Overview
A Global Call to Reimagine Data Center Design
Beyond the Box: Reimagining the Future of Data Centers is an international ideas competition organized by USGBC California and supported by regional and national partners and funders.
It invites architects, engineers, landscape architects, and interdisciplinary teams to reimagine the data center as an active, responsible part of the communities it occupies. The traditional answer has been a sealed box with a fence around it. This challenge asks what comes next.
The goal: inspire design solutions that can be applied in the next one to three years, advancing data centers that are more efficient, more resilient, and more connected to the places they serve.
Key Features
- Innovative architectural and site design solutions that advance energy efficiency, cooling performance, and reduced water consumption
- Scalable and market-ready ideas for both new construction and retrofit facilities
- Envelope, massing, and landscape design that contributes to neighborhood character rather than turning away from it
- Nature-informed strategies: siting, airflow, heat exchange, and water systems that learn from how natural systems move energy and moisture
- Waste heat recovery and district energy solutions that make surrounding buildings and communities better off
Pathway
Building on What Worked
The 2026 challenge follows the success of Shaping the Future of Water Use at Home, which drew 112 submissions from 9 countries and 6 U.S. states, professional and student teams across architecture, engineering, design, and sustainability, and winning entries now moving toward real pilots.
What’s Next
Brief, criteria, jury, and timeline will roll out across the summer. Office Hours and partner conversations are forming now.
Interested in submitting, judging, or partnering? Reach out at adc@usgbc-ca.org and check back as the program develops.
Sponsors and funders looking to support this work are encouraged to be in touch directly. This challenge will be shaped by the coalition that stands behind it.
Let's Connect
Contact Us!
For general questions about the challenge, please contact Ashton Green, ashton@usgbc-ca.org.
For inquiries to sponsor or otherwise support the challenge, contact Carrie Hester, carrie@usgsbc-ca.org.
For interest in future design challenges and innovation pathways including the Net Zero Accelerator, contact Colin Mangham, colin@usgbc-ca.org.
