Mission Critical brochure

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Mission Critical

We are architects, engineers, designers and urbanists.

Placemaking for a Modern World

We design at every scale and at every stage in the process of placemaking, from visioning to briefing, design, delivery and operation. The places we create are distinct; social, natural, useful and beautiful – a reflection of humanity.

The practice has grown to over 1,300 people operating from a collaborative network of global studios, all creative hubs connected to the cities and regions they serve.

In 2016, BDP became part of the Nippon Koei Group, to create an integrated architecture, engineering and design firm with a wide, international reach. Sharing a philosophy that places an emphasis on design integration and community impact, as part of the Nippon Koei Group we are positioned to tap into a wealth of information and expertise to enhance the design solutions that we provide our clients and the communities that we serve.

19 Studios 12 Countries 6 Regions

N America

New

Europe

Dublin

Rotterdam
Dhabi
New Delhi Shanghai Singapore

Clients

We have provided multidisciplinary design services to a number of global Tier 1 clients across a wide variety of sectors, including:

Abu Dhabi Education & Knowledge

Council

Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority

Air Trunk

AstraZeneca

BBC

Boxpark

British Land

British Museum

British Telecom

Brunel University

CBC/Radio-Canada

CBS Paramount

Corus Entertainment

Crossrail

Deloitte

Duchy of Lancaster

ESB

Evershed

Everton FC

Francis Holland School

Google

Manchester Science Partnerships

MP Kings Retail S.à r.l.

Municipality of Winterswijk

Nanjing University

National Gallery of Ireland

National Maritime Museum

National University of Ireland

Netflix

Network Rail

NHS

Nike

Olympic Design Authority

PwC

Qatar 2022

Queen Mary University London

Rogers Media

Royal Albert Hall

Royal Opera House

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Grosvenor

Everton FC

Francis Holland School

Google

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Grosvenor

Heriot Watt University

Houses of Parliament

Hudson Pacific

Iarnród Éireann

IKEA

IMAX

Indian Institute of Technology

Infrastructure Ontario

Ireland National Paediatric Hospital

Development Board

Jiangsu Cable Three Network

Jiujiang Defu Technology

John Innes Centre

Lancashire County Cricket Club

Lima 2019

Seoul Metropolitan Government

Sheffield Hallam University

Singapore People’s Association

Seagate

Ministry of Defense

Defence Science and Technology

Laboratory (Dstl)

The Berkely Group

Theatre Royal Drury Lane

TransManche Link

Transport for Greater Manchester

Transport Scotland

University College London

University of Cambridge

University of Manchester

University of Strathclyde

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Fujitsu

Hewlett Packard

Hyundai

JVC

LG Semicon

Matsushita

Micron Technologies

Motorola

Nat Semiconductor

Plessey

Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor

Sharp

Shenzhen Stock Exchange

Shin Etsu

Siemens

ST Microelectronics

Texas Instruments

GlaxoSmithKline

Selected Experiences

Project & Client

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Data Centre

Project Inspire- Porton Down Data Centre Campus

British Telecom Leeds Data Centre

Manchester Metropolitan University Birley Fields Data Centre

Tech City Sheffield Data Centre

North West Water Office Data Centre

Norwich Research Park Data Centre

Merseyside Police Operational Command Centre

Glan Clwyd Hospital Data Centre

Lifescan High Tech Facility Data Centre

Global Pharmaceutical HQ HC Racks Data Centre

BBC Media City Data Centre

Shenzhen Stock Exchange Data Centre Campus Masterplan

Jiangsu Single-tenant State Telco Media Campus with Data Centres Masterplan

Single-tenant user Critical Facilities Campus with Data Centre Masterplan

High-Tech Logistics and Data Centres Industrial Park Masterplan

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>60

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Greenfield <45

>90 High Density Racks

>90

The market at a glance

13.5 %

predicted annual growth rate of data centre automation market

In the coming years, the creation of new data centres and mission critical facilities is only set to grow, fuelled by the post-pandemic digitalization of many corporate operations, an increase in the use of streaming and internet services, and demand for data storage solutions.

