The opportunity for data centers
Data centers have not traditionally been considered candidates for adaptive reuse projects. This is largely because the key requirements for hyperscale data centers are access to cheap power and land, neither of which are usually found near urban areas where reuse opportunities are more abundant. Access to power is increasingly problematic, with some companies considering modular nuclear as a solution, which again does not lend itself to urban environments or the potential for adaptive reuse.
Adaptive reuse might not be the logical solution for hyperscale data centers, but what about edge computing?
We’ve seen a dramatic rise in this type of data center: smaller, decentralized facilities which tend to benefit from being situated on the edge of a network, closer to where data is generated and consumed. As demand skyrockets and the ability to secure power becomes more challenging, owners and developers are under increasing pressure to speed up time to market and get data centers online as quickly as possible. In this case, it may be desirable to convert an unused building into a data center to house the servers.
Let’s consider what benefits a new approach to data center design with adaptive reuse at its heart may bring:
Reduced carbon impact
Adaptive reuse is an opportunity to reduce embodied carbon in data center buildings by up to 78%.³ Reusing the foundations, structure and basic building envelope dramatically reduces the need for new concrete and steel which form the bulk of the carbon impact for data center construction. This is even more effective when combined with green building principles, heat recapture (see below) and the use of lower carbon materials.
Reduced cost and time to delivery
Data centers are notoriously expensive to build. Retrofitting existing buildings for data center use can make the overall project more cost effective and faster to deliver, as the building’s core and shell are already in place. Available power at certain types of locations (like manufacturing plants) could speed things up even further as some capacity could be brought online while the rest of the power is negotiated.
Situating data centers closer to demand reduces latency and energy loss in transmission. 60 Hudson Street in Manhattan, NYC, originally built to be the headquarters of Western Union, now serves as a major internet distribution point, demonstrating the feasibility of adaptive reuse in urban settings.
60 Hudson Street, a hub of various data centers in Manhattan, New York.
Data centers are significant sources of waste heat
Almost all the processing energy for data centers is transformed into heat which is lost. Capturing this heat represents substantial potential carbon savings. However, location matters when it comes to capturing and redistributing heat for use locally. It makes sense for data centers to be located near to the community assets that will reuse the heat, from housing to schools or hospitals.
This shift has the potential to reduce dependence on traditional fossil-fuel based heating systems while also reducing waste from the data center, which could be particularly impactful in colder climates. For example, in Norway, a data center heats thousands of homes, while another in Japan uses waste heat to raise eels and grow mushrooms.⁴
Community benefits
Reusing existing buildings can bring other unexpected real benefits for the local community. For example, NYI, who which runs the data center operations at Hudson Street, offers their data center locations to local communities as hubs for groups to use.
Cooling tower installed on the rooftop of a large data center.
3 ZGF Architects, n.d.