Archinect - News

Will the AEC industry keep up with America’s demand for new data centers?

2023-06-29T12:11:00-04:00

Data centers will increasingly be built farther from some of the traditional locations and will move closer to the clients they serve, according to research by Gartner, an I.T. consultancy. But the search for land is not always easy. [...] And as major players in the data industry strive to become greener in the next decade, the pressure is on.

The crunch for new data infrastructure is straining local utility companies in areas such as Northern Virginia owing to a requirement for "inhaling massive amounts of energy," a reality that leads to concerns that local residents will be asked to foot the bill in the end.

Water use is also becoming an issue, despite smaller colocation centers being the more preferred building type. Still, the billions of dollars flowing into their construction are not expected to abate any time soon, according to a report last November from Dodge Data & Analytics, which predicted the boom to last at least another two full years.

"Data centers might not seem like an exciting place for an architectural project," Dutch academic Marina Otero said last year at the announcement of her Wheelwright Prize win. "However, the huge scale of the operations of the data industry and its pervasiveness an...

Don't expect Big Tech's economic crunch to slow the pace of data center construction, experts say

2022-11-29T09:00:00-05:00

High inflation, rising interest and plummeting stocks are taking a toll on Big Tech [...] Despite the amount of blood on tech firms’ payroll ledgers, though, these massive cuts are not expected to affect the blistering pace of data center construction, according to industry sources.

The expected pullback from larger hyperscale data centers is nonetheless on pace to be absorbed by concurrent increases in the proliferation of smaller and more quickly deliverable colocation centers, according to recent market data.

Dodge Data & Analytics chief economist Richard Branch says he expects that boom will continue for at least the next two years. Google and Meta continue to be big drivers as demand is simply outstripping cost concerns. Other companies are even floating the possibility of data center construction on the moon should technology and the proper legal bodies allow.

Many firms not capitalizing on digital marketing or technology, AIA report finds

2021-12-02T13:42:00-05:00

A new report from the American Institute of Architects has found that business marketing remains underutilized among U.S. architecture firms. The finding forms part of the newly released Technology, Culture, & the Future of the Architectural Firm report, which explores the influence of technology adoption on workflow and profitability in U.S. practices.

The 69-page report, available to download for free, notes that cultural and technological barriers currently hamper firms’ embrace of business development and marketing as a way of securing growth. “89% of respondents agree that relationships matter more than marketing for winning new business, and only 43% agree that digital/social marketing is important to them,” says the report. “However, firms that use social media are successful at driving leads through these channels.”

When asked what factors expect to drive their growth over the next three years, ...

New study links higher BIM use with client satisfaction

2021-10-22T18:18:00-04:00

A new study published by Dodge Data & Analytics, in partnership with Autodesk, has concluded that stronger BIM use on architectural projects results in higher client satisfaction. The findings, set out in the free Accelerating Digital Transformation Through BIM SmartMarket Report, offers an overview of how architects, engineers, and contractors use BIM and its associated workflows.

The report’s central finding is a “correlation between the depth of engagement with data-driven BIM processes, the intensity of BIM, and the degree to which the benefits of using BIM are experienced.” In other words, the report suggests that the higher the use of BIM on a project, and the more a project team exploits BIM’s various processes and workflows, the higher the reward.

According to the report, these benefits include improved client satisfaction and design qua...

Autodesk announces new features for Construction Cloud, including scheduling tool and Microsoft Teams integration

2021-10-06T14:12:00-04:00

Autodesk has announced a series of new updates to their Autodesk Construction Cloud, a software solution seeking to connect design and construction team members through a single ecosystem. The latest updates are centered on Autodesk Build, a software that focuses on construction management, including quality, safety, and cost control.

Among the new updates in Autodesk Build is a Schedule tool that allows teams to centralize schedule management. Office and construction teams can now share digital schedules in real-time and link documents, sheets, photos, and RFIs into their communications. Schedules can now be viewed in calendar or chart formats, display activity status in real-time, and integrate with the Cost tool to display schedule-related expenses such as material handling and clean-up costs.

Additional updates rolled out to Autodesk Build include sheet sharing across accounts, whereby cu...

The complicated afterlife of spent data servers

2019-07-30T15:13:00-04:00

Investment in cloud infrastructure has surged since 2015, and the market for data-center equipment is expected to grow at an average annualized rate of roughly 16% this year and next, according to Citigroup Inc. Cloud servers, though, typically have a lifespan of only about three years, according to experts, meaning that some of the earliest equipment already has passed its use-by date.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the anticipated market for scrap metal and other components used to make cloud computing infrastructure.

As the cloud computing era gets underway globally, efforts to recycle the short-lived data servers that power the cloud have been complicated by privacy and sustainability concerns. Recycling policies vary by manufacturers, while a lack of coordination and technology industry secrecy stifles efforts to solidify a coordinated approach for the estimated 2 metric tons of obsolete equipment generated by cloud computing, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A 2017 report from the United Nations University, the International Telecommunication Union, and the International Solid Waste Association reads: “Although cloud-computing trends can lead to fewer devices because all services can be accessed from one device, more cloud computing also means more data centers and more e-waste."

The “infrastructural excess” of data centers and cloud-computing colonization

2018-05-22T14:20:00-04:00

With the cloud being increasingly lifestyled and infrastructured into a range of everyday social and economic practices and processes, data centres continue to grow in size. Far from a massive database in the sky, it is the planet’s surface and our everyday lives that are gradually being colonised by the cloud.

This piece by Alexander Taylor, a social anthropologist at the University of Cambridge, looks back on the evolution of data center infrastructure, which continues to grow larger as our everyday lives become increasingly influenced by cloud computing.

Frank Gehry, Tech Entrepreneur: The Starchitect's R&D Firm Debuts Cloud-Based Design Software GTeam

2012-07-24T20:45:00-04:00

Gehry Technologies (GT), a company founded in 2002 by Gehry Partners’s research and development team, has announced a free preview period for their latest off-the-shelf product GTeam. The new cloud-based software described by Gehry as “Google Docs for 3D models” automatically translates files from AutoCAD, Revit, Rhino, Google SketchUp, and other professional modeling software into a common format, which can then be easily accessed and shared online.

Apologue's Tali Krakowsky to Speak at FITC Toronto 2011

2011-04-29T14:12:05-04:00

Tali Krakowsky, founder of experience design studio Apologue, will be speaking at the 10th annual conference of FITC in Toronto.

Her session, presented with Branden Hall of Automata Studios, will explore the behind-the-scenes of Apologue’s new permanent media installation for the cultural institution, LA Plaza, in Downtown LA.

New forms of display technology, together with innovations in cloud computing and the possibilities of generative code, have inspired a different approach to digital storytelling for media installations. Krakowsky and Hall will discuss the inner workings of this unique, self-choreographing, generative show control system that embodies ideas around the present and possible future of narrative, and its possibilities in physical environments.

FITC is a design and technology festival that operates globally. This year, for its anniversary, it will feature speakers Kyle Cooper, GMUNK, Wesley Grubbs, Robert Hodgins, Seb Lee-Delisle, MK12 and Theo ...