Data centres are an increasingly visible part of the infrastructure that shapes our cities. As artificial intelligence accelerates demand for computing power, data centres are multiplying. Often designed as anonymous, windowless boxes, they are becoming one of the defining building types of the 21st century, with a growing physical presence in the places we live.

Their arrival raises a series of difficult questions. What should a data centre look like, and does its architecture have a responsibility to the place it occupies? What are the ethical implications of building these energy-intensive facilities in densely populated urban areas, where demands on land, power and water are already under pressure? And who gets to decide what belongs in our neighbourhoods, when the benefits are global but the consequences are often local?

For Event 014 we’ll chair a debate bringing together different perspectives on the topic. With opinions divided, we want to create space for a balanced conversation about how we live comfortably – or uncomfortably, alongside the buildings powering every Chat GPT search or Spotify stream.