4% predicted global electricity consumption by data centres by 20301

However, this growth will be impacted by external pressures. Higher costs, increased regulation due to concerns surrounding sustainability, energy usage and water consumption, and power and land constraints in current major regions will all put pressure on companies looking to build new assets to keep up with demand.

Therefore, several key design aspects must be carefully considered to ensure mission critical is achieved. Exploration into new ways to create energy efficiency and environmental impact will become fundamental. Advanced research and manufacturing will require resilient and adaptable environments to continue to push the boundaries of the possible.

Global trends

Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific is facing rising demand for data centre services, following power and land constraints in the current major regions of operation for the industry, and an increase in investment in digital infrastructure and logistic and warehouse services. The advantage of these new facilities is they are being designed with automation and next generation operations already in mind. However, the challenge the region has lies in the vast distances between major markets, making it more difficult to implement cross-border efficient strategies achieved in Europe and North America.

North America

The United States is the driving force behind hyper-scale facilities and sits at the epicentre of AI and machine learning innovation. This booming technology sector is driving the demand for data centres, positioning the United States as the likely global benchmark for reliable operations. A vast number of ageing facilities in the market means operators will also need to decide whether to decommission or retrofit for a more efficient future.

UK and Europe

Europe is home to the world’s most rigorous sustainability and carbon taxation programs. This has driven mission critical facilities design to be the most advanced in the areas of energy efficiency, decarbonisation, and environmental policies. The higher cost of land and energy in the UK and Europe has also resulted in data centres across the region being built smaller but far more efficiently.

Our practice’s capabilities

Resilience and reliability

By their very nature, data centres that entirely rely on applications and systems to function must ensure that operations can run smoothly 24/7, even during outages and equipment failure. Resilient power and design are key.

With increasing extreme weather events and escalating demands on power and data infrastructure, this resilience begins with selecting the correct location and site for the facility, and master planning to ensure ease of access for material, people and emergency services. Specific security requirements must be addressed and future scenarios for expansion thoroughly tested.

Data centres must also have reliable building engineering services. This is often focused on ensuring diverse power supplies to the site, backup power generation and battery storage systems to ensure continuous power for business needs, all of which must be rigorously tested through several emergency scenarios before the facility goes live. Maintenance and plant replacement strategies must therefore also be developed, to minimise disruption to help maximise business outcomes.

Our practice’s capabilities

• Site analysis

• Threat mitigation

• Flood risk assessment

• Utility studies

• Infrastructure design

Flexibility

Data centres often exist in fastmoving business environments. Therefore, they must be able to scale and adapt to changing technological advancements or new business requirements, with minimal impact on the operations of the business.

A surge in demand for certain products, or new developments within the business may require the repurposing of existing sites or the adaptation of the capacity of existing logistics centres. To avoid a substantial loss to business or mission effectiveness, finding solutions to respond to market demand rapidly and efficiently is key.

To address these challenges, these facilities must be designed to be flexible and easily expandable. The facility design may need to enable efficient deconstruction and transportation to another location, providing the ultimate adaptability to the organisation. Thanks to modular construction, facilities can now be built with increased speed and efficiencies through standardisation that allows future construction phases to be implemented without impacting the ongoing operations.

Our practice’s capabilities

• Space planning and repurposing

• Future proofing and adaptability

• Designing for modern methods of construction (MMC)

Context and sense of place

Increasingly, data centres are being found closer to city centres, responding to a lack of space and the need to be within easy reach for the talent that operates them. As such, great architecture is more important than ever.

Intelligent design according to the site context and nature of the facility has always been paramount. However, it is now necessary to consider how to be a “good neighbour” to others in the area, carefully navigating local planning requirements and public consultations throughout the design process.

With the operation of these facilities often requiring highly sought-after staff with specialist skillsets, an aesthetically pleasing design and the amenities provided within or nearby a facility can also make a difference to a business in the hiring process. Good architecture and interiors, welldesigned environmental control systems, and the creation of a sense of place can add real value to the facility.

Our practice’s capabilities

• Planning advice

• Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) Stakeholder engagement

• Award-winning architecture

• WELL standard assessments

Sustainability

Mission critical facilities, such as those housing servers, storage equipment, and power cooling infrastructure, require high performance and significant energy consumption. As demand for these buildings continues to surge, the need to prioritise energy savings and carbon emission reductions becomes crucial from an environmental standpoint. In light of the climate emergency, stricter legislation, and the rising cost of energy, these facilities must focus on improving energy efficiency, choosing materials with low embodied carbon, and reducing overall carbon emissions.

