M+W Group and Züblin celebrate topping-out ceremony at high-performance data centre in Biere

The high-performance data centre in Biere, currently being built by a joint venture (JV) consisting of global EPC company M+W Group and construction group Ed. Züblin AG in the role of general contractor, is well on schedule. It took just eight months of construction to complete the main structure of the multi-storey building, which tenant T-Systems International GmbH will put into operation next year.

Even the rough winter and the hundred-year floods of the past few weeks were unable to jeopardise the construction works on the new data centre campus in Biere in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Today, after just eight months of construction and in the presence of all construction participants, the topping-out wreath was hoisted on schedule above the completed main structure of the building. Since the laying of the cornerstone in autumn 2012, around 140,000 m3 of earth have been moved and 22,000 m3 of concrete and 2,700 t of reinforcement steel have gone into the building.

The topping-out ceremony also marked the official start of the interior works, which are already underway. The space set aside for IT alone will amount to about 3,600 m². Getting the most out of this space will require the laying of approximately 6 km of cable paths, 100 km of cable, 20 km of pipes for heating and cooling, 2,600 m² of ventilation ducts and 3,400 m² of conduit ventilation.

Together with the expansion of the data centre in Magdeburg (with approx. 1,800 m² of IT space), which is also being realised by the JV, the new building will form part of a twin-core facility, a high-security twin data centre. Data centres of this kind secure all programmes and data in parallel. In case of an incident at one facility, the twin can immediately stand in for the other without any interruption of service. An incident would therefore be without consequences for the user, which represents an invaluable advantage for the growing number of IT business clients who use cloud applications and depend on data protection and reliable back-ups.

All this is thanks to the approximately 420 construction workers, architects and engineers at work on the construction site. The JV is responsible for the complete construction planning, the materials purchasing, as well as the turnkey construction and technical fittings of the building including energy supply. With a total usable area of 33,000 m2 upon completion, the twin-core facility in Biere will be perfectly prepared for the future as Germany’s largest data centre operated by an IT service provider.

The project will also set benchmarks in terms of sustainability: M+W Group and Züblin are pursuing LEED gold standard certification for the project as awarded by the U.S Green Building Council. It defines the exact standards for the site concept, water and energy use, construction materials and environmentally friendly interiors. With a PUE rating (power usage effectiveness) of less than 1.3, the new data centre in Biere will be one of the most energy-efficient in its class.