Data Center Designed and Engineered by Integrated Design Group, Inc.
Boston, MA, June 30, 2008 – L.L.Bean's new data center in Freeport, Maine, continues the merchant's commitment to build all new structures according to the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The LEED program is a voluntary rating system designed to encourage companies to build environmentally sustainable, high-performance buildings. Designed by the architecture and engineering firm Integrated Design Group, Inc. (idGroup) of Boston, MA, the data center is expected to obtain LEED Silver certification, becoming the first LEED Silver certified data center in New England.
"Designing a LEED-built data center is an enormous feat. Data centers are industrial buildings that don't fit easily into the LEED concept," said Stafford Soule, Director of L.L.Bean's Information Infrastructure. "idGroup was able to create a concept and design that work around our technical and environmental criteria."
Beginning with a conceptual design process and the investigation of several sites, the idGroup design evolved to suit L.L.Bean's developing program. On a site adjacent to an existing L.L.Bean facility, the new 18,000 square foot data center meets the criteria of both LEED Silver and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards. Examples of LEED elements include regional sourcing of materials, minimized site disturbance and the recycling of 50% of all construction waste. The wood used for the structure's distinctive New England-style shingles was harvested within a 500-mile radius, using sustainable forestry practices.
"IdGroup is proud to work with L.L.Bean to design its first LEED-built data center, which is the first of its kind in Maine and in New England," said Brad Gray, idGroup Project Manager. "L.L.Bean's new data center combines the company's sustainability requirements with a design aesthetic that reflects its outdoor heritage."
The data center was designed to hold up to 144 racks of servers that support L.L.Bean's growing Internet business. Each 4.2KW rack in a data center produces 1400 watts of heat per square foot – 500 kilowatts total – the equivalent of 340 hair dryers running nonstop. The Building Management System (BMS) informs the Computer Rack Air Conditioning (CRAC) units to absorb the appropriate amount of warm air generated by the racks and cool it over a series of coils, returning cool air into the room.
Further ensuring LEED criteria was met, Chris Schafner and Erik Ruoff of The Green Engineer, based in Concord, MA, consulted on the project.