At BDP, we strive to design facilities that offer substantial energy savings without compromising on performance and efficiency. We continuously innovate sustainable design solutions that align with evolving environmental regulations and norms in which we operate. We are committed to creating sustainable designs that meet the highest internationally recognised standards and accreditations (including BREEAM, EnerPHit, LEED and Chinese Green Star Rating) through both active and passive design strategies and are proud of our track record in helping our existing clients to achieve these goals.

Our practice’s capabilities

• Energy efficiency and water efficiency

• Expertise in designing for Net Zero Carbon

• Embodied carbon modelling

• Environmental assessments

• Climatic responsive design

Security, safety, and maintenance

Security solutions for data centres must be designed to be effective even during downtime and respond quickly to unplanned threats. It is also essential that Quality, Health Safety and Environment (QHSE) management is tailored to the unique risk and operational challenges of each site. Each type of facility has a different balance of human factors, compliance levels, and approaches to technical design, installation, maintenance, upgrading and decommissioning that must be understood when developing operational protocols.

Our practice’s capabilities

• Design of passive and active security systems

• Anti-terrorism and anti-blast measures

• Cybersecurity considerations

• Staff clearance for high-security level projects

Case studies

Critical infrastructure masterplan

BDP has carried out a confidential feasibility study, masterplan, space planning and architectural design for a 50ha site in Indonesia. with an Uptime Tier-4 Data Centre and a Business Resumption Centre. The masterplan and campus design are centred on enhancing environmental resilience, security, and workplace collaboration.

The campus integrates ABC Waters design principles and good practices for sustainable drainage systems and the capture and reuse of water on site while providing flood resilience and an aesthetically pleasing landscape experience.

Corus Entertainment

Consolidation of 11 business locations was central to the vertical planning to optimize cabling and distribution in the facility. Comprised of 250+ racks, the center supports live to air radio and tv studios, pre and postproduction rooms and animation studios. It was one of the first facilities designed to house all CPUs for ~1000 employees that provided a fully centralized, digital plant that allows staff to work how and where they want without being tied to a specific desk. The facility is fully redundant from a cooling and power standpoint to ensure it never goes

dark and supports 24/7 operations. Forward-thinking at the time, it continues to satisfy the needs of this vibrant and growing media company.

Maison Radio-Canada (Data Centre)

Moving to a new media hub facility, Maison Radio-Canada upgraded to state of the art technology for their broadcast services. The 156 rack data center acts as the brains to the entire operation and supports television, news and radio stations produced in the facility. Back up power, enclosed cold aisles and an impressive mechanical mezzanine with room for expansion satisfies the national broadcaster’s current and future needs.

Ogishima masterplan

Development of a concept master plan for a 222ha site at Ogishima, Kawasaki City, Japan.

One-third of the site has been set aside for logistics use and an innovation centre for the advancement of hydrogen technology. The rest of the site has been planned for other uses that relate to urban and light industrial developments. Ogishima is envisioned to be an exemplar for human-centric placemaking, innovation, sustainability, resilience, smart mobility, and green infrastructure.

Jiangsu Data Centre

Design competition for a large 150,000 sq m data centre to accommodate the three cable networks (Broadcasting + TV, Telecommunications and Internet). Nanjing has been selected as the location for the first of these centres and will be seen as the prototype for more in 11 other provincial cities.

Shanghai Zhangjiang Hitech Office Park

Surrounded by established higher education and R&D industrial clusters, the plot will be the new home to the Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor. The scheme takes advantage of the site’s spatial restrictions and its connection with the neighbouring Zhangjiang Park, by adopting a form that sweeps from the upper floors in the west down to the lower floors in the east, which adjoin the park. Featuring modern offices and breakout areas, the design effortlessly integrates with Zhangjiang Park’s public spaces.

Shenzhen Stock Exchange Data Centre

BDP carried out the architectural design of a 118,977 sqm data centre for the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The data centre building has convenient access, energy efficiency and safety measures, and a futuristic design.

