As part of Edinburgh’s drive to become the Data Capital of Europe, a new extension of the Advanced Computing Facility for the University of Edinburgh on its Easter Bush Campus has been constructed with FES acting as the M&E Contractor.

Spearheaded by Robertson Construction, Computer Room 4 – the new extension, was designed and delivered with high resiliency, energy efficiency and flexibility in mind.

The facility can how host up to 270 cabinets, uses new innovative cooling solutions, and can be expanded over the next decade.

The Edinburgh International Data Facility is supported by £78.9 million from the UK Government, £670,000 from the Scottish Government, and £61.3 million from higher education partners as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

Professor Mark Parsons, Director of EPCC, said: “The project to extend our data centre with the new Computer Room 4 which will be the home for the Edinburgh International Data Facility was a complex one which FES took in their stride. We wanted a room that could host both large-scale data infrastructure and also the latest supercomputing equipment. Despite all of the challenges of 2020, FES delivered an excellent M&E solution. I have been very impressed by the quality of the company’s work throughout this complex project.”

A key component of the programme is the creation of the Edinburgh International Data Facility in Scotland’s capital, with five Data-Driven Innovation hubs being built across the two universities.

Incorporating innovative cooling solutions, the high resiliency computer room is one of the most efficient computer rooms possible.