Kolos Data Center

Project Details

Project Description

FROM THE ARCHITECTS:

Located in Ballengen, Norway, Kolos’ 600,000 square-meter, four-story data center takes advantage of the country’s competitive green energy, cool climate and large technical workforce, as well as access to international high-performance fiber.

Responsive to its site in on a fjord surrounded by mountains and integrated into the natural beauty of its environment, the design takes cues from the spectacular landforms of alluvial fans, mountains, and glaciers that define the site. Organized along a central spine, the building forms are arranged to mimic a glacier’s movement as it displaces swaths of land. At the base, the spine creates a collision of landforms reinterpreted to become modular data halls that are secure, scalable, and connected and feature green roofs.

At the terminus on the water, the central spine emerges as a public element clad in copper, a reference to the area’s copper mining history. This architectural gesture articulates the entrance to the data center while acting as a gateway to the public waterfront promenade — a physical expression of the company’s commitment to the community.

The massive climate-cooled facility, powered by Norway’s abundant hydropower, will scale beyond 1,000 megawatts of computing power, servicing the rapidly growing global data market. High-speed traffic to continental Europe and as far off as the United States’ East Coast will be routed from the Kolos node through high performance fiber in neighboring Sweden.