The Data Centre Live Showcase at ENGINEER & MARVEX this year has quite literally gone up a level. The double-storey showcase expands beyond the mechanical and electrical systems featured previously to demonstrate another critical part of data centre delivery, the structure itself.
Its new double-storey configuration incorporates an Industrialised Building System (IBS) structure, giving engineers, designers and installers a practical demonstration of how precast construction can support the speed and scalability required for data centre projects.
With data centres requiring high structural loading and typically operating within demanding construction schedules, IBS offers an alternative approach in which structural components are manufactured off-site and assembled on-site. The showcase goes a step further by demonstrating how M&E services can be coordinated and installed onto the precast structure, addressing one of the key challenges of integrating building structure and services.
“Data centre projects usually have very short timelines and require quick installation. We want to demonstrate that IBS can be used and that the mechanical and electrical systems can be integrated with the precast structure through proper planning,” Ir. Lee Cheng Pay, the Chief Consultant.
The double-storey design also turns the showcase itself into a more effective learning environment. From the upper level, visitors gain a clear view of installation details that would normally sit above eye level, including the routing of power and fibre-optic cabling. The fibre installation traces the connection from outside the building through the rack and towards the servers, while a centralised control room demonstrates how signals from mechanical, electrical and security systems can be integrated for monitoring and control.
“Engineers are not only looking at how something is presented. They want to see what is actually happening inside, particularly the installation details. We are replicating the actual site situation so that visitors can see how the systems are installed,” Ir. Lee explained.
For practising engineers and installers, it provides a useful reference for coordination, constructability and system integration. For lecturers and students, it brings textbook concepts into a physical environment where the relationship between structure, services, controls and connectivity can be examined firsthand.
With access to operational data centres necessarily restricted, the showcase provides something particularly valuable, a close-up view of how a mission-critical facility is actually put together.