Relatively little is heard in the construction related press about Data Centres, which steelwork contractors have been quietly working on providing for the past few years.
Data Centres are basically large warehouses full of computers, vital parts of the working of modern digital economies, storing vital data such as NHS records, financial information and our smartphone data. Investors are understandably wary about potential bad actors learning too much about them, which means detail about where they are and how they are constructed tends to be kept under wraps.
Interest in them will only grow, however. The sector has grown faster than most analysts expected and last year they were designated Critical National Infrastructure by the government. And they are getting bigger. Also last year, a company called DC01UK applied – apparently with government approval – for planning to Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire for a £3.75 billion phased investment in what looks like being – at 187,000m² – Europe’s largest data centre complex. It’s big, as well as crucial business.
Individual sizes vary but another recent planning application, in Buckinghamshire, was for one up to 20.5 metres high, which could rise to 23.5 metres including the plant on top. This site comprises six data halls with a floor area of 9,300m² each. This is large and there are bigger ones – so called hyper-scale data centres are being built in Europe, with 57,000m² for a single building in some cases.
Data Centres have become so important to construction that they are predicted to be a factor driving future demand growth. A recent report from accountant PwC says that data centres will be a main driver of this year’s 2% growth in the UK’s construction and housebuilding sector. Data Centres are almost all of steel framed construction, and we can confirm that steelwork contractors have risen successfully to the challenge of responding to a demand increase reported to be some 300% over the past two years.
The Data Centre sector is fast developing and being driven by the processing power demands of Artificial Intelligence (AI), streaming services and migration to the ‘cloud’. So unsurprisingly, they might need to be remodelled and expanded to meet changing needs. Some of them might even have their own built in nuclear reactors in the future.
A recent report said that some 66% of data centre owners plan to retrofit as much as 25% of their existing estates over the next five years. Owners that accepted the best advice from designers to adopt steel framed solutions will be congratulating themselves on their choice as their flexible steel framed assets prove to be easily reconfigured to changing needs. The speed of erection delivered by steel construction is also a great attraction, along with other traditional advantages of steel like cost effectiveness and demonstrably high sustainability credentials.
There have been reports of fears that the supply chain is struggling to keep pace with this growth. There is a complex supply chain and steel is an essential early link in this high tech sector.
Steelwork contractors confirm that they are busy serving this sector but are confident that they can keep up with the demand. As always, early contact with a steelwork contractor is the best guarantee of a quality project being delivered on time and within budget. And you shouldn’t need the help of AI to work that out.
Steel meeting the needs of fast growing data centre market
Relatively little is heard in the construction related press about Data Centres, which steelwork contractors have been quietly working on providing for the past few years.
Data Centres are basically large warehouses full of computers, vital parts of the working of modern digital economies, storing vital data such as NHS records, financial information and our smartphone data. Investors are understandably wary about potential bad actors learning too much about them, which means detail about where they are and how they are constructed tends to be kept under wraps.
Interest in them will only grow, however. The sector has grown faster than most analysts expected and last year they were designated Critical National Infrastructure by the government. And they are getting bigger. Also last year, a company called DC01UK applied – apparently with government approval – for planning to Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire for a £3.75 billion phased investment in what looks like being – at 187,000m² – Europe’s largest data centre complex. It’s big, as well as crucial business.
Individual sizes vary but another recent planning application, in Buckinghamshire, was for one up to 20.5 metres high, which could rise to 23.5 metres including the plant on top. This site comprises six data halls with a floor area of 9,300m² each. This is large and there are bigger ones – so called hyper-scale data centres are being built in Europe, with 57,000m² for a single building in some cases.
Data Centres have become so important to construction that they are predicted to be a factor driving future demand growth. A recent report from accountant PwC says that data centres will be a main driver of this year’s 2% growth in the UK’s construction and housebuilding sector. Data Centres are almost all of steel framed construction, and we can confirm that steelwork contractors have risen successfully to the challenge of responding to a demand increase reported to be some 300% over the past two years.
The Data Centre sector is fast developing and being driven by the processing power demands of Artificial Intelligence (AI), streaming services and migration to the ‘cloud’. So unsurprisingly, they might need to be remodelled and expanded to meet changing needs. Some of them might even have their own built in nuclear reactors in the future.
A recent report said that some 66% of data centre owners plan to retrofit as much as 25% of their existing estates over the next five years. Owners that accepted the best advice from designers to adopt steel framed solutions will be congratulating themselves on their choice as their flexible steel framed assets prove to be easily reconfigured to changing needs. The speed of erection delivered by steel construction is also a great attraction, along with other traditional advantages of steel like cost effectiveness and demonstrably high sustainability credentials.
There have been reports of fears that the supply chain is struggling to keep pace with this growth. There is a complex supply chain and steel is an essential early link in this high tech sector.
Steelwork contractors confirm that they are busy serving this sector but are confident that they can keep up with the demand. As always, early contact with a steelwork contractor is the best guarantee of a quality project being delivered on time and within budget. And you shouldn’t need the help of AI to work that out.