Civils & Structural Design

Dedicated design & build services

Site Selection & Preparation:

• Land Assessment: Civil engineering firms often play a key role in identifying suitable land for data centre construction. Factors like environmental impact, flood risk, geological stability, and proximity to critical infrastructure (power grids, fibre optics, etc.) are all important.
• Site Excavation & Earthworks: Preparing the land for construction, including clearing, grading, and leveling the site, is part of the civil works required for a data centre.

Building Design and Planning:

• Structural Design: The building must be designed to support heavy equipment and ensure operational safety. This includes the design of structural elements such as floors, walls, ceilings, and load-bearing capacity.
• Civil Infrastructure: Construction companies ensure that foundational elements like drainage systems, power supply, water, and road access meet the operational needs of the data centre.

Core Construction & Infrastructure Build:

• Foundations: Data centres often require robust foundations due to the weight of servers and IT equipment, as well as cooling and electrical systems. Piles or reinforced concrete foundations are commonly used in data centre builds.
• Building Shell: Construction companies build the external structure, including walls, roofing, and materials designed for security and environmental factors (e.g., soundproofing, fire-resistance).
• Cooling and HVAC Systems: Data centres are energy-intensive and require specialized HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems. This is often integrated into the building design to maintain the right temperature and humidity.

Electrical and Power Systems:

• Power Supply and Backup: Construction companies are responsible for integrating electrical systems, including backup power solutions (e.g., diesel generators, UPS – Uninterruptible Power Supply). Given the 24/7 operation of data centres, providing continuous, reliable power is a critical aspect of construction.
• Energy Efficiency: Civil and construction firms may also be tasked with building energy-efficient designs, such as green roofs, high-efficiency lighting, and smart power systems to reduce the carbon footprint of the data centre.

Security and Safety:

• Physical Security: The construction of data centres involves security features like fencing, gates, access control systems, surveillance cameras, and fire safety systems.
• Fire Suppression Systems: Data centres need specialised fire suppression systems, such as clean agent fire suppression, that can safely extinguish fires without damaging sensitive electronic equipment.