Architects Debate Whether Data Centres Can Ever Be Good Design
A feature on Dezeen dated 29 September 2026 explores whether architects can improve data centres, which are met with resistance from nearly 70% of the US populace, as reported by Forbes. The United States is poised to double its data centre construction, with global expenditures anticipated to surpass $800 billion annually by 2026, according to the Wall Street Journal. Marina Otero Verzier, the 2022 Wheelwright Prize recipient, has criticized the design of data centres and called for greater architectural involvement. Gensler is working on a 7.5 GW data centre in Utah and five others in Arizona. Grimshaw plans to incorporate data centres into urban renewal for the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, alongside notable projects like SOM's Kansas City skyscraper and Microsoft's mass timber centres.
Key facts
- Dezeen published the feature on 29 September 2026 asking whether data centres can be examples of good design.
- Nearly 70 per cent of the US population opposes data centre construction, according to a Forbes report.
- Global spending on data centre infrastructure is projected to top $800 billion per year in 2026, per the Wall Street Journal.
- Marina Otero Verzier won the 2022 Wheelwright Prize for her theories on data centres.
- Gensler is designing a 7.5 GW hyperscale data centre in Utah for O'Leary Digital and five data centres for Menlo Digital in Arizona.
- Grimshaw presented an integrated urban plan based around data centre development at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.
- Corgan director of data centres Tom Kruger said integrating data centres within other structures is an exception and not the rule.
- SOM designed a high-rise data centre for Kansas City, and Terawulf plans a data centre in a decommissioned Kentucky smelter.
Entities
Artists
- Marina Otero Verzier
- Daniel English
- Rob LoBuono
- Tom Kruger
Institutions
- Dezeen
- Legacy Investing
- Gensler
- O'Leary Digital
- Menlo Digital
- Grimshaw
- Goodman
- Corgan
- SOM
- Terawulf
- Microsoft
- OpenAI
- Columbia University
- Forbes
- The Wall Street Journal
- CNBC
- The New York Times
Locations
- United States
- Utah
- Arizona
- Kansas City
- Kentucky
- Georgia
- Racine County
- Wisconsin
- Venice
- Italy
Sources
- Dezeen —