A Next-Generation Approach to Data Center Design
Aligned Data Centers’ ORD-02 two-story facility in Northlake, Illinois represents a next-generation approach to sustainable, scalable, and resilient data center development. At 230,000 square feet and designed to deliver 48 megawatts of critical capacity, ORD-02 balances mission-critical operations and environmental performance. The project earned an impressive Three Green Globes certification and received the Carbon Reduction Specialty Award as part of GBI’s Project of the Year for its leadership in addressing carbon emissions and material transparency.
Finding a Certification Program Built for Data Centers
From the beginning, Aligned sought a sustainability certification program that aligned with the unique needs of data centers. In Green Globes, they found a flexible, science-based framework that integrated seamlessly into the needs of their complex and mission-critical project. As Cameron Lassiter, Director of Architectural Design at Aligned Data Centers, explained:
“GBI’s Green Globes process is specifically tailored to data centers, making it a more practical and industry-relevant standard for owners, designers, and engineers than other sustainability certification programs. It’s imperative for a data center building design to be sustainable, economical, efficient, and pragmatic. The data center design practices and standards Aligned follows fold very cleanly into many of the sustainable design categories and principles that Green Globes evaluates us on, particularly over industry baseline models.”
The Green Globes Online Questionnaire provided an intuitive roadmap for decision-making, while the Final Assessment Report provided actionable insights for further integrating sustainability into Aligned’s design and operations processes for future projects. The process reinforced the company’s commitment to delivering sustainable, healthy, and resilient data centers for their clients and communities alike.
Sustainability Strategy: Energy, Water, and Materials
Aligned targets both energy efficiency and reductions in embodied carbon to minimize its operational carbon footprint. By employing a precast structure with precise measurements, Aligned minimized construction waste and material use. Energy efficiency is achieved through liquid cooling systems, which capture heat at its source, support high power densities, and enable seamless scalability. These systems also enable hybrid cooling without major retrofits, optimizing both performance and sustainability. The facility’s closed-loop system recycles existing water for cooling, while low-flow plumbing fixtures further reduce consumption.
Material selection was also a priority, with an emphasis on product transparency. The project team chose products with EPDs, HPDs, low-VOCs, and emissions-certified interior products, ensuring both environmental integrity and healthier indoor air quality. Aligned is also committed to renewable energy, ensuring 100% of its energy is renewable in the United States. This commitment significantly reduces the carbon footprint of the facility, while supporting broader sustainability goals.
Additional sustainability features of the facility include:
- Selection of a previously developed site with existing utilities
- ENERGY STAR Target Finder score of 98
- 38% reduction in water use through specification of low-flow fixtures
- Lighting controls and 100% LED lighting
- Embodied carbon tracking via OriginMark — a tool that tracks, quantifies, and reports the lifecycle of materials
Lassiter also pointed to the project’s performance beyond energy and water metrics: “Aside from the building’s excellent performance metrics as they relate to power and water utilization efficiency, I’m pleased that we’ve been able to provide a responsible workplace office design. We hit the targets for daylighting, and building a space that utilizes an adequate percentage of materials that carry the highest threshold of products with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).”
Advancing the Model for Low-Carbon Data Centers
Aligned has advanced its model for resilient, low-carbon data centers that meet the growing demand for hyperscale, neocloud, and enterprise capacity. This project exemplifies that environmental responsibility and data center industry leadership go hand in hand. Green Globes guided the ORD-02 team in achieving tangible sustainability, health, and resilience outcomes, demonstrating the value of third-party certification in high-performance data center development.
