 thousand square meters. With the ability to accommodate about 19 thousand racks), for the power of the brainchild, only energy from 100% of renewable sources is used. $ 26 million has been invested in the Super Super Giant International Power Transmission Network for connecting NGD directly to it.







In 2012, Next Generation Data Provider (NGD) became the first operator in the UK to receive a certificate as fully complying with the industry's “Data Center for Climate Change Agreement (CCA)”. The use of a solar farm located on the roof to power the server cooling system helped the company to bring the PUE ratio to a low level (rumors were running up to 1). The total area of ​​such a farm was 75 thousand square meters. meters The data center complies with the Tier III standard, the maximum power is 180 MW - more than enough even to power the whole city.

8. Amsterdam Data Tower (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

Another contender for the title of being closer to beauty is the American company Digital Realty, the world leader in providing data center services. Most recently, the company moved its server capacity from the AMS 1 Telecity data center (2016) to the new data center Amsterdam Data Tower / Amsterdam Data Tower. 13-storey building with a height of 72 meters, a total area of ​​5 thousand square meters. meters







For cooling, external air and groundwater are used. The building was designed by the architect Rosbach in the Netherlands.







Due to their location in the Science Park in Amsterdam, users have the opportunity to be part of a rich ecosystem of telecommunications organizations, Internet service providers and cable companies.











The appearance of the Amsterdam Data Tower differs from other candidates with its triangular shapes, the design of which perfectly fits into the environment, and the bronze facade emphasizes the “cold” beauty of the building for reliable data storage.

9. AQL Salem Chapel (Leeds, England)

Salem Chapel is a fantastic place for holding conferences, exhibitions, meetings and training everyday life. The historic Salem chapel combines the elegance of the 18th century and the state-of-the-art technologies of the 21st century. The chapel was in the “world of change” all the time and is now home to one of the AQL data centers. The DC3, which occupies the first floor, is open to view thanks to the glass floor in the conference room on the top floor.







The Salem chapel in Leeds was founded in 1791, a Protestant church was gathered here. In the 19th century, Leeds became an industrial center and in 1822 Joshua Tetley built a brewery a couple of meters from the entrance door of the chapel. In 1919 a football club (Leeds United FC) was founded here. Historic building with an area of ​​465 sq. M. meters, became the home of 130 racks, there is a free connection to IXLeeds.

10. Portuguese Telecom Covilhã's DC (Covilhã, Portugal)

At first glance, an IT building looks like a vault made of solid metal. His reflection, surrounded by clouds, in a water mirror seems to be a perfect pendant cube. The ideal shape of the cube (55 x 55 meters) is fascinating.







Telecom's ambitious project has combined a progressive architecture and the latest technology in the IT world. The complex worth $ 120 million is planned to eventually expand to 74 thousand square meters. meters







The moat that surrounds the server storage building, in addition to the aesthetic effect, creates its own microclimate, cools the environment and collects rainwater for cooling if necessary. Due to the cold climate, 99% of them use free cooling, and there is also an adiabatic air cooling system.







Outside the data center, a solar farm was erected, which supplies electricity to office buildings of Portugal Telecom by 30%.







In an effort to be closer to nature, the futuristic building was complemented by a garden of 600 trees.







The new facility is certified by Tier III, although some of the premises of the data center have been certified by Tier IV. 12 generators, 2 tanks with diesel fuel for 80 thousand liters each - for 36 hours will ensure the efficiency of the data center in the event of an accident.







6 machine rooms of 520 square meters. meters each can accommodate from 260 to 280 racks.

11. LuxConnect DC 2 (Bissen, Commune in Luxembourg)

Why was Luxembourg chosen to build one of the most beautiful data centers? Based on key risk factors, it is a safe state in terms of ensuring a high level of confidentiality of data storage, the average indicator of data risk is 2.6%.







