Two purpose-built NEXTDC colocation data centres in Melbourne, designed by global engineering, architecture and construction firm, HDR and constructed by Kapitol Group, will house Australia’s largest and most comprehensive cloud ecosystem.

M3 Melbourne, a 100,000m² data centre in West Footscray, and M2 Melbourne, a 16,000m² data centre in Tullamarine, will collectively deliver 210 megawatts (MW) of critical IT infrastructure to enterprise and government clients.

“Designing high-performance, resilient and scalable infrastructure at speed is no easy feat,” said Sam Faigen, project leader at HDR. “Utilising a data-driven design methodology, we have succeeded in delivering two purpose-built facilities, using modular and adaptable solutions that will accelerate industry growth.”

Following the completion of Stage 1 of M3’s 150MW masterplan, the West Footscray data centre operates as a colocation facility for retail, enterprise and hyperscale customers. Fitted out with HDR-designed administrative offices, collaboration spaces and highly adaptable data halls, the campus is strategically located close to major electricity substations, just 10km from Melbourne’s CBD, and is flanked by large industrial developments and low-scale residential dwellings.

Engineered to Uptime Institute’s Tier IV resilient standards by Arup, M3 has achieved an excellent Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard (BESS) and an industry-leading target PUE of 1.29. Planning consultants, Urbis and project managers, Newbridge also played an integral role across the design and construction process.

M2 is a 60MW purpose-built campus and high-grade contemporary workspace strategically located near Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport and its surrounding transport and telecommunications network. Fitted out with HDR-designed commercial office space, meeting rooms, training spaces, an auditorium and customer amenity, the future-proof campus has been designed to transform and scale into a network of interconnected data halls on demand. HDR utilised computational and generative design to rapidly evaluate manipulated parameters in real-time and test the specific programmatic needs of the project.

“Standing proud as a landmark in its site context, the building’s dynamic form and striking red filigree facade of articulating blades juxtaposes the aluminium structure,” Faigen says. “Not only do these blades respond to the high level of solar exposure and optimise sun shading, but they create a dappled effect on what would otherwise be a rather monolithic structure.”

Engineered by Aurecon, M2 has achieved Uptime Institute’s Tier IV Gold Certification for Operational Sustainability and a target PUE of 1.29. Planning consultants, Urbis and project managers, The APP Group were also part of the project team.

“With the ever-increasing digitisation of work, life and play, data centres are becoming fundamental infrastructure in our built environment,” says Graeme Spencer, HDR’s national director of education and science. “By thoughtfully integrating deeply technical, data-driven processes, while still maintaining focus on community wellbeing, we have conceived two resilient, sustainable and high-performance campuses that enable digital transformation.”

In 2022, HDR was ranked No.1 for ‘Top 30 Data Centre Architecture + AE Firms’ in the Building Design + Construction’s Giants 400 report.

Images: NEXTDC/HDR

Branko Miletic

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