Location
Ashburn, Virginia
Client
Confidential
Contract Value
$28,000,000
Square Feet
235,000
Year Completed
December 2016
Schedule
8 months
Key Partners
Herring & Trowbridge Architects DLB Associates
Project Types
Awards & Certifications
- ABC National Excellence in Construction Eagle Award, Industrial, 2017
- ABC Metro Washington / Virginia Excellence in Construction Award, Industrial, 2017
Overview
Constructed on an existing 40-acre data center campus, Building H is a two-story tilt-up concrete and structural steel, greenfield data center shell, with a metal panel and curtainwall façade. HITT’s on-site team provided preconstruction efforts through a phased drawing release, allowing for construction to begin prior to completion of the drawing set. Three types of metal panels were utilized for this project—flat, corrugated exposed-fastener, and corrugated concealed-fastener.
The aesthetic of the metal panels, curtainwall, concrete panels, and pavers all complement one another, and were used across multiple materials and façades. This approach contributes to the modern aesthetic of the building while also meeting county proffer requirements.
The 70-foot-tall, 120-ton panels used for this project were formed, poured, and erected on site and cast with an elaborate relief pattern designed to create a digital code along the façade of the building. Months of coordination were required to ensure the final product provided the aesthetic quality desired by the design team. Casting the concrete panels required extensive layout coordination due to the limited confines of the site as Building H was surrounded on all four sides by other data centers on the campus and a substation.
Our team designed and built a custom vestibule at the entrance that is half inside and half outside the building, meeting LEED certification requirements and minimizing outside contaminants from entering the building. A perforated metal panel surround accentuates the entrance, which includes large areas of curtainwall and an overhead canopy. Behind the panel, the team installed the owner's signature architectural element: a blue light that creates a glow at night. In order to conceal rooftop equipment, we incorporated integral, deeply profiled silver metal panel parapets in plane with the building mass. The overall result of the entrance and rooftop construction is an engaging front façade visibile from the roadway.
Not only did HITT construct the building's exterior, we also managed the LEED Certified fit-out of the facility's 25,000-sf lobby and core spaces. This included the security office, state-of-the-art security systems, two break areas, a lobby / reception space, as well as space to eventually house up to four 4,800-kW data center suites.
The scope of work also required tying in to the existing site infrastructure, which supports live mission critical operations on the campus. The team had to be careful when tying in to avoid disrupting ongoing operations. Despite encountering 14 weather-delay days, HITT delivered the project to the owner a month early.