1、WaterStrategic design for water-conscious data centresData Centre futures:Issue 01ForesightSeptember 20251Twenty first century life from the smallest everyday interactions to large-scale international and even extraterrestrial systems is increasingly reliant on flows of data.All of us would notice i

2、f those flows were disrupted,yet relatively few of us are thinking deeply about the critical,digital infrastructure that translates data into something meaningful:the communications,services,operations that improve our lived experience.Data Centre Futures looking beyond the assetWithin an urban meta

3、bolism,data centres are hubs through which flows of water,energy,materials,and people as well as information move.And as critical infrastructure,they can play a central role in shaping safe,resilient and regenerative places.Data centres are the infrastructural nodes being constructed at a pace that

4、is struggling to keep up with rapidly growing demand;thinking of them merely as assets narrows our field of vision and limits the potential for wider,positive impact through their design.They could also be detrimental to our experience;destabilising other essential flows in the short and longer-term

5、.So,what would a data centre look like that is both a good neighbour and a good ancestor?Being a good neighbour requires a rethink of performance metrics;a reframing of efficiency.How can data centres improve their local place and their local ecosystem?Urban metabolism organism with flows(in and out

6、)2Data Centre Futures looking beyond the assetBeing a good ancestor means to be conscious that the infrastructure of today becomes the relics of tomorrow.Keeping the long term in mind,and designing for adaptability,is key to creating a positive impact.What happens when technological and socio-cultur