Specialist Knowledge

Data centres

Data centres are the backbone of digital infrastructure and play a central role in the development of modern society. They process vast volumes of data while also having a significant physical footprint. Designing and planning data centres therefore demands both technical insight and an architectural approach that carefully considers context – including landscape, culture, climate, and local communities.

Integrated design and advisory services

At Gottlieb Paludan Architects, we design technical facilities that operate efficiently while integrating harmoniously with their surroundings. We combine deep technical understanding with architectural sensitivity to balance the scale, function, and expression of data centres with the surrounding landscape. With a keen eye for scale, materials, and context, we develop solutions that create coherence between function, architecture, and environment. We provide consultancy throughout all project phases – from site evaluation and local planning to design development, authority processes, and implementation – ensuring that solutions are aligned with both functional requirements and local conditions. Grounded in dialogue and collaboration, we create projects that perform technically while also supporting local character and potential, delivering value to users and communities alike.

A complex building typology with broad impact

Data centres present unique architectural challenges. Their typology is technically complex, and because they are often developed at large scale, they have a significant impact on the landscape, infrastructure, and surrounding communities. The functional demands – such as high technical reliability, flexibility, and security – must be addressed alongside design considerations that mitigate the impact of scale and integrate the facility into its context.

Sustainability also plays a key role. This includes energy efficiency, material choices, and long-term durability, but also how the data centre can contribute positively to its setting – for example, through landscape design or by opening up new uses for former agricultural land. In this way, a functional facility can also become a valuable landscape asset.

At the same time, the scale of investment and the pace of the industry require a high level of risk awareness and decisiveness, where even small adjustments can have major consequences. This makes experienced-based advice and proven solutions essential.

Proven expertise in complex facilities

We have many years of experience with hyperscale data centres in Denmark and often serve as advisors throughout the entire project lifecycle. Our solutions are built on collaboration and specialised knowledge, and we work in interdisciplinary teams, often alongside long-term partners and international stakeholders. We contribute both holistic perspectives and an eye for detail, with documented experience in making large technical facilities work – architecturally, technically, and socially. Our strength lies in addressing both technical and contextual challenges. We understand the interplay between operational reliability, architecture, and setting – a balance that makes data centres functional and accepted parts of the built environment.

Do you want to know more about Data Centres?

Thomas Bonde-Hansen

Creative DirectorArchitect MAA

tbh@gottliebpaludan.com+45 4171 8297