FLEXIBILITY – A MUST IN DATA CENTER DESIGN
by
Pam Touschner
Three years ago, upon completion of its initial phase of construction, Kaiser Permanente’s $30,000,000 Data Center in Corona, California was hailed as state-of-the-art. Designed by WWCOT, this 120,000-square-foot building represents a high point of a long association with Kaiser Permanente, during which we have handled the remodeling and upgrading of a number of the company’s hospitals and clinics.
Although fully operative, the Design Center remains a work in progress, always evolving in the face of technological changes and the rapid expansion of Kaiser Permanente’s network. The need for such flexibility was recognized from the beginning, when our pre-design study was developed. In addition to design parameters, the study covered site suitability, project economics and personnel considerations. Then came a four-step process encompassing programming, design, construction and move-in. The process was implemented in conjunction with Kaiser’s facilities and data management staff and the company’s computer consultant.
The result was a building designed and equipped to meet Kaiser’s needs now and in the future. It even included 39% extra space for expansion. Within two years, however, that space was totally utilized and a new challenge arose, driving home the lesson that advance planning, incorporating flexible design, should govern every decision in the construction or remodeling of technical facilities.
Nearly 30,000 square feet were needed for additional computers and support systems in order to maintain peak operation efficiency. The new equipment would have to be located within the Data Center building to take advantage of its special protective design features, which enhance the probability of earthquake survival.
A PROBLEM-SOLVING MOVE
To make room for the equipment, the 120-member administrative staff, previously housed at the center, was moved into a 20,000-square-foot on-site modular building. WWCOT designed the interiors, complete with conference room and teleconferencing facilities, a laboratory for testing new equipment and an uninterruptible power system (UPS) to provide emergency back-up.
Once the move was complete, WWCOT turned to “back-filling” the vacant space. Programming is now in progress. Work on this new installation is facilitated by the center’s adaptability to future change – a characteristic which was literally “designed-in.” Perhaps the most important example of adaptability, as it relates to the new equipment, is the raised flooring with conduit and cabling underneath that permits reconfiguration of space plans with minimum disruption.
The center’s new computers and support systems are expected to be up and running early next year. They will augment $350 million of highly sophisticated technology and systems which, at present, maintain detailed medical records of Kaiser’s 2.4 million members and also schedule operations of the company’s statewide hospital network.
WITH GROWTH COMES CHANGE
This new installation represents the latest chapter in the Data Center’s continuum of technological changes. The first major change involved enlarging the WWCOT-designed master control area to handle increased monitoring capabilities in the areas of data collection and analysis.
Next came the call to maximize earthquake protection by enhancing the building’s base isolation system, which was originally designed by WWCOT. Base isolation is a method of cushioning the impact of moving earth by “floating” a building on shock absorbers similar, in principle, to those found in automobiles. The system also includes a “moat,” the surrounding covered trench in which the two-story building can safely move in any direction during an earthquake. WWCOT enlarged the moat, expanding the range of movement from 18 to 21 inches.
WWCOT was given this and the original base isolation assignment because of its experience in designing technical facilities and its leadership as an innovator in the use of base isolation and other seismic mitigation systems.
The expanded system – along with an auxiliary power system capable of running a small town – fulfills one of the major design criteria for the Data Center. Given the critical nature of health records and the importance of their retrieval and preservation, Kaiser stipulated at the outset that its center must remain in operation for six days should an earthquake occur.
AESTHETICS ARE NOT FORGOTTEN
Structurally sound and functionally efficient, Kaiser Permanente’s Data Center is also aesthetically attractive. According to Andrea Cohen Gehring, AIA, WWCOT’s principal in charge of design, “the Data Center’s contemporary, high tech design is tempered by a warm welcoming central lobby that creates a comfortably informal meeting place. An enclosed, freeform courtyard encourages relaxation and socializing among employees. The low-profile pre-cast concrete exterior is clad in metal panels and attractively embellished by green battered fins, resulting in a visually pleasing structure,” she noted.
In addition to providing design services, WWCOT has charge of construction administration for the Data Center’s new installation. Responsibilities range from reviewing all construction documents to performing quality and cost control. Kaiser Construction, a division of Kaiser Permanente, serves as General Contractor.
Based on our experience in these and so many other aspects of Kaiser Permanente’s Data Center, we have drawn some conclusions, which, in our opinion, can be helpful to those developing technologically-oriented facilities.
& #711; Provide ample “think time” to examine all the implications of a project involving new construction or renovation. Include operational personnel in the process. Surprises down the line can be costly.
& #711; Centralize decision-making, and name a single project administrator. It saves valuable time.
& #711; For obvious reasons, be sure all critical building systems are fail-safe.
& #711; Build in flexibility and space for expansion. You will be glad you did when new and improved equipment is needed.
& #711; In the world of technology, the only constant is change. So lease rather than buy equipment. Transitions will be easier.
Pam Touschner, AIA, is Associate Principal of WWCOT and Director of the firm’s Inland Empire office. She oversees all of WWCOT’s work at Kaiser Permanente’s Data Center. WWCOT, an architectural and interior design firm, is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.
