Annual Excellence in Data Centre Construction, Design and Engineering Forum by TBM Group 10 Sep 2025

Last week Director Angela Vico Correas and Associate Director & Head of Madrid Victoria Moreno attended the “Annual Excellence in Data Centre Construction, Design and Engineering Forum”, second edition hosted in Barcelona.

The event gathered Data Centre experts from all across Europe and Middle East, representing Consultancies, Engineering firms, Supply chain, Construction & Funding and Clients. The Forum offered 2 days of valuable exchange of insights

The highlights included

• Ferrovial’s presentation – a case study portraying a partnering template involving design, construction, funding and operation of the asset, developed around their upcoming XXXX Data Centre.
• Nvidia’s AI MegaFactories and future outlook – including a detailed presentation on Vera Rubin, Rubin Ultra and Feynman architecture
• A collaborative overview of “What’s Next for Data Centres”, chaired by Vladimir Prodanovic (NVIDIA), and featuring Victoria Moreno (studioNWA), Alberto Petermann (Start Campus) and Alexander Byakov (Mercury).

The conversation touched on the highly relevant aspects of Data Centre developments, such as:

Data Centre Growth and Supply Chain Challenges: Victoria Moreno explained that design teams must optimise limited land and equipment placement, while procurement teams need accurate early-stage information to plan for long-lead items, with flexibility required to adapt to changing customer requirements.

Modular and Offsite Construction Approaches: The panel discussed skilled labour shortages and the importance of efficient transport logistics, noting that modular approaches can reduce onsite labour needs, and thus release pressure on the issue of skilled labour availability, but may face transport limitations, requiring careful planning for upgrades and maintenance

Sustainability Practices and Innovations: Victoria Moreno, and other panellists explored sustainability in data centre design and operation, covering renewable energy sourcing, seawater cooling, carbon tracking, and the integration of sustainability metrics into procurement and project planning.

Environmental solutions: The impact to design, construction, and operation phases of implementing comprehensive Carbon Footprint Tracking and Reporting systems to track and report carbon emissions.

Local Partnerships: Victoria and the panellists shared examples of development initiatives, from collaborations with local schools and training programmes to address skilled labour shortages and support data centre operations to integration of Data Centre in Community led endeavours, such as the development of district heating networks.

The forum proved to be an excellent opportunity not only to share knowledge and ideas, but also to reconnect with colleagues and meet key players shaping the future of the industry across Europe and beyond. For us at studioNWA, the greatest value was engaging with the Spanish market, one of the most dynamic and promising in Europe. With our office in Madrid and exciting projects already underway, we are proud to be part of this growth as a truly local player.