'Pivotal Shift' In Data Center Design To Be Explored At Bisnow's DICE National Event In May

Data center construction is rapidly accelerating due to growing demand for artificial intelligence-ready facilities, which is projected to rise by 33% annually until 2030. 

The AI boom is also affecting the way data centers are built, requiring owners and operators to be flexible with their designs and seek sustainable energy sources to keep up with power needs. 

Polargy, a provider of hot and cold containment solutions for data centers, is working to help its clients meet these infrastructure changes. 

“There's a pivotal shift occurring within the design of the data center itself, as well as the infrastructure that's being deployed,” Polargy Executive Vice President Drew Unger said. “We’re working with our clients to help them meet these changes in the market.”

Unger will be speaking at a panel discussing data center engineering at Bisnow’s DICE National event, which runs from May 20 to 22 at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Virginia. Click here to register or for details. 

Bisnow spoke with Unger about some of the challenges facing data center design in an AI era, how Polargy is pivoting to meet new customer demands, and how it continues to stay flexible and adaptive in this ever-changing market.

Bisnow: What data center trends are you seeing in Northern Virginia? 

Unger: A major trend I'm seeing is the movement of business and construction from Ashburn into Prince William County. Also, there’s a lot of single-tenant leasing from the hyperscalers in this region specifically. There are different sets of rules there, and you're seeing a change not only in market dynamic but the barrier to entry. Speaking specifically to the barrier to entry, you’re seeing Prince William County offer very flexible zoning processes and development incentives relative to Ashburn. You contrast this with a very established and mature ecosystem in Loudon County, which ultimately leads to a more cumbersome process that could mean more time to come online. 

Bisnow: What are some of the hot topics you think will be discussed at Bisnow’s DICE National event? 

Unger: AI is still at the forefront of everybody's mind. One question that follows is, what are things going to look like beyond 18 months? There are a lot of questions and concerns around future-proofing and how we build infrastructure out to support things for 10 years, but the data center has become a day-to-day market right now.

Outside of just the sheer number of dollars that are finding their way into the market, the volume of construction and power constraints and grid support are always going to be top of mind as well. 

Bisnow: What are some of the challenges you're seeing with data center design and construction in an AI era?

Unger: From a design standpoint, I think one of the biggest challenges is the introduction of new solutions and how those work together within these new ecosystems, because density within an AI environment ultimately is what's driving everything. 

People are trying to figure out how to make their things work, fit and play within a more constrained space while maximizing every inch of this build. We have to be more thoughtful about space due to that increase in density. 

On the construction side, it's driven by speed. The biggest challenge right now is supporting the speed-to-market agenda at which these builds are being deployed. And what I mean by that, at a granular level, would be labor shortages and human capital availability.

A lot of these sites are going into rural communities where there isn't a pool of talent to support those projects, so labor is a big issue. Timelines are being reeled in to pretty extreme deadlines compared to what we've seen in the past, and right now it's all being driven by who can come online the fastest to realize ROI.

There’s more money right now than there is people to support it, and that means there's a lot of opportunities for newcomers and people outside the industry who may be looking in or skilled trades that haven't dipped their toes in the data center. One thing that we tend to do is we get laser-focused on looking at things as a problem, but to me, challenges always present room for growth. There’s a lot of room for entrepreneurs to innovate in this industry, and I’m curious to see how this next phase of growth plays out.

Bisnow: How is Polargy able to pivot to meet customer demands? 

Unger: One of the fundamental principles of Polargy is being adaptive and receptive to the market needs. We don't like to plant a flag that we're not willing to bend on. We want to drive our business decision-making based on what the markets tell us. We lead with an engineering mindset by solving problems and adding value first. This doesn't happen without the team that we have here. 

Everybody's extremely focused on serving our customers and meeting needs in the market. We have a strong company culture, and I think this has allowed us to remain adaptive in such a dynamic market. 

Bisnow: What does Polargy see for the future of data center development?

Unger: We’re seeing a lot of new players, and there's a lot of speculation around who's going to make it and who isn't. This new AI gold rush can play out in a couple of different ways, but there's a major consolidation of efforts being made at the hyperscale level. We're seeing hyperscale partnerships, single-tenant leases and colocation facilities go up. While a lot of the business is driven by the usual suspects and big players, edge markets are seeing an uptick as well.  

Outside of hyperscale development, I think everybody is beginning to see that edge is a big market. Staying flexible is going to require products, services and value offerings that solve challenges for those deployments around skilled trade and labor, particularly prefab, modular and turnkey solutions that reduce the amount of hands required in the field. 

Click here for more details on Bisnow's DICE National event in May. 

This article was produced in collaboration between Polargy and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.