9 Data Centers: Unexpected Beauty And Creativity
, October 04, 2012 Most data centers are boring boxes--but not all. Take a look at a data center that houses a supercomputer in a chapel, or an underground data center with James Bond-styling, or a solar-powered data center, and much, much more.
An Eco-Friendly Data Center
ACT, a non-profit that runs a college entrance exam testing service, built a data center next to its headquarters in Iowa City, Iowa, that was the first in the country to win a LEED-Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It uses a wide range of renewable or recycled materials such as aspen fiber ceiling panels, cork flooring, and cotton-wall insulation. It uses geothermal cooling and above-ground dry cooling, and is designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 250 miles per hour. It is linked to a second data center a few miles away. Image courtesy of Neumann Monson Architects.
