Northern Cloud

PrizeWinner in Architectural Design / Green architecture, Winner in Architectural Design / Agricultural Buildings, Winner in Architectural Design / Industrial Buildings
University/SchoolMcGill University
Lead ArchitectMark Melnichuk

The Northern Cloud re-imagines the architecture of data centers in Iceland. Proposing an alternative to the anonymous, resource-devouring warehouses of current data centers, the ‘Northern Cloud’ addresses energy issues by using the Arctic air for passive cooling and reuses waste heat from data servers to warm up a greenhouse located at its center. Instead of exploiting local energy sources, the data center creates a new architectural interface with its community as it provides food security to the northern region and shifts the identity of data centers from anonymous to celebrated.