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Can Data Center Design Choices Change Public Acceptance? Operators use biomimicry, community co-design, and brownfield redevelopment to reduce the visual impact of data centers and improve local acceptance. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but it’s unlikely that the recent rash of data centers popping up across the US and globally is winning many people over on looks alone. To ease community concerns about noise, energy, and water use – and especially their visual impact – some operators are rethinking how facilities look, how they sit within landscapes, and even where they’re built. Anti-data center sentiment often goes beyond complaints about water, energy, and noise pollution to include criticism of a facility’s appearance and its aesthetic impact on nearby neighborhoods. A description from the Virginia-based Piedmont Environmental Council captures a common view: “The data center developments proposed in the County are hyperscale facilities, which are massive, windowless concrete buildings that can bring potential noise and electrical infrastructure such as substations and transmission lines. They are also often out of scale with existing communities and fenced with cameras, security guards, and guard gates.” Designing to Disappear: Biomimicry and Landscape Strategies Some operators are taking steps to make facilities a bit easier on the eyes. One approach is to use landscaping to soften profiles and blend sites into their surroundings. Microsoft, for example, has begun applying “biomimicry” – borrowing strategies from local ecosystems to guide land, water, and restoration plans – to improve how some of its newest data centers look and function. The company first employed the approach at a site in Noord-Holland, the Netherlands, in 2022, planting 150 native trees and more than 2,000 square meters (about 21,500 square feet) of shrubs and grasses around the campus. Microsoft says it has since expanded the practice to more than 20 sites across the US and Europe. Microsoft’s director of global land strategy, Kaitlin Chuzi, told Data Center Knowledge that biomimicry is about more than aesthetics or traditional landscaping. “We start by understanding how the local ecosystem functions, combining ecological research with community input and then [using] those insights to inform land, water, and restoration plans that mimic and enhance natural systems,” she said. “The goal is to design for multiple benefits at once, from locally appropriate, biodiverse plantings that improve the viewshed to healthier soil, better stormwater management, and stronger habitat for local species." Here, “viewshed” refers to the area that is visible from a specific vantage point. There is growing interest in whether better-designed facilities can help win over residents. On June 11, the UK Government announced a national Data Center Design Challenge in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The competition asks architects, designers, engineers, and communities to collaborate on high-quality design, meaningful public engagement, and sustainable outcomes. “As data centers become increasingly critical to the UK’s economic and technological future, we have a responsibility to consider how they are designed, located, and experienced,” said RIBA president Chris Williamson in a statement. “Data centers will be needed across the country, and this presents a major opportunity for architects to reimagine what they can be, while supporting sector growth.” Underground and Low-Profile Designs Challenging the standard “big shed” template, some proposals explore alternative materials and even partially buried or fully underground designs with little or no visible footprint. The potential benefits range from security to cooling efficiencies, and the reduced above-ground profile can ease local opposition. “Nobody’s going to oppose a data center in a mine,” Max Smolaks, a research analyst for Uptime Intelligence, told Data Center Knowledge earlier this year. What Residents Say: Design Factors that Change Acceptance A 2026 research report by the design firm Gensler also highlights the role of design in public acceptance. “Design emerged as a decisive factor in community acceptance. When asked about their top design concerns, residents prioritized issues architects can directly address: overall building appearance, massing, materials, and height,” the report states. Co-Designing with Communities Community participation is another theme. Carl Walker, head of societal insights at engineering consultancy Hoare Lea, said that it is not simply about better aesthetics but about integrating community input from the outset. “Co-creating data centers with residents is essential if they are to become valued community assets rather than simply being perceived as large, anonymous warehouse buildings,” he told Data Center Knowledge. “Co-creating data centers with residents is essential if they are to become valued community assets rather than simply being perceived as large, anonymous warehouse buildings.” – Carl Walker, head of societal insights, Hoare Lea Hoare Lea has developed a Social Charter for data centers that provides guidance for social engagement, including design. “Rather than imposing a standardized ‘one-size-fits-all’ warehouse model, co-creation enables data centers to reflect the character, identity, and needs of the communities they serve, helping them contribute positively to placemaking, local pride, and regeneration,” Walker said. Brownfield First: Regeneration Over Greenfield Sprawl Regeneration can be a powerful lever. While greenfield developments often face criticism for environmental impact, some operators argue that building on brownfield sites – previously developed land that may be disused or blighted – can reduce opposition and accelerate timelines where grid connections and transport links already exist. UK-based operator Kao Data, for instance, is prioritizing former industrial sites and contends that the UK could meet its sovereign AI capacity goals by using existing brownfield locations. “We have many, many former manufacturing and industrial sites across this country that can be repurposed and sensitively redeveloped,” said Spencer Lamb, Kao Data’s chief executive, during a conference session on sovereign AI. “Many former factories, depots, and brownfield sites already have grid connections and a long history of heavy use, which make them a practical home for new digital infrastructure,” said Nick Ewing, managing director of data center consultancy EfficiencyIT, in an interview with Data Center Knowledge. “Replacing a run-down industrial site with a modern facility, which often resembles a contemporary office building, brings new technology into the area and delivers a genuine improvement for the local community. In many ways, the data center is the new industrial space.” Aesthetics Plus Place-Making Aesthetics alone is unlikely to overcome determined opposition. However, facilities that reuse brownfield land where feasible, that are co-created with local communities, and that apply design and landscaping strategies suited to local contexts can improve the odds of acceptance – and deliver tangible environmental and social benefits along the way.
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