Explanatory note

 Current situation

The customer area facilities of the data center are located on the plant grounds, on the second floor of an industrial building. The floor height in light is 5.5 m. To create additional space, the floor is divided by a mezzanine into two levels. This project concerns only the lower of the two levels, at the existing floor mark. The building frame is assembled of reinforced concrete, and the overlaps are made of reinforced concrete plates. The exterior borders are made of suspended foam concrete panels. The border panels do not provide energy savings required by the modern regulations, thus insulation is required.

Design solutions

The design objective is to create a comfortable and functional customer area with an expressive modern design. It consists of:

1. Entrance area
2. Customer waiting room
3. Customer equipment reception and storage room
4. Customer equipment usage room
5. Data center personnel room
6. Security room
7. Bathroom
8. Smoking room

The access to the customer area lobby is provided from the stairway lobby on the second floor of the building.

The lobby has a window opening into the security room with a chute for documents. An open stairway leads from the lobby to the second floor. A glass door equipped with an access control system leads from the lobby to the waiting room.

The waiting room has an exterior window and contains furniture for 8 people. An open hallway leads from the waiting room to the data centre work area (customer equipment reception and storage room, customer equipment usage room, TeleHouse personnel room, hermetic area hallway). The waiting room also has a restroom door and a smoking room. Workrooms for customers and data centre personnel must have exterior windows, for which a partial disassembly of the exterior border panels should be performed.  

Style solutions:

The interior style should reflect and underline the following main features of the facility:

- Relation to telecommunications and the internet
- Abundance of modern hi-tech equipment
- Reliability and infallibility
- Full compliance with modern data centre requirements
- Visual contrast with the existing plant environment

Considering the above, mainly hi-tech solutions have been selected in order to better reflect the concepts of technology and modernity. The main materials that reflect this style are metal, glass, concrete.

The key concept in the proposed design is communication, which is the foundation of modern information technologies and the internet. The subject of communications is reflected in various details, and the general solution is provided by several main elements serving its visual and conceptual purpose.

Glass partitions are among the main elements of the design. Firstly, they create the necessary feeling of a modern interior, which drastically contrasts with the overall existing environment. Secondly, they allow creating a more customer-friendly environment, providing better lighting in the entrance lobby and the hallway, and also creating the impression of a larger room (when compared to a solid partition).  Most importantly, glass partitions create visual communication among different rooms. That is, when a visitor is still in the stairway lobby of the building, he already sees what is expecting him inside. And when a visitor is in the entrance lobby of the data centre, he sees a comfortable waiting room instead of sitting in an isolated room in front of the security window.  

The other element of the design serves the purpose of visualizing the concept of communication and remains the main expressive medium in the overall decision. This element is formed by the orange open cable ducts with electrical cables inside.  This element most convincingly demonstrates the technological substance of the object and makes it distinctive from the regular office space. The orange color was selected to symbolize a supersaturated flow of information. Other bright colors would not work because red is associated with fire trucks and accidents and yellow – with construction. 

Cable ducts are laid over all walls and ceilings, partially over the floor, and are embedded into the surface. In addition to electrical cables, they hold luminescent light fixtures and text plates, which further underline their information and energy substance.
The walls and the floor provide a neutral background and are painted in grey hues. The interior also displays metal elements. These are stainless steel door handles, cart bumps, air ducts in the waiting room, and the metal stairway in the lobby.