We breathed life into many of the main power systems for the first time in this instalment, with commissioning actions underway on our primary switchboards and our backup generator systems.
The push towards phase one completion has seen many exciting milestone events reached in a short space of time, which is always great to see. We’ve energised the main switchboards, integrated and tested the generator failover, and removed the temporary site power, amongst a range of other system commissioning tasks.
Weekly overview
Things are sharpening up quickly on-site, as a wide range of systems begin to spin to life for testing and commissioning, ready to begin serving client kit in due course.
We’ve hit a number of milestones this time around, including the testing and commissioning of our cooling systems throughout the building (both critical and comfort), and the same point reached on our fire detection and extinguishant panels, both building-wide and the enhanced systems in critical spaces.
The speedgate area has been carpeted through from the main entrance and reception, to finish off the space ready for client arrivalsThe cooling systems throughout the building have now been commissioned and tested, with cold and warm air now available in all critical spacesOur UPS commissioning is well underway, with the main units now interconnected with the UPS output boardsThe building is now powered through the primary switchgear and distribution boards, with all temporary site power now fully decommissioned and removed A look across Data Hall 1 after it’s had its initial post-work clean, with one of the supplementary AC units open for commissioningA look across Data Hall 1, towards the first pod of racksThe four CREC units have now been brought to life, with cooling, recirculation and extraction now tested and provenBoth the primary CREC and supplementary CRAC systems feed into the shared underfloor plenum, which will distribute closely controlled air to all footprints in DH1The entrance into the cold corridor in Data Hall 1 is the first view of our new signage design language (just visible here!)The view towards the A-side power distribution in Data Hall 1, with ODF A visible on the right hand sideThe primary CREC system has now had all filters installed – here we see the 28x quad-fin air intake filters, this being the first layer of filtration before hitting the multi-stage filtration inside each coolerIt’s been very exciting to see the cooling system spun up for the first time, and fantastic to see the real-world culmination of all our design and simulation workHere we see some of the detail as you enter the cold corridor from Data Hall 1, showing the lighting system and the access hatch for the otherwise-sealed extraction loopOur warehouse and loading bay now has large floor lettering / numbering on each receiving dock door for quick and easy identification while loading and/or unloadingThese large format letters / numbers all form part of our new design language, which has now begun to roll out throughout the facilityWe’ve opted for a more modern approach to our signage at London East, an evolution of the design at London Central – simplicity and clarity is the main order of the day hereAll internal signage is now direct-application vinyl, in our custom font to match all digital and print assets – aside from a few 3D logo and type elementsHere we see one of the larger multi-directional signs to guide visitors around the facilityEach corridor and main customer route has multi-directional signage in place to guide visitors through the buildingThe frosted / etch effect pod door vinyls have returned, as found at NLC as part of our rebrand in 2019Visitors will now see wifi access points and access control beacons in various places throughout the facility – the wifi is an extension of the mesh deployed at London Central, meaning you’ll automatically connect at East if you’ve already done so at Central
As you can imagine, with much of the work on-site now commissioning actions, presenting this visually for the build blog is tricky. We’re hoping to put together another fly-through video soon, to show phase one completion.
Another unseen but extremely critical area which reached completion this time around is our fire stopping, which has now seen all additional wall apertures cut in since initial construction fully sealed and certified. This ensures that the building fully complies with our extremely strict fire design and operation policies.
With all of the broad strokes of the project now complete, we’re able to begin working through the more detailed finishing work, while system commissioning actions continue.
What’s next?
As is to be expected at this point in the project, more of the same.
We’re quickly moving towards welcoming in our first client systems, with the final set of work ahead of this to focus on UPS systems, network integration, and general facility commissioning (things like onlining our NOC for CCTV and systems monitoring).
