Government to launch data centre design contest

The Data Centre Design Challenge, the first government-backed competition of its kind, will be led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and will be open to architects, designers and engineers.

Entrants will be asked to work with communities ‘to raise the bar on high-quality design, meaningful public engagement and sustainable environmental outcomes’.

With the demand for data centres set to grow significantly in the coming years, the government believes this rapid increase in the number of facilities, their individual size, and environmental demands will create ‘both a major national infrastructure challenge and a significant design opportunity’.

According to a parliamentary research briefing published last November, almost 100 new data centres are planned over the next five years, attracting many billion pounds worth of private investment (see Data centres are booming – how can architects improve their design?).

The forthcoming government contest was announced yesterday (10 June) by AI and online safety minister Kanishka Narayan at London Tech Week’s AI Summit.

It aims to ensure future UK data centres are ‘sustainable, resilient and well-integrated into their communities’, which are not just critical national infrastructure, but also recognised as ‘places of genuine civic value’.

The announcement adds that architects are ‘uniquely well-placed to approach these challenges, helping communities shape development early and ensuring proposals respond sensitively to local context’.

Narayan said: ‘Britain’s greatest infrastructure was built with civic ambition – designed not just to function, but to bring pride to the communities it served. Data centres are the infrastructure that will power the next industrial revolution, and they should carry that same sense of purpose.

‘We’re calling on architects, designers and engineers to reimagine what data centres can be, creating places communities can be proud to host.’

‘Data centres are one of the biggest infrastructure challenges of our time’

RIBA president Chris Williamson added that the nation had a responsibility to consider how data centres were ‘designed, located and experienced’ as they become ‘increasingly critical to the UK’s economic and technological future’.

He described it as ‘one of the biggest infrastructure challenges of our time’, adding: ‘Data centres will be needed across the country, and this presents a major opportunity for architects to reimagine what they can be, while supporting sector growth.

‘Through this competition, we want to demonstrate that essential digital infrastructure can also be exemplary architecture – places that support communities and deliver long-term public value.’

Graeme Nicholls, of Graeme Nicholls Architects, which recently submitted plans for an Ancient Greek-inspired hyperscale data centre in Fife with an overall budget of £5 billion once kitted out, said: ‘Data centres are often viewed as purely technical buildings, but they are fast becoming one of the defining infrastructure types of our time. As demand grows, there is a real opportunity for architects to work with clients, consultants and communities to shape a more ambitious design culture around them.’

He described the design contest as a ‘timely and important step’, adding: ‘The rules of this typology are still being established, and it is encouraging to see greater attention being given to how these buildings are designed, located and understood.

‘The best data centres have the potential to not simply be hidden pieces of infrastructure, but carefully considered buildings that respond to their setting and contribute positively to their settings.’

Further details on eligibility, timelines and criteria of the government’s Data Centre Design Challenge are expected to be announced shortly.

Cato data centre in Fife by Graeme Nicholls Architects

Source: Secchi Smith / Graeme Nicholls Architects