Sweco designing Facebook’s server hall in Luleå
It was recently announced that Facebook’s first data centre outside the USA will be located in Luleå, Sweden. Sweco’s architects are working to design and adapt the building to the Nordic climate. The company’s engineers are also involved in the ongoing process of planning the facility.
Facebook has built a number of similar data centres in the USA but this will be the first server hall in Europe. The choice of Luleå is partly due to good access to renewable energy and the cold climate, which will reduce the need for electricity to cool the server hall.
“Our greatest challenge is to adapt the facility to the Swedish climate, our culture and our building traditions. The project also has high environmental ambitions and this is an area where we can contribute our knowledge,” says Anna-Brita Krakenberger, architect at Sweco.
The project will be implemented in a joint venture between NCC and two US construction companies, DPR Construction and Fortis Construction. Sweco is working on behalf of both the jonit venture and Bravida. Sweco’s total budget amounts to nearly EUR 1.8 million. Sweco’s services will include architecture, structural engineering, HVAC and plumbing, cooling, control systems and land planning.
The server hall has a planned area of 28,000 square meters, which is roughly equal to 11 football pitches. The facility is the first of three planned server halls in the area. A large share of the work will consist of advanced building service systems design.
Illustration: Sweco
Anna Elisabeth Olsson
Head of Press and Public Affairs