Facebook announces first Asian data center, in Singapore

These are just computer-generated renders — it hasn’t actually been built yet.Facebook

Facebook’s data center empire is expanding into Asia.

This week, the Silicon Valley social networking giant announced that it is spending more than $1 billion US (1.4 billion Singapore dollars) building its first custom data centre on the continent, in Singapore.

It will be a big, rectangular affair, according to renders released by Facebook, featuring translucent cladding “made of a perforated lightweight material that allows airflow and proceeds glimpses of the state-of-the-art mechanical equipment inside,” and its front is bedecked with rows of plants. 

Why Singapore? “We selected Singapore for a number of reasons, including robust infrastructure and access to fiber, a talented local workforce, and a great set of community partners,” Facebook said in a blog post.

“Singapore has also established policies that foster a business-friendly environment, including measures that support the enforcement of contracts and increase the ease of construction permitting.”

It’s a little bit boxy.Facebook

The facility will be Facebook’s 15th data centre, and will be completely powered by renewable energy — in keeping with the company’s pledge to be powered 100% by renewable energy by 2020.

“Our data centers play a foundational role in ensuring our infrastructure is reliable, efficient, and can scale to meet the future needs of our community,” Facebook engineering boss Jay Parikh wrote in a post. “We’re very excited about expanding our data center footprint into Asia, and it becoming part of our highly advanced infrastructure that helps bring Facebook apps and services to you every day.”

At night. Very snazzy.Facebook