Page 235 - Beyond Decommissioning
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216                                                Beyond Decommissioning

            A network operations center for Banhof (one of Sweden’s largest Internet Service
         Providers) is housed in a former nuclear bunker and shelter originally originally built
         in the 1940s to secure vital governmental offices. The place is in central Stockolm.
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         Spread over 1000 m , the center is equipped with engines originally designed for sub-
         marines that produce backup power for the facility. The premises were converted into
         the “Pionen” data center and opened in 2008; Bahnhof has used the facility since.
         Some portion of Wikileaks’ servers have been moved to “Pionen” (Search Data
         Center, n.d.).
            The same reference highlights data storage facilities located in mines (cool temper-
         atures meaning no need for air conditioning), in a Van De Graff silo and at Germany’s
         Hanau nuclear fuel fabrication facility, which never went into operation. Funny
         enough, a data center is planned in the Rio Maggiore mine, Trento Region, Italy, next
         to an apple storage cells: both for apples and electronic equipment the cool temper-
         ature is ideal (Corriere, 2015).
            Digital data are stored in an old limestone mine installation at Boyers, PA
         (nicknamed Room 48). Digital storage is achallengebecause themachinesgener-
         ate much heat. Having to continually run high-powered heating, ventilation, and
         air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can be expensive when the data are stored above
         ground. Room 48 uses about 60% of the power a traditional data center would
         require, thanks to the large, natural lake at the mine’s bottom. After being pumped
         through the system, the water is discharged back into the lake to cool off and be
         reused later.
            Situated in a large mine 30 m underground in Louisville, KY, the Mega Under
         ground Bike Park makes good use of its unusual location. The park naturally
         protects riders from wind, rain, and temperature variations. The park’s designers
         also profited of the tons of soil excavated by the original limestone miners, reshap-
         ing it into biking trails, ramps, and jumps. This 3-ha site is the largest indoor bike
         park in the world. To appreciate this architecture one should consider that a
         comparable space above ground for the same use would require a huge big-box
         building shell.
            In Romania, a mine has been converted into an amusement park. In Ukraine,
         patients benefit from the air’s salinity in an old salt mine, using its tunnels as a well
         ness retreat. A limestone mine in Kansas houses a naturally secure and temperature-
         stable data center.
            Deep under the surface of South London, UK, a series of abandoned tunnels
         couldleadthe wayinrevolutionizing food production. Here, herbs grow without
         the need for soil or natural light. If you get off the tube at Clapham Common and
         then step into a cage-like lift that takes you about 30 m below surface, you will
         discover growing underground, an urban farm, housed in a network of dark tunnels
         originally constructed as air-raid shelters during WW II. About 20 different types
         of herb are cultivated in the former bomb shelters, including pea shoots, rocket, red
         mustard, pink stem radish, garlic chives, fennel, and coriander. The plants are sup-
         plied to markets and wholesalers right across London. This development comes in
         response to climate changes and ecological objections to transporting food
         from afar.
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