Congratulations to our 2021 category winner: Ashton Old Baths (United Kingdom) by Tameside Council in collaboration with Sudlows and MCAU Architects

With data center construction booming, architects are raising the stakes and setting a new standard for beautiful data centers.

This category was decided by a public vote, in which more than 4,000 people expressed their preference from a highly competitive shortlist.

The winner turned an abandoned Victorian bath house in Greater Manchester, into a data center which holds local council and NHS infrastructure, along with a cooperative offering commercial space. Tameside Council said this data center was about providing the digital infrastructure needed to enable and keep digital businesses in the local area.