The company Pure Data Centres (Pure DC), backed by Oaktree Capital Management, has received planning permission in London to construct the world’s largest living wall. This innovative project will be part of the second building of the Pure DC campus in Brent Cross, north of London, and will cover an area of 7,400 square meters, surpassing the current record of 7,000 square meters in Khalifa Avenue, Qatar.
Project Details
The wall, designed by the specialized firm Viritopia, will be composed of more than 750,000 individual plants organized in a modular system. In addition to its visual impact, this installation aims to:
- Absorb noise and filter air pollutants.
- Promote biodiversity by providing habitats for birds and insects.
- Reduce solar heating by acting as a protective layer for the building and improving the local microclimate.
This second building will increase the total capacity of the London campus to more than 90 MW, with potential for expansion to meet the growing demand for cloud services and AI processing.
Sustainability and Innovation
This initiative is part of Pure DC’s commitment to sustainability and technological innovation. Pure DC’s CEO, Dame Dawn Childs, emphasized:
“The data center sector faces the critical challenge of developing digital infrastructure to support the global growth of data while caring for the local environment. This project is an exciting step in that direction.”
Pure DC, along with its subsidiary A Healthier Earth, uses life cycle assessments (LCA) to measure the carbon footprint of each development, with ambitious goals such as:
- Eliminating waste sent to landfills.
- Using closed-loop cooling systems and rainwater harvesting.
- Replacing diesel in generators with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90%.
Impact on the Data Center Sector
The demand for data centers in London, which represents 80% of the market in the UK, is at an all-time high. Projections indicate that the British market will grow by over 60% by 2029, solidifying the importance of sustainable projects like this one.
Pure DC, with more than 500 MW of active or developing capacity in regions such as Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, leads the sector by combining high-capacity digital infrastructure with a responsible approach to the environment.
About Pure DC and A Healthier Earth
- Pure Data Centres operates data centers around the world, offering innovative and sustainable solutions for the largest technology companies on the planet.
- A Healthier Earth, a subsidiary of Pure DC, specializes in climate projects that restore nature and support the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 °C.
This living wall project not only redefines sustainable design but also sets a global precedent in the data center sector as a catalyst for positive change.
Source: pureDC