On its website, Data Center Dynamics explained the origin of the name ‘Gak’, saying the data center of the leading South Korean web portal was named after Janggyeonggak at Haeinsa Temple, which ‘has preserved some 80,000 woodblocks containing Buddhist historical records.’ (Image: Naver)
SEOUL, Jun 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Naver’s data center ‘Gak’, which is located in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, has made it to a list of the top ten of the world’s best-looking data centers, joining the likes of Google and aql.
British IT journal Data Center Dynamics has recently announced ten of the most beautiful data centers in the world based on the creativity and eco-friendliness of design of each building, including Naver’s, the only South Korean company to be chosen alongside international IT giants.
On its website, Data Center Dynamics explained the origin of the name ‘Gak’, saying the data center of the leading South Korean web portal was named after Janggyeonggak at Haeinsa Temple, which ‘has preserved some 80,000 woodblocks containing Buddhist historical records.’
The journal then went on to say, “The building incorporates traditional design elements, as well as cutting-edge environmental techniques such as reuse and recycling of rainwater.”
Data centers are facilities where servers and storage devices are stored, and play a crucial role online content providers. They are often described as the heart of IT companies.
Other data centers with a striking appearance include American data center provider Switch’s pyramid-shaped data center in Michigan, and IT service provider Next Generation Data’s factory gone data center located in Newport, Wales.
Google’s data center in Oklahoma also made the list, featuring murals on the outside walls created by artist Jenny Odell which were drawn to resemble satellite images of swimming pools, circular farms and water treatment plants on Google Maps.
Despite the breath-taking interior design of some of the most beautiful data centers in the world, given the sensitive nature of data centers, most of the sites are kept private from outsiders.
Naver’s data center Gak also doesn’t offer tours for security reasons, as a small accident could cost companies a fortune in case their data storage is damaged.
Google’s data center in Oklahoma also made the list, featuring murals on the outside walls created by artist Jenny Odell which were drawn to resemble satellite images of swimming pools, circular farms and water treatment plants on Google Maps. (Image: Google)
Industry experts believe that symbolism encourages IT companies to put great effort into the design of their data centers, even though they are often not open to the public.
Data centers are physical spaces where IT companies store their valuable data and content whose creative design can be used to symbolize the identity of a company.
As data centers also consume huge amounts of electricity, IT companies are naturally compelled to consider more eco-friendly design.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
