Philadelphia: Bioclimatic Studio 2022

Located on a railroad which was abandoned from 1874 in Philadelphia, this data center is designed to communicate with the surrounding community. It is not just a data center, but also plus community, education center, and forest park. Considering the linear site and vegetation reservation, modular design strategy is adopted and the existing constructions are utilized. 

From the urban context, the project focus on how to mix the data center program with community activities, historical context, and bioclimatic architecture. First, the layout of modules along the viaduct comes from the wind direction to cool down the servers in summer. Second, utilizing the heat from servers creates winter gardens to achieve thermal comfort in winter. Last, arranging the circulation organizes new and existing programs to create Data Center Plus Park.  

There are three types of units according to different needs in the program and the condition of the site. The project uses water curtain and natural ventilation created by solar chimney to cool the modules in summer, and reuses the heat produced by the server to keep the offices warm in winter. Brick jali, made out of recycled material from the site is used as the envelope to control the wind speed and reduce the solar heat gain.