The Cloud is a beautiful image. We imagine our ideas and information floating somewhere in the ether.

Data centres are nevertheless very real, physically present buildings. They are a fundamental infrastructure of our contemporary world. We must both accept and assume their presence. And we can certainly build them better.

Stone Clouds are hyper-scale data centres that are built to last for sites across Europe. The construction and scale of these 100-megawatt installations for the company Evroc are adapted to their siting and environment. In the north of Europe, structural granite walls envelope the data silos that are cooled by water and powered by local hydroelectric power. In the south of Europe, limestone and solar panels change the appearance but not the principle. In the lowlands of western and central Europe, where wind power is plentiful, the data centres are built of rammed earth.

Massive walls give inertia to stabilise temperatures throughout the seasons, while ensuring security and solidity for these strategic sites. The significant amounts of energy used is reduced, conserved and recycled. In urban areas, smaller edge computing centres adapt to architectural contexts, while retaining a distinctive form.

Built to last, the data centres are conceived to evolve, both to expand for their current use but also to change program. Like the beloved industrial buildings of the past, the data centres are made to one day become offices, housing, or even cultural destinations like museums.

EVROC FLAGSHIP

To bring this ambitious project to fruition across Europe, a prototype is under development for a site in Sweden near Stockholm’s main airport, Arlanda. This flagship, a ten to twenty mega-watt, 4 000 square meter data centre, is designed using standardized, structural granite panels of Swedish granite. The granite is adapted to climate and structure, with a compressive strength five times that of concrete, a carbon footprint ten times less, and a total resistance to frost. The building is planned as a long-lasting, energy-efficient, reusable, local infrastructure.

A triangular base houses electrical and mechanical spaces, as well as a heat recuperation plant, a maintenance hall and offices. The base supports two oval towers, with simple plans containing a rectangular core for the servers surrounded by access, supply and cooling shafts within the curves. Heat exchangers are integrated into the tops of the towers.

The building permit for Evroc at Arlanda was approved in 2024 and the construction is expected to begin soon. The team for this project includes the climate and structural engineers and stone specialists Webb Yates. Local partners include Metod architects, the Arlandastad group, Granlunds systems engineers, Looström structural engineers, and Mark landscape architects.