Colombia. In order to contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and generate self-sufficient works in terms of functionality and controlled emissions, by 2025, the firm Sandoval Asociados, an expert company in the construction of high-tech buildings, expects to execute more than USD 32 million in the design and creation of new sustainable and technological infrastructures in Bogotá, Cali, Bucaramanga and Barranquilla.
In this stage of recovery of the country, megaprojects proposed in the first half of the year will be reactivated and new architectures will be outlined that are based on the concept of technological sustainability, implementing technology in favor of the economy and disposition of the construction project.
"Due to its geographical position, Colombia has a strategic location for the design of sustainable and technological architectures. Data centers will be the future of telecommunications in the country and that is why by 2025 we are betting on creating new infrastructures in some major cities of the country, such as: Cali, Bucaramanga and Barranquilla, "says engineer Mario Sandoval, Project Director of the company.
According to the parameters established for advanced technology projects, environmental sustainability criteria must be handled in the use of state-of-the-art tools and the implementation of high technology in facilities, equipment and services, which include: the use of ecological materials and suitable for changing environments that generate impermeability, thermal insulation and reduction of polluting particles; in addition to the use of systems that help the rational and efficient use of natural, electric and water light, which encourages the circular economy in construction.
Sustainable construction for greater connectivity
During the last months there has been an increase in connectivity due to teleworking, process virtualization and the high offer of digital services and products. Even the implementation of digital citizen services is planned to do procedures virtually, while e-commerce has become the great ally of buyers, which has prepared the different industries for the arrival of 5G technology.
According to Engineer Mario Sandoval, project director of Sandoval Asociados: "The construction sector, in the specialty of technological infrastructures, plays a fundamental role in the use of raw materials for the reduction of environmental impact, especially at this time when the demand for Internet and Cloud services continues to grow, demanding greater capacity and coverage of data centers, infrastructures that currently use 3% to 4% of the world's energy."
According to CommScope, data centers will spend more than half of their operating budget to support the 5G network by 2025. For this reason, the company foresees these new market dynamics and is working on the construction of hostDime's datacenter, the largest in Latin America. A building of 5 floors and 6,400 m2 of construction, which will include complete suites, areas for private placement with digital locks and more than 1600 m2 of white areas where more than 80,000 servers can be accommodated, to support 5G.
The building was designed with hermetic volumes, taking into account the sunlight, to favor its cooling inside. Its main facades were oriented in the south and north of the building to create a ventilated structure. It has Led tape lighting and finishes in composite aluminum sheets, favoring thermal insulation in the interior areas and reducing the energy consumption of the cooling system.
Likewise, in the facades of the administrative building, the protagonist is the U.V. glass that together with grids and sun cutters favor the work areas, since they will always be illuminated, contributing to the reduction of energy consumption. The megaproject has the EDGE certification that guarantees greater efficiencies in the constructions.
"Due to the high energy consumption of data centers, it is important that actions are already taken to reduce their environmental footprint, as global energy consumption is expected to triple over the next 5 years. Therefore, it is essential to replicate ecological practices in our new projects, in such a way that the consumption of electrical energy, lighting, water supply, communication services and has electromechanical characteristics of low consumption is reduced, "explained the engineer.
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