Sustainable
Mission-Critical Buildings

Mission-Critical Facilities are Unique

  

Compared to standard flex/industrial or office buildings, mission critical facilities have very different requirements.

Most require:

• Up to 10 times the normal amount of electric power: 150 to 200 watts per square foot, as opposed to 20 watts/square foot for a standard office building.
• Backup power supply consisting of nine to 15 two-megawatt generators for a 100,000 square foot facility, with each generator taking up as much room as a tractor-trailer.
• Fuel storage for the generators. A typical facility must store at least 100,000 gallons of fuel for 48 to 72 hours of operation in the event of a utility power outage.
• Battery-powered uninterruptible power supply and DC power plant to provide power while backup generators energize. These battery banks can weigh up to 16,000 pounds each and typically require additional structural reinforcement.
• Equipment cooling loads of up to 100 watts per square foot — 20 to 25 times normal design — with redundancies (backup systems) of up to 100 percent.
• Roof live loads of up to 125 pounds per square foot, as opposed to 30 pounds per square foot for normal buildings.
• Upgraded roofing systems and vapor barriers. Water is the enemy for the type of equipment housed in mission critical facilities, so buildings must be designed to keep water out at all costs.
• Advanced non-water-based fire protection and suppression systems, requiring chemical storage tanks.
• Screening of exterior equipment. Exterior screens perform multiple functions including hiding equipment, providing additional security and reducing noise emissions. In most jurisdictions, the maximum noise level allowed at the property line is 65 decibels.
• Multiple fiber carrier access with redundant ports. These fiber service entrances are usually encased in concrete duct banks.