October 31, 2014December 4, 2014 by Matt Seaton

London Central Build Blog – Week 41 / 42

This fortnight has seen plenty of progress on various elements of the project which have been in a state of half-completion for a while. With the nature of a project this complex, unfortunately it is not as simple as starting an element of the project, seeing it through to completion and moving onto the next – everything is interconnected and various aspects of the build are in progress at the same time.

As such, the progress of the build ebbs and flows depending on how close to completion various elements of the project are.

The reason for combining two weeks into a single post here is that the number of photos taken of various elements over the course of this period has been limited. This is because whilst works continue, various planning and development meetings have been occurring behind the scenes, which naturally take up lots of management time.

A look at the cooling stack as the top duct and louvred panel assembly is fixed in place

A closer look at the top assembly ahead of connecting ductwork between the fan and coolers

A closer look at the top assembly ahead of connecting ductwork installations between the fan and coolers

An ‘up-high’ view of the first cooler stack in its final position, ahead of final ducting connections

A view through the progressing assembly of the second cooling stack

The second stack’s intake fan being installed into the cold corridor enclosure

A closer look at the intake fan, with the opening for the extraction duct work and fan to the left (for recirculation)

Second stack nearing completion, with second wet box and primary louvred panel installed

Second cooling stack flow control duct chamber installed

Mains water feed and control module for first stack being installed

A look at the mains feed being installed along the length of the cold corridor

Delivery of final cooling system custom-made duct work pieces

Power reinstated to facility loading bay roller shutters

Delivery of further APC racks

Cable pulling to finalise first floor data hall lighting systems

Some BT termination equipment installed in meet me room for specialist services

Secondary BT termination equipment installed in meet me room for specialist services

October 17, 2014November 10, 2014 by Matt Seaton

London Central Build Blog – Week 40

This week has seen the completion of all major external works, with exception of course given to the generators, some minor armoured barrier installations and general cleaning / painting.

Fencing assembly coming together

Gates being assembled

A corner of the fencing assembly reaching completion

Pedestrian gate installed down roadside of the facility

Main run of fencing reaching completion

Main run of fencing complete, excluding razor wire and skip access panel

Spiral fire exit staircase installation under way

First section of staircase installed

Staircase nearing landing level at first floor data hall fire exit

Landing platform and hand rail assembly installed

A look at the staircase as final fixings are made

View from the first floor data hall fire exit onto the new staircase

The completed fire exit staircase

A view of the staircase and other exit routes, along with office-side plant hardware at rear of facility, ahead of fencing in

A view of the staircase and other exit routes, along with office-side plant gear at rear of facility, ahead of fencing in

An additional APC delivery with new cabinets for deployment in first floor data hall

Cooling stack frame reaching completion ahead of final ductwork assembly

October 10, 2014October 30, 2014 by Matt Seaton

London Central Build Blog – Week 39

Much like last week, as we reach the closing stages of the project progress is solid in a number of key areas. The cooling system has again taken great strides towards completion, and many rack enclosures are now in the data hall ready for building out the first pods.

Extraction duct work sleeving installed into walls

Fans being installed into extraction duct work

Extraction fan installed into duct work

A look at the highly efficient extraction fans which form part of our intelligent cooling system

A look at one of the custom 3-way duct and actuated louvred panel systems which control the remixing of air inside of the cooling system

Second wetbox cooler fitted atop the first cooling stack minus filter panels

Delivery of our palisade fencing system ready for enclosing the generator plant area

The various gates which form part of our rear compound enclosure

Corner post section being constructed

Gate posts ahead of hanging the first set of main gates

First gate hung in place

Second gate hung, completing the first gate assembly ahead of installing palisades

A view down the main run of compound enclosure posts

Delivery of our specialist APC AR3200 lockable half rack enclosures

October 3, 2014October 29, 2014 by Matt Seaton

London Central Build Blog – Week 38

There have again been major advancements across multiple areas of the build project this week, primarily centring around completion of the data hall infrastructure ahead of final electrical and network installations.

First inlet fan installing into cold corridor enclosure ahead of duct work installation

A view of the fan from the data hall side of the enclosure, where pre-filtered cold air will fill the air plenum and drop through the ceiling filters into the technical space

Our core network infrastructure UPS systems have finished being built, with a unit for both the A and B sides

Final panelling (removable for access) fitted around new fire escape opening ahead of decoration

Test positioning of our custom grilles ahead of extraction ducting and fans

Test positioning of our custom grilles ahead of extraction ducting and fan installations

Ductwork pieces arriving from manufacturer

Duct sleeve inserted into extraction opening ahead of fan installation

Flooring for third pod completed

Second cooler base test fitted to first cooling stack

Test positioning of further cabinets as the cold corridor is built out

The cooling system has come along dramatically this week, with the coolers and fans installed into their final positions, ready for the ductwork and control systems which will bring the entire setup to life.

We have a multi-stage air filtration system, which keeps the air inside of the facility supremely clean at all times. Air is drawn through first stage particle filters in the louvred panels, second stage bag filters which enclose the wet box units, third stage high density wet box filters, and fourth stage cloth filters in the ceiling grid.

September 26, 2014October 20, 2014 by Matt Seaton

London Central Build Blog – Week 37

The flooring has taken shape this week, along with completion of the first two pod containment systems. We are now ready for a final deep clean and for racks to begin making their way up to the first floor data hall.

On site construction of the cold aisle containment plenums

Completed containment system with test rack in position

A look across the first floor data hall as final technical flooring is installed

The rack pods will be built out on the black areas of the floor

The flooring colour scheme aids with visualising the layout of the data hall ahead of total pod population

Panorama as flooring around the first pod is completed

Second pod flooring completed

Test rack positioning at end of first containment pod

Decorating continues in the ground floor facility access areas

As you can see, things are progressing quickly, with many areas of the facility coming together simultaneously. This puts us in very good stead to have all assembly works completed within the next 3 to 4 weeks, leaving just the connections to bring the data centre to life ready for occupancy.