The University of Virginia (University or UVA) invites highly qualified Architectural/ Engineering (A/E) firms to submit a Letter of Interest/Statement of Qualifications and associated supporting materials for consideration in
the selection of a consultant team to provide programming, planning, architectural, and engineering design services for the design and construction of the Fontaine Data Center at UVA's Fontaine Research Park (Fontaine),
in accordance with the latest version of the UVA Higher Education Capital Outlay Manual (HECOM). The first phase of the project will be pre-design. Upon successful completion of the pre-design effort, the University may
in its sole discretion elect to retain the selected firm for full design and construction services for any or all phases of the future project. Purpose and Program Background: In 2022, the University charged the High Performance Computing Infrastructure Committee (HPC-IC) to project research computing needs and the infrastructure necessary to support those needs over the next 5-10 years. The HPC-IC had considerable conversation about the importance of a solid, leading edge HPC infrastructure. It serves as the foundation for a robust research program, aligns us with our peers, and enables us to become competitive both for the faculty we can recruit and the research we can perform. The committee looked at many options to expand the existing data center capacity to meet the growth needs and recommended a new data center in the Fontaine Research Park with the expectation that it will be operational in 2026. Project Drivers: The University currently operates 2 data centers, the University Data Center (UDC), which opened in 2011, and the Carruthers Data Center (remodeled in 2014). Both facilities provide back-up power capabilities and air-cooled racks, which have reasonable power and cooling for historica land current data center needs. Given the current growth of HPC, the UDC is expected to reach its UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) and cooling capacity in 2024. In addition to capacity constraints, the UDC in its current design will not support the more modern, higher power rack density for newer HPC machines. The proposed new facility is assumed to have an initial capacity of 8MW with future expansion to 16MW with Tier II resiliency. In addition, the building and associated infrastructure shall: Ensure that appropriate information security and regulatory compliance requirements are met. Consider University sustainability goals and how synergies may be exploited. Be cost effective, both initial capital or up-front costs as well as lifecycle maintenance, update of hardware, and leasing/ licensing costs. All questions should be directed ONLY to Bruce Jackson at 434-924-6387 or brj2n@virginia.edu
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