by Matt Seaton

London East Build Blog – Weeks 45 and 46

We’ve enjoyed an exciting fortnight of changes at NLE for this instalment of the Build Blog, with a large number of big ticket items landing on-site.

This has resulted in notable change throughout the facility over the past two weeks, across a number of key areas. The most striking of these has been the siting of our new generators, which now sit in their final positions in our front compound.

Weekly overview

Alongside the generators arriving – which are having a full canopy refinish in anthracite grey next week – we’ve also taken delivery of our first containment pod, including racks and the cold aisle system. This has resulted in major visual change in Data Hall 1.

We have a time lapse of the generators arriving and landing in place coming very soon, so watch out for this on our socials.

The first containment pod can now be assembled in Data Hall 1, which will be another major milestone in the deployment of our new facility.

Containment
Here we see our container arriving with the first containment pod setup for Data Hall 1
Containment
Part of the shipment was comprised of 14 fully built racks, alongside another 10 flat packed
Containment
The racks were unpackaged to the point of having a single retention bracket remain fixed to the custom pallet, before being lifted up to the first floor – in shot here we see one of our custom quarter cabinets
Containment
Empty racks are lifted up to the first floor loading dock, before being rolled off their custom pallets
Containment
A view from inside Data Hall 1, as the racks that will make up the first containment pod begin to roll into place
Containment
Another view from inside Data Hall 1, as the racks that will make up the first containment pod begin to roll into place
Containment
Some of the containment materials as they begin to be unpacked ahead of installation
Fence
We’ve now completed the physical installation of the turnstile and return-angle fencing that make up the main personnel entrance of the compound – the anti-climb rotating arms match those found at London Central
Fence
A wider view of the now completed entrance area of the compound fencing, pending full razor wire installation to the perimeter in the coming weeks
Generators
Here we see our new generators arriving to site, on two articulated trailers with lifting equipment
Generators
The first of four generators being lifted into place, each of which weigh around five tons dry
Generators
The final two generator sets ready for offloading, to join sets one and two which are now in place
Generators
All four sets in place, which will be securely sub-fenced off after commissioning – they’re also having a full canopy refresh in the coming weeks, taking them from white to anthracite grey
Sign
The backing board of our new sign being installed, with the protective film still in place
Sign
A look at the installed sign, which is an exact replica of the one at London Central, just on a slightly smaller scale to better suit the installation location at London East
Sign
A wider view of the new sign, in context with the main entrance door
Cabling
A look at the first delivery of fire cabling, ready for installation to begin next week
Van
We installed our new lightbar to the van this week, which brings the vehicle to completion
Van
The van enjoyed a deep clean on-site this week, which was overdue in terms of removing the winter road salt that’d slowly been building up in the colder weather

The installation of our exterior building sign was quite a momentous occasion, as it’s the first time this facility has been properly branded with our logomark. This is the exact same style of sign as seen on the side of our London Central facility, with the diffused backlighting that really makes the sign pop at night.

The first instalment of armoured cabling to arrive, which will make up the bulk of the main underfloor power routes, will total somewhere in the region of eleven tons. The fire cabling within the building, which covers all detection and alarm systems, will total 2.5km in length.

We’ve had lots of custom made parts arrive over the past few weeks, destined for installation and / or use throughout the facility. One such item is a custom fork lift plate, which has been designed to take racks from the loading bay up to either floor level. This is a heavy duty steel plate welded to fork sleeves, which is low profile enough to drop straight into each loading dock.

What’s next?

The on-site schedule really picks up in the next week or two, as things begin to move on the end-out works. The site has a large number of trades beginning work, including the fire team, generator canopy refresh team, lift engineers, and a team who will be heading up adjustments to the skin of the building as part of our cooling system(s). This is all happening alongside the main power contractors beginning work, following completion of all design and design testing.

We’re very excited to share the progress!