Black & White Expands Team Amid Data Centre Design Demand

As data centre operators race to deliver new capacity, the demand for specialist design expertise is rising alongside them.

That means engineering consultancies must scale teams not only to support larger projects but also to become involved earlier in the development process.

Black & White Engineering is among the firms responding to that trend.

The global engineering design consultancy has expanded its civil and structural engineering department by 79% – from 43 to 77 people in five months.

The move strengthens its ability to support data centre projects across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

New engineers have joined the business in Dubai, Manila, Milan, London and Paris, while new offices in Manchester and Singapore also extend the company's global reach.

According to the company, the expansion reflects an increased demand from data centre clients in both established and emerging markets.

David Williams, Director of Civil and Structural Engineering at Black & White Engineering, says: “The growth reflects the continued expansion of our work in the data centre market, with both existing and new clients.

“That growth is creating opportunities for our civil and structural engineers across more locations and project types.”

“We have built the team around experienced people, many of whom we have worked with successfully before or who have joined us following strong recommendations.”

Design teams move earlier into projects

While detailed design is a core requirement, clients are also seeking support with site selection, due diligence and feasibility studies before construction planning begins.

Black & White Engineering says its civil and structural team supports projects from concept design through to construction information.

The department also carries out third-party technical reviews and site assessments.

That capability sits alongside the company's mechanical, electrical and plumbing services, commonly known as MEP. In data centres, these include power distribution, cooling equipment and water systems.

As projects become more complex, coordination between these disciplines is becoming more important.

David adds: “Detailed design delivery remains central to our role, but we are also being brought into projects much earlier, including due diligence, feasibility work and technical reviews.

“Working alongside our MEP and design management colleagues means we can provide input throughout the project, not just at fixed design stages.

“That helps improve coordination, quality and delivery for clients.”

Europe leads while APAC opportunities grow

Black & White Engineering reports the strongest demand for its services across Europe, where activity is increasing across both southern and northern markets.

The region remains one of the world's busiest areas for data centre development as cloud providers, colocation operators and enterprise organisations continue to expand infrastructure capacity.

Civil and structural engineering plays a key role in these projects, from site preparation and foundation design through to the delivery of large-scale facilities capable of supporting high-density IT workloads.

Alongside Europe, the company is also pursuing opportunities across Asia-Pacific.

Its Singapore and Manila operations support growth plans in Japan and the Philippines, two markets attracting investment in digital infrastructure.

Singapore itself remains an important hub for regional data centre activity, and Black & White Engineering intends to continue building its presence there.

The company is also expanding its footprint in the Middle East. A new office in Saudi Arabia is expected to develop its own civil and structural engineering capability as demand for digital infrastructure continues to grow across the region.

Supporting more integrated delivery

Beyond design services, the consultancy is also involved in reviewing and refining work produced by third parties.

In some cases, the civil and structural team takes responsibility for final delivery on projects where closer alignment is required between civil, structural and MEP disciplines.

This improves consistency and ensure designs meet client standards across multiple markets.

According to Black & White Engineering, integrated project delivery is becoming more important as data centre developments increase in scale and are delivered across several regions at once.

David says: “Civil and structural engineering is becoming a more important part of Black & White Engineering’s offer as data centre projects increase in scale, complexity and pace.

“Having this capability in-house means clients have access to a more joined-up design model, with civil, structural, MEP and design management expertise working together from an earlier stage.

“It also gives us greater consistency across regions, which is important for clients delivering programmes in multiple markets.”