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Perry Gliessman, director of technology and advanced computing at Oregon Health & Science University, thinks the institution’s new data center at its Hillsboro campus could become a prototype.

At least that is the idea, said Gliessman, who designed the dome-shaped structure in about eight months. OHSU got an international patent and will market and license the design, which could suit others building on a small footprint or trying to reduce energy costs.

鈥淲e think it is the model of the future,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e would like to see it replicated out there, particularly for people who don’t have a lot of acreage.鈥�

The geodesic dome design, popularized by Buckminster Fuller in the 1950s, met several criteria for OHSU, which is projecting significant growth in its advanced computing and genetic storage needs, said Gliessman, who runs the university’s primary data center in downtown Portland.

鈥淚 basically looked at the issues we had and looked for ways to future-proof the building and give it a long life span,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 knew there must be a better way to do this.鈥�

While the building has some exhaust fans to account for rare times when outside air temperatures exceed 90 degrees, few other noncomputing devices consume energy inside. In fact, the unmanned building’s power usage effectiveness (PUE) ratio is projected to be 1.13 鈥� one of the lowest for data centers in the U.S.

PUE ratios identify data centers’ energy consumption by non-information technology machines in relation to consumption by IT machines. A PUE of 1.7, typical for a data center, means that for every kilowatt of power needed to run computers and data storage, an additional 0.7 kilowatt of power is needed to run other systems, such as fans or air conditioning units. It is not uncommon for data centers to have a PUE of 2.0 鈥� equivalent to one kilowatt of mechanical power for every one kilowatt of computing power, Gliessman said.

鈥淲e won’t know how low we can go until we power up more equipment,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here’s no doubt we’ll meet the metric and we might even exceed it.鈥�

Most notably, the dome shape maximizes surface area, allowing for air intake and exhaust systems to both cool and heat the building’s 10 server racks. The structure has no duct work for heating and cooling, Gliessman said. Instead, the 18,000-square-foot building has air-intake louvers around its circumference that bring in outside air. Cooler air will circulate among the 10 data center racks, and hotter air will rise toward the ceiling.

鈥淚 needed vertical space for the hot air plume to rise to the top,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat’s why we don’t need (many) exhaust fans. Air rises to the top.鈥�

What the data center lacks in above-ground mechanical systems, it makes up for in underground electrical wiring. Installation of approximately 4陆 miles of underground conduits became the $22 million project’s biggest construction challenge, said Trevor Wyckoff, project manager for Skanska USA Building. Skanska finished work in July.

鈥淵ou have all this lineal footage of conduit in three different layers four feet deep and it all has to come within a half inch of fitting,鈥� Wyckoff said. 鈥淚t absolutely had to be precise.鈥�

Skanska used Building Information Modeling and GPS technology to make sure all the conduits were layered correctly. The contractor also prefabricated all of its conduit racks off-site to save time, Wyckoff said. Once the measurements were exact and the racks were assembled, they were put into the ground and set in place, he said.

Data Center West

Owner: Oregon Health & Science University

Contractor: Skanska USA Building

Construction cost: $22 million, including equipment

Architect/engineer: IDC Architects

Construction start date: May 2013

Construction completion date: July 2014

Designer: Perry Gliessman, OHSU