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Server farms are to the digital world what castles used to be: the seat of power. If data is the greatest collective treasure of a digital society, basic material for business and politics: Why are the places where it is stored still so invisible?
Together with students from the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main, Niklas Maak shows what the future of the most important new building typology of the twenty-first century might look like-and what new collective places a city needs in the age of digitalization.
"This is a historic moment. Data has become the most valuable commodity in the world. We can't leave it to a handful of tech giants. We must conceive of it as a public good and a critical public infrastructure, alongside roads, electricity, water, and clean air. To that end, we need what Niklas Maak calls a 'Centre Pompidou for the digital age.'"- Francesca Bria
List of contents
CoverContentsThis Is a Historic Moment - Why We Need New Public Spaces to Experiment with and Reclaim Digital Sovereignty for the People / Francesca BriaServer Manifesto - Data Center Architecture and the Future of Democracy / Niklas MaakA New Building Type on the Block: Data Centers and the City - What Are the Greatest Challenges Offered by the Data Center Boom? / Interview with Karsten SpenglerDesigns by the Students of the Städelschule in Frankfurt am MainColophon
About the author
Niklas Maak, Jahrgang 1972, studierte in Hamburg und Paris Kunstgeschichte, Philosophie und Architektur und lebt in Berlin. Seit 2001 ist er Redakteur für Kunst und Architektur im Feuilleton der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung, außerdem Gastprofessor für Architekturgeschichte in Frankfurt am Main und in Harvard. 2022 erhielt er den Johann-Heinrich-Merck-Preis für literarische Kritik und Essay.
Summary
Server farms are to the digital world what castles used to be: the seat of power. If data is the greatest collective treasure of a digital society, basic material for business and politics: Why are the places where it is stored still so invisible?
Together with students from the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main, Niklas Maak shows what the future of the most important new building typology of the twenty-first century might look like—and what new collective places a city needs in the age of digitalization.
“This is a historic moment. Data has become the most valuable commodity in the world. We can’t leave it to a handful of tech giants. We must conceive of it as a public good and a critical public infrastructure, alongside roads, electricity, water, and clean air. To that end, we need what Niklas Maak calls a ‘Centre Pompidou for the digital age.’”
— Francesca Bria