Merseyside Police Operational Command Centre

BDP were part of Mace’s team delivering a new Operational Command Centre for Merseyside Police which contained a large, high-density Tier 3 data centre. The scheme delivered a purpose built three storey building measuring 120m by 60m – the Police Operational Command Centre (OCC) – as well as a singlestorey building for administration and support services.

The internal arrangement provides an estimated availability of 99.98% or the equivalent of 1.6 hours of downtime per year. The data centre also incorporates an above-rack busbar system providing the flexibility to move, while cooling is provided through a cold aisle arrangement with chilled water circuits connected to high-efficiency chillers which can operate in free cooling mode when ambient temperatures dictate.

Norwich Biosciences Institutes High Performance Computing Data Centre

Forming part of the Next Generation Infrastructure (NGI) Programme, this is a £317m funded development programme looking to develop the facilities across Norwich Research Park to transform the existing capabilities of the John Innes Centre (JIC) and The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL). These are both internationally recognised centres of excellence in plant and microbial science, and the broader Norwich Biosciences Institutes.

The new data centre is an expanded facility to improve the current High Performance Computing provision incorporating Direct to Chip liquid cooling and will be managed by the Earlham Institute on behalf of all Norwich Biosciences Institutes. The facility comprises a Specialist HPC Data Centre, including two data halls (with provision for future third hall) and an external plant area, gross internal floor area 910m2.

The halls have been developed in close consultation with the NBI computing service and focused on delivering a low energy, highly efficient facility. Excess heat from the Data Centre will be directed into the site District Heating system to provide free heating to the adjacent horticultural research glasshouses.

Global Pharmaceutical HQ HC Racks Data Centre

BDP was the lead consultant for a new pharmaceutical global R&D centre.

The site includes a large data centre, within which an energy-generating plant is contained. The data design incorporates active rack door cooling connected to the chilled water system, which helps recycle the heat it produces.

BDP also reviewed the impact of vibration and electromagnetic radiation on the proposed servers located within the Data Centre. The review looked at the effects of vibration and electromagnetic radiation on the sensitive equipment within the data centre and informed design measures to ensure the Data Centre is sufficiently isolated from all potential sources of vibration on-site.

Other relevant capabilities

Designing reliable energy storage systems

Ruien Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)

This landmark Nippon Koei project, in collaboration with Aquila Clean Energy EMEA, demonstrates Nippon Koei’s commitment to providing sustainable and resilient solutions. The BESS, one of the largest connected to Belgium’s high-voltage grid, ensures energy security and integrates renewable energy sources.

Location

Ruien, Belgium

Future-proof modular design

Grange University Hospital

Grange University Hospital is designed to be future-proof, through its adaptability and expandability. The use of universal rooms allows operational flexibility and blurring of departmental boundaries to deal with changing demands. Its award-winning modular design also supports its ability to grow and scale as needed

Location

Cwmbran, UK

Refurbishment to enhance sustainability

Dundalk Institute of Technology

This building is a prime example of how to reduce carbon impact through refurbishment. The project deploys the use of an on-site wind turbine to generate ice at nighttime, which is then used for daytime cooling reducing the need for other energy sources.

Location

Dundalk, Ireland

Utilising digital twins

Manchester Engineering Campus Development

As part of our multidisciplinary design, BDP handled the delivery of BIM Level 2 for the landmark 81,000m2 campus, including highly complex laboratory spaces requiring precise coordination using 3D models.

Location

Manchester, UK

Raymond Hoe Regional Director, SEA raymond.hoe@bdp.com

Jeremy Farrington

Cover: Server storage 3D rendering

Photography: Nick Caville, Ben Rahn, David Barbour, Keith Hunter, Terrence Zhang, Hufton + Crow

Principal, BDP Head of Asia Pacific jeremy.farrington@bdp.com

Rob Ferry Principal, Building Services Engineering robert.ferry@bdp.com

Mark Simpson Principal, Design

mark.simpson@bdp.com

John Roycroft Principal, Structural Engineer john.roycroft@bdp.com

Lucy Townsend Sustainability Director lucy.townsend@bdp.com

bdp.com

We are architects, engineers, designers and urbanists.

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