Waste Not: Reimagining the Data Center

It's a world we interact with every day. But we never visit in person.

The cloud, where our emails, photos, and feeds live, sounds like an intangible place. But it's actually very real.

"Data centers represent the largest infrastructure buildup in recent history," says Nollaig Forrest, Amrize's Chief Marketing Officer. "From energy infrastructure to chip and computer factories to the data centers themselves and all the roads and connectivity hubs to help them run."

Architect and University of Illinois Chicago professor Clare Lyster calls the cloud the cultural space of our era. Yet it's largely housed in anonymous structures far from the people it serves. This contradiction between cultural importance and physical remoteness sits at the heart of her exhibit for the 2025-26 Chicago Architecture Biennial: Farm Park.

In our latest video collaboration with the CAB, we talk to Clare and experts from design, construction, and business to ask "what if" data centers could enrich our lives beyond the cloud.

Yes, in my backyard: Data centers as good neighbors