Another extremely transformative week is now in the books at our London East site, following a fortnight of envelope works that have taken much of the internal layout to near-completion.
Weekly overview
The visible transformations continue this time around, as the entire internal layout reaches completion, with all insulated wall panels now fully installed. Aside from another pass for finishing trims, this element of the project is now complete – a great milestone in the envelope construction phase.
The fire protection is now also nearing completion, zoning off all rooms appropriately where the panels reach the warehouse roof, along with any other installation gaps that need closing off.
The ceilings have really transformed each room, allowing the final shape of each room to be more visible, even ahead of the raised access floors going in next week.
A look at the now enclosed structure of Data Hall 4, on the ground floorThe overhead containment basket, flown in Data Hall 1, ahead of the ceiling grid installationThe ground floor wall installation works continue, as the final areas are completely zoned offThe view from the doorway of Data Hall 4, across the ground floor corridor to the double-height stair and lift atriumThe long ground floor access corridor, which links Data Halls 3 and 4, along with the two electrical distribution and UPS roomsThe shell structure of Data Hall 4, ahead of ceiling and floor installation, complete with overhead containment basketData Hall 3, at the same state of completion, pending ceiling and floor installationA closer look at the overhead containment grid, which is identical in all four data halls, and continues into all other areas of the facilityThe ceiling grid installed in Data Hall 2, ready for lighting and tiles
There have been plenty of other jobs undertaken this time around, while the envelope construction works continue with our main contractors.
We’ve flown most of the overhead containment for systems that require cable runs above the ceiling. This includes lighting, fire systems, access control, CCTV, and any other supplementary systems added during the initial build or in the future.
The bulk of the main containment will be under the raised access floor, and will be installed shortly after the envelope phase is complete.
What’s next?
With the internal walling now essentially complete, and the ceilings over half way there, the next major phase will be the raised access floor across throughout the entire facility. We’re also coating the first floor with a high-quality paint seal as an added leak protection measure. This will be joined by a full protective vinyl underfloor surface along the length of the first floor cold corridor.
Massive changes to report this time around, as the walling installation works begin at NLE, zoning the building into its final room layout.
This comes along side a range of other works that have seen a huge, tangible evolution of the site as we head into the final phase of the envelope installation.
Weekly overview
What a three weeks we’ve had on-site here at NLE. The walls have really started to take shape, with the first floor data halls now visible, along with some of the main access corridor and customer breakout / build room. We’ve also had the ground floor to first floor riser access holes cut into the mezzanine floor, ready for our future inter-floor service routes.
Our lift installation is now also underway, with the main vertical runners and lifting mechanism now in place. This will be enclosed by the shaft in the coming weeks, and the platform will be installed.
The ground floor of the facility has also had all fire protection for the mezzanine structure installed, which is another great milestone in terms of having that component of the envelope fully finished.
A look at the now finished EcoTherm skylight blankingA view of an EcoTherm panel through the newly cut risers, of which there are now two in the facilityThe mezzanine posts with new fire protecting caps installedThe mezzanine has also had its edge fire protection capping installedThe loading bay and warehouse area had all new electrical distribution installed as we zone and split deliveryNewly installed containment between the new loading bay distribution unit and the storage mezzanineOur new custom site safety board and sign in station is now fully in placeThis may not look like much, but this is the first new cable delivery to land on-site here at NLE, so worth snapping!We’re very excited to have received a major equipment delivery this time around, in the form of our CREC units for Data Hall 1, and the plinths for all four hallsA look at the custom plinths for our new evaporative coolers, which have been designed for us to contain ease-access filtersThe first of our CREC units, now on-site and ready for placement in due courseWe’ve also received the extraction fans for Data Hall 1; Ziehl Abegg units as utilised to great effect at NLC, some of which have now been operating uninterrupted and without issue for over 5 yearsThese are the custom designed and built plinths for our backup CRAC unitsWe have another forklift on-site, taking us to three in use at NLE, though this time not one of ours – this is a super-heavy duty hire unit to lift the walling pallets up to the mezzanine levelThe first insulated wall panel delivery arriving on-siteWe’re glad to have such a large front compound here at NLE, not only for our eventual operating data centre, but also for material handling during the buildThe first set of panel stacks now ready for installation on the first floorThe first panels being installed on the first floorA full run of wall panels in place on the first floorThe dividing spine wall that will run between Data Hall 1 and Data Hall 2 on the first floor reaching completionA look across to the now fully-enclosed Data Hall 2 spaceThe main spine / corridor wall on the first floor as it encloses Data Hall 1Walling delivery number twoA look at the completed spine wall which encloses Data Halls 1 and 2, with the temporary door openings for site access – you can also see the early form of what will be our customer lounge, break out and build room on the rightThe first floor access corridor starting to take shape, taken between Data Hall 2 and the customer breakout / lounge / build room areaA shot taken from inside the now enclosed Data Hall 1Data Hall 2, facing the eventual cold corridor / cooling plant area at the rearSome of the ground floor panels being installed between the mezzanine posts, to form Data Halls 3 and 4, along with plant roomsOur lift installation has now started, with the main lifting gear now in place, along with the custom mezzanine tie-in bracket
We now have 25 tonnes of insulated wall panelling on-site, ready for installation. This will be followed by nearly 33 tonnes of raised floor, and several tonnes of hung ceiling flown overhead in each hall.