“All roads lead to Rome ...”, but even more roads lead to Luxembourg. The best technical, financial and legal proposals, a safe and trustworthy business environment that supports business government, excellent quality of life, no natural disasters (earthquakes, floods and hurricanes), no taxes on servers.







LuxConnect DC2 received several Uptime certificates, giving users the opportunity to upgrade from Tier II to Tier III or IV. DC2 data center, located on a plot of 15 thousand square meters. meters, offers its customers space for servers of 4,800 square meters. meters

12. RagingWire Dallas TX1 Data Center (Texas, USA)

TX-1 welcomes visitors with a unique design consisting of colored wires stretching towards the sky. The main focus of the roof is bright yellow mesh designs that hide powerful cooling equipment and complement the exterior color palette of rich purple, cool white and futuristic black.







Daylight makes an incredibly beautiful glass conference room, where meetings and meetings take place. Passing through the glass corridor-bridge connecting the halls, guests can see the entire infrastructure, server equipment.







The data center area is 93 thousand square meters, the campus is located on a plot of 170 thousand square meters.







Anhydrous cooling is used using indirect air exchange technology; 74 refrigeration units are located on the roof of the building.

13. Telehouse North Two (London, England)

Telehouse North Two - a 6-story architectural monument with a total capacity of 73 MW, the construction of which cost the company $ 180 million. Its appearance is a printed circuit board with electronic circuits as a symbol of advancing technology of time.







Telehouse London North Two was the first data center where a full-fledged adiabatic cooling system is used (adiabatic evaporators are used).







On each floor there are two rechargeable batteries, such UPS batteries can provide 15 minutes of backup power, there is a reservoir for 100 thousand liters of diesel fuel.







Telehouse together with Cundalls created an adiabatic cooling system: cold air is sucked in through air intakes on the outside of the object, after which warm air is directed from the servers into the atmosphere through air ducts on the other side of the data center, taking the wind direction into account.

14. DigiPlex FETSUND (Oslo, Norway)

Another contender for the title of the most beautiful data center in the world - DigiPlex Fetsund with a characteristic innovative zero level of carbon emissions into the atmosphere - is located on the southern coast of Norway in Oslo.







The snow-white space for hosting servers of 4,200 square meters, the concrete facade of the building with spruce-like lines engraved on it — give the server storage the magic notes of a winter fairy tale. FETSUND - these are two three-story buildings, each can accommodate up to 20 thousand servers, and the central building, which houses the administrative, office and residential premises.







Due to the cool and humid climate of the northern country, free cooling is used for cooling capacities (the unique Air-Air cooling technology), and the “air free cooling” system ensures low energy consumption throughout the year. The PUE is 1.2 or even lower.

15. MITA Data Center (Santa Venus, Malta)

Thanks to the inspiring design of the facade, the MITA data center was included in the list of the 15 most beautiful data centers in the world. A futuristic white glass building in a steel shell reliably stores the information data of its users. Durability, practicality and energy saving are the three key characteristics of MITA in St. Venus.







The energy-efficient data center, providing 1600 square meters for machines, was commissioned on December 7, 2011, it was erected in the shortest possible time - in just seven months, this construction cost the company 7 million euros.







Two substations inside the server farm supply the object with electricity, there are two backup generators that can power the data center for 72 hours in case of failure of the main source.







On the roof of the data center installed photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 20 kW, this is one of the largest installations of this type in Malta. 7 km of copper cables and 8 km of fiber optic cables are located in the data center. The servers are large enough to accommodate up to 160 racks in the future. MITA is the only data center in Malta with TIER III reliability and meets the highest international standards.







Half of the area in the building is occupied by office space, designed for comfortable work and aesthetic pleasure.



Here is a list of favorites among the most beautiful data centers in the world. Their design, scale and power are amazing. The harmonious combination of the latest technology, unique solutions in combination with the aesthetic appearance will determine the finalist among the best.



Recently the name of the winner became known. The Barcelona Supercomputing Center has become the most beautiful data center in the world in 2017.



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