HED Celebrates Opening of NTT's CH1 Data Center

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Mar 01, 2021, 08:00 ET

CHICAGO, March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- National architecture and engineering firm HED is pleased to announce the opening of the CH1 Data Center, a project planned and designed for NTT Global Data Centers Americas.

Located in Itasca, IL, just 15 minutes from O'Hare International Airport, the new data center campus will deliver 72MW of data capacity to the growing regional market. The CH1 building, now completed, will feature six different 6MW vaults that operate efficiently at a low annual PUE (power use effectiveness).

This vault is one of six modular 6MW vaults housed in the CH1 building. Designed by HED, these leasable storage vaults are supported with low-cost power with renewable energy options, diverse utility power feeds for redundancy, and an array of safety and security measures to protect the data assets on site.

HED has been a long-time design partner with NTT Global Data Centers Americas. The firm provided an integrated suite of architecture, specialty design, and engineering services for this new data center campus.

HED is committed to the AIA 2030 challenge to reduce building energy and carbon use. The 2020 AIA 2030 goal is to reduce building energy use by 80% over their base year, and the CH1 building exceeds this goal. Important aspects of the design included the incorporation of low-cost power with renewable energy options, diverse utility power feeds for redundancy, and an array of safety and security measures to protect the data assets on site.

HED has been a long-time design partner for NTT, with several successful data center projects already delivered and operating around the country.

"We've partnered with HED on many projects, and their knowledge, expertise, and designs allow us to consistently build data centers that focus first and foremost on our clients," said Bruno Berti, Vice President of Product Management at NTT Global Data Centers Americas. "Our CH1 data center project is no different, and we're excited for our clients to get a look at what this facility has to offer."

This particular project came with a unique opportunity to develop an entire 19-acre campus, and to help bring the first data center to the Itasca community. Itasca has recently become a prime location target for large data centers, with a dense fiber network, affordable electricity, minimal risk of natural disasters, and convenient travel options and amenities. Illinois also recently passed a bill that exempts qualifying data center providers and their customers from paying state and local sales taxes on equipment such as servers and storage racks.

According to HED's Design team leader Chad Fowler, AIA, LEED AP, "We are most proud of the fact that the building's architectural design helped it receive unanimous approval by the Village of Itasca and Hamilton Lakes Property Owners Association, two organizations learning about data center facilities for the first time. Our design team also helped NTT obtain important tax credits from the State of Illinois by designing the campus to comply with ISO 50001 energy management criteria. These are not always easy bars to meet, but we did so with ease."

HED's integrated design team provided a full suite of design services for the project, including architectural design, landscape design, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering, and audio visual, security and IT infrastructure design. Project partners included RRC Engineering for structural engineering and RWG for civil engineering, with Clune Construction serving as the general contractor.

As data storage, transmission, and security are supporting almost every aspect of contemporary life, HED's leadership in data center design has grown into a significant piece of the firm's portfolio of work. Data Center clients to-date have included tech and retail corporations, financial, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and educational institutions, as well as multi-tenant, cloud, and hyperscale data center providers.

ABOUT HED At HED, great design is about thinking creatively to overcome challenges and improve real world outcomes. Our firm has a long history and reputation for excellence because we believe that all the facets of our design, from architecture, consulting, engineering, and planning, must create a positive impact for our clients, the community, and the world through responsive, innovative, and sustainable design solutions.

This belief has allowed our firm to succeed and grow in a broad range of markets in eight U.S. offices (Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento). See how HED advances your world at www.hed.design.

Media Contact:
Nicole Marshall, (504) 644-7335, [email protected]

SOURCE HED