Urbacon and the Advent of the Greener Data Centre

Urbacon
750 Lake Shore Blvd. East, Toronto, Ontario, M4M 3M3
Tel: 416-865-9405
Urbacon.net
Urbacon
Powered by:
http://digitalmediamarketing.com/
http://digitalmediamarketing.com/
FIND OUT MORE >>
Urbacon and the Advent of
the Greener Data Centre
Urbacon
Urbacon
Urbacon and
the Advent of
the Greener
Data Centre
Canadian design group Urbacon focuses on a
more sustainable way to build some of North
America’s most power-hungry structures
Written by: Sasha Orman
Produced by: Rich Gentile
2
3
Urbacon
Urbacon and the Advent of the
Greener Data Centre
F
ew structures are as
integral to today’s modern
conveniences as the
data centre. Responsible
for everything from our
bank account information to our
social media presence, the servers
held within these structures keep
our whole lives afloat. But there’s
a cost that comes with all of that
convenience: the power that’s
required to keep those data centres
running is enormous. In September,
the New York Times explored the
business of data centres and found
that these facilities use roughly 10
billion watts each year.
But some businesses are
dedicated to finding a better way
to build data centres – a way that
supplies the information needed
while still conserving energy.
Toronto-based construction
and real estate development
company Urbacon is one of
those businesses, and is hard at
work finding ways to elevate the
ambitions of green building in North
America.
A New Facet of Industry
“We started as an interiors
4
5
Urbacon
Supplier Profile
CONDRAIN GROUP
Founded in 1954, Condrain has dictated the
need for progressive development of our
roads, highways, towns and cities due to
a growing population. Condrain has never
looked back – initially focusing on building
drains and construction of concrete floors.
The company quickly expanded into the
fields of municipal sewers and watermains
and land development servicing. Innovative
ideas, leading edge technology and a firm
commitment to solid workmanship enabled
Condrain to flourish in an ever changing
environment.
company in 1984 and rapidly
evolved into a premier design
builder and property developer,”
says John Cooper, Director of
Business Development for Urbacon.
Over the years, new opportunities in
construction and design build have
presented themselves – including
one very specialized facet of the
construction industry, the design
and construction of data centres.
Urbacon has been building and
designing data centres since 1990,
and as one of the first companies
to develop specialized power
management expertise. It continues
to lead the way in promoting
With $350 to $400 million in business
each year, Condrain Group today is one of
Canada’s largest earthworks, water main,
sewer and road building contractors.
Its sister companies in the industry
offer services such as the production of
aggregate materials, lighting, valves and
fittings, installation of gas and power lines,
fibre optic cables, and street lighting;
construction of residential, commercial,
and industrial buildings; and development
of land for entire communities. The
relationships with these other companies
allow Condrain to help clients get
their projects completed by being fully
integrated.
Website: www.condrain.com
Visit us online:
7
Urbacon
Urbacon and the Advent of the
Greener Data Centre
Duron Ontario Ltd. is proud to be
working with Urbacon
at 222 Jarvis Street
Congratulations
To all on a job well done!
1860 Shawson Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 1R7
Phone: 905-670-1998
Fax: 905-670-4662
www.duron.ca
innovative power and communication
systems.
Urbacon was the first company in North
America, to complete an installation of Kyoto
Cooling. Using this revolutionary technology,
Urbacon has designed, constructed and
delivered data centre facilities that operate at
mechanical PUEs in the sub 1.08 range.
One of the most recent opportunities
for Urbacon in this area is the design and
construction of Bell’s state of the art data
centre in the National Capital Region. “This
project is very significant,” notes Cooper,
“because the Bell Data Centre was built to
meet LEED Gold standards, is Uptime Tier
III certified, and will be in the top 2 per cent
of data centres for the most efficient use of
power and will be amongst the ‘greenist’
of data centres in North America once
completed.” Bell and Urbacon were recently
awarded the 2012 Uptime Green Enterprise IT
award for facility design innovation.
The data centre’s cutting-edge design
combines green architectural approaches
with energy-efficient operational features,
resulting in industry-leading power usage
effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.26. The data
centre’s energy efficiency will cut typical
carbon dioxide emissions by 12,000 tons,
and total annual power savings are estimated
at 17 million kilowatt hours – enough to
power more than 1,400 homes.
Other green technologies include:
• A rainwater collection system that will
save 18 million gallons of water a year
• An innovative passive free air cooling
222 Jarvis Interior Rendering
9
Urbacon
Urbacon and the Advent of the
Greener Data Centre
Visit us online at landscapefxservices.com
Proud suppliers of Urbacon at the MTO Downsview complex.
BMW HQ Exterior
delivers significant energy savings
over traditional designs
• A highly efficient, medium
voltage, power distribution system
that requires less transformations,
and requires 26 fewer tons of
copper to implement
The Bell data centre also
incorporates Kyoto Cooling
technology. “Kyoto Cooling
delivers modular cooling and
energy savings of up to 85 per
cent over other designs,” says
Cooper “and significantly reduces
the maintenance and operational
expenses of the facility.”
Retrofitting the Past for a
Greener Tomorrow
Data centres may be the hot topic
right now, but they aren’t Urbacon’s
only focus – the company has
been engaged in several greenminded development ventures over
the years including infrastructure
projects, high profile LEED projects
like the Canadian BMW Head
Office, and most recently the
retrofitting work at 222 Jarvis St.
“222 Jarvis is a landmark
building in Toronto, and the
Government of Ontario’s main
objective is to show that older
buildings can be retrofitted to
11
Urbacon
Urbacon and the Advent of the
Greener Data Centre
significantly reduce their carbon
footprint,” says Rick Spironello,
Project Manager. “It is a nine
story, 630,000 square foot building
targeting LEED gold.”
Retrofitting an existing building
is a tricky process, especially at
222 Jarvis St., a project considered
one of the largest retrofitting
projects in North America to date.
“We are completely upgrading the
electrical and mechanical systems,”
says Spironello. “Key to improving
the building’s energy performance
is the cladding of the concrete walls
STATISTICS
with an insulating skin. The original
single glazed windows were also
replaced. Other green initiatives
include the installation of a 500 sq
ft skylight that will allow natural
light to penetrate the centre of the
building, occupancy sensors for
lighting conservation, rainwater
harvesting, diversion of materials
from landfills, and even allocated
bicycle storage to encourage
employees to use alternative
transportation.
A Responsibility to the
Environment
What draws Urbacon toward these
types of projects? “Sustainability
is a fundamental part of Urbacon’s
culture. We actively promote
sustainable building practices
and energy efficient design as
core principles on every project,
and we are proud to work with
companies with similar values.”
Marco Mancini, President and
CEO, Urbacon.
As the digital age progresses,
data centre growth shows no sign
of slowing down – meaning that
Urbacon will have no shortage
of work to stay busy with in the
years ahead. As long as the
company’s passion for more
social causes stays unwavering,
data centres have a brighter and
greener future ahead.
Industry:
Commercial construction and real estate
development
Founded:
1984
Headquarters:
Toronto, Ontario
Key People/Titles:
Marco Mancini, President & CEO
Ron Carinci, COO
Employees:
150
Website:
www.Urbacon.net
Visit us online:
13