Data centers pose unique challenges, due to their requirements for high reliability power and cooling systems. Successful design of a data center, particularly for mission-critical 24/7 industries, is no place for the uninitiated. BAW Architecture has designed control buildings, including data centers, around the world for the utility, oil and gas, mining and transportation industries. Furthermore, BAW specializes in data center engineering, and we offer a one-stop-shop of unmatched expertise for your control room and data center project needs. Contact us about your data center project today.

Each design starts by evaluating the unique computer needs of your operation. BAW will take into account the computing equipment to be installed and the facility’s required level of reliability and computer availability. Resulting electrical system topologies may include totally redundant A+B power distribution from the electrical utility down to the individual server, or may result in the redundancy being built-in with onsite power generation. Our designs can accommodate power densities up to 1,000 watts per square foot with corresponding cooling to maintain environmental conditions within recommended industry standards. All this while maintaining world class energy efficiencies and low PUEs. After the critical infrastructure is established, BAW then designs the sticks-and-bricks physical space that corresponds precisely to those needs while maintaining scalability of the overall facility

Keeping It Cool

Cooling strategies can include air or liquid based systems, hot and cold aisles, raised-floor or overhead distribution, in-rack, in-row, high density spot cooling. Modular design data centers gobble a lot of energy, yet can be LEED certified and green-built, reducing emissions and operational costs.

Equipment is safeguarded with multi-layer fire detection and protection systems. The data center design must also take into account physical and electronic security implications.

Data Centers in the Utilities Industry

A relatively new trend in the utilities industry is that critical data centers and systems must be able to withstand a High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP), which is a burst of radiation produced by a nuclear explosion or solar flare high above our planet’s surface. Design for a HEMP shielded facility requires significant treatments for the building envelope and all penetrations into the building.

Furthermore, a utilities data center is considered critical infrastructure, and therefore it must be NERC CIP (critical infrastructure protection) compliant. It must be able to function during and following a crisis, such as a category-four hurricane or cyberattack. These include the six phases of CIP infrastructure assurance, namely Analysis and Assessment, Remediation, Indications and Warnings, Mitigation, Incident Response, and Reconstitution.

The Stakes Are Very High

With so much at stake, you need to be assured that, when including a data center in your control building, your design is in the right hands. BAW has built more control building projects than any other company in the industry—more than 100 over 30 years for Honeywell, Fluor, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and many more. That’s more hands-on, earned control building expertise than any other company in the world. Contact us about your data center project today.