Those with a keen eye will notice that the current door openings cut into the walls would not be correct when factoring in our raised floor. These are currently temporary cut-outs for positioning and site access, and will have their height increased (along with base boards installed) later.
We’re incredibly excited to see the site reach this stage. Of course we still have quite a way to go, with several weeks remaining on the envelope stage alone, however seeing the rooms take shape on-site is a massive milestone.
What else has been happening?
Our new van is now almost finished, and we’re very excited to show you what she looks like! We’re very impressed with how she’s turned out.
We just have some final finishing touches to make, and we’ll show you how she looks.
What’s next?
We still have a few weeks of walling and fire protection installation works to completed on-site, while also flying overhead containment grids in each Data Hall to allow for above ceiling cable runs. Beyond this, the envelope installation works will continue, moving onto floors, ceilings and access.
Plenty more progress to report on this time around, as we head towards twenty weeks of work on-site at NLE.
Weekly overview
Focus this time around has been on preparing the space for the walling contractors to begin their installation works. This has included the removal of some legacy cable containment, the installation of new EcoTerm insulation on all skylights over the eventual first floor data halls, and the construction of our lift foundation.
As always, there have been a wide array of additional works happening alongside the headline tasks, both at NLE, and in the continued growth of operations across the board. We’re in early-stage planning for further expansion in Telehouse, for example – more news on that soon!
The beginnings of our block lift base, which will bring the shaft and lifting gear up to the new raised floor heightThe mixing area setup for laying the lift foundationThe materials that will make up the new lift baseThe first course of blocks in place, pending final block brushing after completionAll three courses in place, along with the eventual board topper, which brings the finished height to exactly 450mm – to the millimetre across the entire top surfaceOur EcoTherm panels being cut to size for each skylightThese insulated panels block incoming sunlight to what will be the overhead void in each first floor data hall, something we also rolled out at NLC during the build phaseA view of the EcoTherm panels as they begin to blackout the first floorThe existing overhead high-bay LED panels and all associated containment and cabling have now also been fully removed, ahead of the wall installation The new internal runs for our gas supply have now also been installed
We’ve also had extensive work undertaken to reposition the on-site boiler, which included a full re-run of the building’s gas and water supplies. As a result, our office / NOC kitchen is now fully plumbed in, making the site much more pleasant to inhabit!
As always, there has been a huge amount of work happening behind the scenes. We’re now ready for our internal walls to be installed, along with all access doors, which have now been manufactured for us. Our personnel lift will also be installed in September, which required the block base to be fully in place, along with the associated internal walls that will surround the shaft.
What else has been happening?
Our new CREC units have now gone into manufacture, thanks to our long-standing friends over at EcoCooling. These ECT10800 units are manufactured entirely in Suffolk, at the EcoCooling design and production facility – so 100% UK made.
We’ve been sent some shots of these units as they run through the assembly line, something we’re always very pleased to see!
The EcoCooling plant in Suffolk, where our CREC units are being built for usA look at some existing cooler stock at the EcoCooling plantOur coolers are 100% made here in the UK
We’ve visited their production facility a number of times, and the level of innovation on display there really is something to behold. We’re very proud to again be partnering with EcoCooling for NLE, the third private design and build project we’ve had the pleasure of working with them on.
What’s next?
We now have a final week of closing preparation works before the next phase begins in anger, starting with the internal walls and doors. This week will include a range of tasks across the board, even including some work on our new van, which we’re very excited to show you once complete!
Another two weeks are now in the books at NLE, with plenty of progress to report as we head further into the envelope construction.
