Low-Slung Data Centers Look to the Sky
Yet building taller in cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco has allowed data-center operators to keep their services close to the areas they serve, said Dan Drennan, a principal and data-center sector leader at design firm Corgan. Closer data centers mean faster connections and lower lag time for city dwellers and local companies—especially for uses like internet-connected devices—and it’s easier to find workers to staff the facilities.
Compared with the U.S., international data-center hubs in denser regions have more, and taller multistory buildings, which the industry generally defines as more than two stories.
Singapore, for instance, is home to an 11-story Meta Platforms data-center campus, while tightly-packed Hong Kong boasts the 30-story iAdvantage data center. Land constraints have forced data-center designers there to “be more creative” in which mechanical and cooling systems to use and how to stack them, Drennan said.
