Critical Facilities

Long-term flexibility becomes standard practice.

GPU technology is advancing so quickly that today’s designs may have little relevance five years from now. Designs that can evolve indefinitely and are built to be reconfigured for new uses are in high demand. Data centers built for a single workflow risk falling behind. Adaptability helps avoid costly teardowns and rebuilds — saving time, money, and natural resources.

Energy demand outpaces energy availability.

Computing is increasingly energy-intensive and surpassing the capacity of local grids. While renewable or nuclear installations would be ideal zero-carbon approaches to meeting this demand, their implementation is too slow to meet today’s pace of construction. Developers are turning to on-site natural gas to bridge the gap between today’s needs and future clean energy integration.

Rack densities surge into the megawatt era and beyond.

AI workloads drive racks from tens of kilowatts into the megawatt range, pushing the limits of air cooling, floor loads, and power distribution. Developers get ahead by designing more compact configurations that anticipate increased densities with built-in liquid cooling and higher-voltage distribution.

Data centers go modular.

Data centers move beyond large, fixed structures and toward modular, prefabricated designs. Offsite manufacturing accelerates speed to market and allows components to be rapidly assembled onsite, reducing construction time and upfront costs. Prefabrication also enables easier scaling and relocation, giving operators the ability to respond to emerging market opportunities.