Weekly overview
We’ve made great progress on our new compound perimeter security fencing, with our huge sliding vehicle access gate now in place. This joins the new pedestrian access gate, with the installation of our turnstile coming up next (after being sandblasted and powder coated in our desired shade).
There have also been many bodies on-site as works continue on the envelope, both for development meetings and for some minor adjustments to the mezzanine before the walls begin to go in later this month.
Another busy fortnight at NLE, with many engineers and consultants on-siteThe front compound is large enough to hold plenty of working trades at the same timeA look at one of the more complex parts of the new perimeter fencingThe new pedestrian access gate, which will complement the main access turnstile which will sit alongside itMuch like the pedestrian gate at NLC, the gate also functions as a fast exit path, with push panic latch and security enclosureA look at the new pedestrian access gate from outside the compound, with the turnstile due for install just to the leftThe main supporting legs for the new sliding vehicle access gate in placeThe completed sliding gate as seen from outside the compoundThe old palisade bays and gates, ready for recycling / safe disposalThese sheets of insulation will be used to blank off the skylights, in the same way this was handled as NLCThe main access staircase for the mezzanine had its full checkerplate and up stands installed this week
As you can see, we’ve had another great couple of weeks at NLE. The intense heat did delay some of the fencing installation, but progress was not hindered much at all, as we’ve spent lots of time on planning and orchestration of the next phase – that being walling.
The rear compound will also receive the full security enclosure treatment in the coming weeks, along with full razor wire to both sides of the facility, taking us to full enclosure of the site. We’ll also be fitting the motor to the main sliding gate in the near future, which will be tied into our access control system, along with the turnstile.
What’s next?
Towards the end of this month, our walling contractors will be on-site to begin splitting the facility into its final layout, including all four data halls and associated plant rooms / customer amenities.
We’ll also be continuing with works outside the facility, by completing the full perimeter.
After a real flurry of activity during the main mezzanine installation, the last two weeks have been a little more restrained in terms of visual change, as the majority of our time and effort has been spent orchestrating the next phase of the project.
We’ve spent time otherwise completing additional works ahead of the internal walling and access fit-out, which will be the next major milestone here at the new data centre.
Weekly overview
Aside from lots of time spent in meetings with our structural engineers, service coordinators, electrical contractors and other critical contributors to the NLE project, we’ve predominantly seen the most visual change at the front of the facility over the past 10 working days.
Our new high-security perimeter fence has started to take shape. This will largely match the specification of the compound perimeter found at NLC; that being a 2.4M palisade design, with overhead razor wire.
The difference here is that we’ve actually been able to retain some of the existing posts, designing custom post extensions to allow for a much taller border, and a faster installation.
We’re also adding a matching pedestrian turnstile, along with a gargantuan 6M sliding access gate for vehicles. This will be a whopping 3M high, to match the full height of the razor wired compound.
The rear of the facility will be following suit, with large 3M pedestrian access and fire escape gates, along with rear security fence extensions and razor wire, to match the much larger front compound.
The first section of the new palisade perimeter being installedOne full side of the compound fencing in place, pending razor wire installationA look at the compound perimeter from outside, as the first corner section is reachedThe corner section on the opposite side of the compound being installedA look at some detailed customisation, as the palisades are cut and secured around penetrating bash guardsThe underside of the mezzanine received a full post-install floor clean and polish – you can also see the large 6M sliding gate and corresponding posts stored in this shot!
We’re very pleased with this progress as we continue to push towards the end of month four on-site at NLE.
We’ve been extremely pleased with our approach to the main compound fence runs. While the front side of the compound will require more in the way of new posts and additional hardware, the custom extensions have proved a great success in quickly deploying the main runs using existing posts, which have already been dug in to the subsurface.
The final consultative actions on the walls, doors and custom machine plinths are scheduled for next week, meaning this next phase of the build will be underway shortly. This will split the facility into its various rooms and fire zones for the first time.
What else has been happening?
We’ve continued with further roll-out of our new core node at CLL this past week. While there’s not much to show visually, as much of this involved logical work on our 100G+ ring, we did want to show our new custom MUXs, which are fully branded, and have new shuttered connectors.
Our new branded 40 channel multiplexers
All future MUX additions and/or replacements will be our new branded variants, which we’re excited to be partnering directly with the manufacturer for!
What’s next?
Aside from the forward-looking continuation of the main envelope, our own team will be pushing ahead with development on later-stage plans for the installation of containment and associated systems.
We’ll also be moving onto the parts of the perimeter fencing that include the turnstile and the large sliding gate, which are certainly more complex additions to the compound.
