The article ‘Data centres for AI: a new power play’ raised an interesting discussion around how we power these hungry yet necessary centres and their corresponding office and campus buildings.

Studies have warned that the AI industry alone could use as much energy as a country the size of the Netherlands by 2027; while in Ireland, the amount of electricity being used by data centres has risen by 400% since 2015.

We’ve been developing a prototype single-storey office that responds to global warming with innovative sustainability measures, aiming for net zero in both operation and construction. Designed for deployment next to or near data centres across Europe and beyond, the building is modular, largely prefabricated and built from mass timber.

It is regenerative by design, preserving water and biodiversity through rooftop urban farming and photovoltaics.

Daylight is optimised via skylights and proportioned rooms, while displacement ventilation is delivered through a wooden cassette floor. The bamboo-clad exterior and timber interiors reflect the project’s sustainability ethos.

Meanwhile, across the Pond, the Terra Data Centre exemplifies a new approach that has huge potential: a data centre with an attached and a standalone power structure. Its power system is a self-sufficient microgrid, independent of the local utility.

By eliminating back-up generators and using waste heat from fuel cells to generate chilled water, the design cuts carbon dioxide emissions and meets up to 70% of cooling needs.

The fuel cells, powered by natural gas, serve as the primary energy source. Surplus power is returned to the grid, flipping the traditional model and creating a potential revenue stream. We see strong potential to bring this model to the UK.

As an entire design and development ecosystem, it is imperative we advocate to reduce carbon and water use amid an unprecedented surge in data demand.

As data production outpaces natural resource regeneration, it is more urgent than ever to limit, if not neutralise, data centre energy and water consumption.

And while data centres have often lacked visual appeal, they don’t have to. With thoughtful design, these buildings can be both functional and attractive.

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