Bella Vista is a convergence of residential, industrial, commercial and natural reserves. Our design proposal seeks to add to Bella Vista’s developing urban context yet at the same time help to create a new identity for the emerging suburb. Through exploration of a rudimentary plan we were able to quickly define a basic shape and with inspiration from CLUMEQ Colossus supercomputer we found a way to successfully address thermal and spatial requirements via a silo based shape and thus DataCentric Silos was born. Challenging traditions of data centers through its rudimentary structure and intricate skin, Datacentric silos creates a contemporary monumentality. Drawing inspiration from UAP and Ned Kahn’s Kinetic artwork at Brisbane Airport, we designed an intricate skin that follows the building’s cyclic shape and draws the eye of the everyday commuter.
DataCentric Silos is constructed from reinforced concrete, the thermal stack effect required a chimney space therefore, we included a double ceiling design which has a double glass skylight along the apex of the roof to draw light into the void and walkway. The walls of the void have columns, these pieces are structural but also create a small moment of monumentality as the slim tiled walkway pulls you across you’re confronted with a wall of textured concrete and you get the sense that the building is standing there with just brute force.
Through the connection of 5 silos, a seamless circulation is presented with the data racks spread across 6 levels with a total of 2,490. With ample data storage available and modular design implemented it enables for multi-company usage across all levels. A small services building breaks the repetition of the cyclic design deliberately as we wanted something that would fade into the background. The building is equipped with a steel frame for an open internal layout continuing the modular and multi-company approach. The building would house, security services, staff bathrooms, offices, storage, loading dock, mechanical rooms, general network infrastructure and backup generators.
Data centres are known for being hard to cool down, and with a site such as Bella Vista, the Australian sun was a large concern. Not only was the circular form taken as inspiration from the CLUMEQ center, but also how they implemented a thermal stack strategy to enable passive cooling. The internal structural wall creates a central void, allowing for a chimney stack effect to take place. All data racks sit on an elevated steel grate enabling a cavity between them and the floor, for accessibility and passive cooling. The cool air that enters the space through the awning windows moves within the cavity, picking up any heat radiated from the racks. As hot air rises it is pulled out of the area through a gap in the internal wall via a difference in pressure created by the heating of the chinmy wall. The air then rises and continues the cycle by further heating the chimney and increasing the pressure difference, therefore resulting in the hot air being pushed up out of the central chimney. A Woodland grey colorbond roof caps the silos and wraps the chimneys. Its colour and materiality further drives the thermal chimney effect, by creating the draw of hot air up and out the 7m chimney.
Inspired by UAP and Ned Kahn’s kinetic artwork, an intricate skin follows the form of the building. Sitting on a 100 by 100 grid, the polished steel plates are 95x95mm to allow for a complete swinging movement. On mass this creates a curtain like effect as the plates flow in the wind. Up close the skin becomes a sensory experience as the individual is overwhelmed by the sheer number of plates and yet the utter delicacy of a structure so large. For those driving by, the skin glimmers in the sunlight, with the movement of plates becoming more subtle and almost murmuration-like in their patterns. At each silo junction along the western facade the skin creates a theatre curtain to allow for an exit point particularly in the case of emergencies. The theatre curtain allows for an uninterrupted facade.
DataCentric Silos is a proposal that seeks to challenge the traditions of data centres and through its monolithic structure and lightweight skin it creates a contemporary monumentality. Through a rudimentary plan we were able to place the intricate details into areas such as passively cooling the building via awning windows, the textured interior of the voids and the polished steel plate skin.
Emily Grace Rowlings 