Data Center Facade Systems
The hyperscale envelope: airtight, fire-compartmented, thermally broken, and delivered at cloud speed. Hanart builds data center walls and roofs that protect the machines that run the world.
Why data center envelopes are unlike any other building
A leaky envelope lets conditioned air escape and humid outdoor air into walls where it condenses. Hyperscale projects test the whole enclosure, not just windows — at targeted leakage rates far below code minimums.
For 24/7 cooling loads, every thermal bridge in a slab-edge or rainscreen bracket wastes power for the facility's entire life. Thermal break detailing is a top economic priority, not a nice-to-have.
Equipment halls are divided into rated compartments. The facade must carry EI60–EI120 assemblies and clean fire-stopped penetrations at every junction — designed with the fire strategy, not after it.
Cloud providers lease capacity the moment it exists. Prefabricated panel systems and parallel installation fronts turn months of envelope work into weeks — our Southern China references prove it.
The data center envelope toolbox
| Envelope Element | Recommended System | Key Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Data hall walls | Insulated metal panels + rainscreen | U-value 0.3–0.5 W/m²·K, A2/A1 |
| Roofs | Standing-seam metal roofing | Long-span, 30+ yr, low maintenance |
| Administration & offices | Unitized / stick built glazing | Daylight with solar control |
| Technical glazing (few) | Fire-rated & security glazing | EI60–EI120 options |
| Penetrations | Fire-stopped sleeves & panels | Clean rated junctions |
Hyperscale envelopes delivered in China
Hanart's Southern China data center references cover wall and roof packages for hyperscale cloud campuses — tens of thousands of square meters of insulated metal envelope, delivered in compressed programs with full airtightness and fire compartment QA.
- Insulated metal panel walls & standing-seam roofs
- Airtightness testing at 50 Pa on completed halls
- Fire compartment assemblies documented to code
- Six-month wall-to-roof delivery on reference campuses
Data center facade questions, answered
Hyperscale data centers use insulated metal panel walls (walls and roofs), low-U-value cladding, minimal glazing, and fire-rated compartmentation around equipment halls. The envelope must control air leakage, condensation and thermal bridging across enormous wall areas.
Air leakage bypasses insulation and lets moisture condense inside the wall, wasting cooling energy and risking corrosion. Large facilities are measured with blower-door-style tests at 50 Pa targeting leakage rates far below typical buildings.
Yes — hyperscale projects run on compressed programs. We use prefabricated metal panel systems, factory QC and parallel installation fronts. Southern China reference facilities have been walled and roofed in as little as six months.
Equipment halls are divided into rated compartments with EI60–EI120 wall and roof assemblies, fire-stopped penetrations and non-combustible insulation. The facade interfaces with this compartmentation at every junction — designed and documented together.
Building or expanding a data center?
Send your hall layouts, climate zone and program. We'll scope the envelope with U-values, airtightness targets and a delivery plan within 5 working days.