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Innovative IT Complex STOS Gdańsk University of Technology is getting closer to the launch [Video, FOTO]
Author:Mariusz Dasiewicz
On the campus of Gdańsk University of Technology, a state-of-the-art STOS Competency Center is being created. Work on this unique country and intelligent facility goes full steam. Currently, installations inside the building, which will have a huge impact on the functioning of the "heart" of the object, or server room, are being performed there. Construction works are also ongoing, which are unusual for the cubic objects.
CK STOS (Smart and Transdisciplinary knOwledge Services) Gdańsk University of Technology is established on the campus of the university, at Traugutta Street. The investment is to serve as a multidisciplinary data collection and processing centre – according to the latest global standards. The capabilities of CK STOS will also be used in scientific research in the fields of physics, chemistry, astronomy, biotechnology or medicine, as well as implementation research for the commercialization of science. The investment contractor, selected by tender, is the Sopot NDI Group.
– This is the largest investment in the post-war history of Gdańsk University of Technology – emphasised Chancellor PG, Mariusz Miler. – In the second quarter of 2022 the facility will be ready for use. Our students and graduates will be able to see how modern server support systems work in the next academic year.
However, not only students from the University of Technology will benefit from the construction. Conversations are already underway with the authorities of other three-city colleges about colocation, that is, the transfer of their servers to CK STOS. This would reduce their costs of purchasing and maintaining their equipment.
– The building will also serve a business environment. The computing power of the servers that will be delivered here will also provide the possibility of development in the field of IT to many companies in Pomeranian Voivodeship – noted Chancellor PG.
Installations for the "heart" of the STOS PG Competence Center
The main element of CK STOS will be a server room equipped with advanced IT infrastructure, including a supercomputer. The device will ultimately have one of the highest computing power in this part of Europe, allowing it to carry out complex simulations and transfer, processing and archiving of huge data sets.
– Our task is to provide the room with adequate temperature and humidity, as well as protection from fire, water and electromagnetic fields," says Aneta Tul-Sierpińska, head of sanitary works from NDI. – The corridor that leads to the server room is nearly seven meters high. This gives us the opportunity to run our installations two-track – a part in the inter-mountain space, and a part in a special space under the "lifted" floor. This is a very rare solution.
The installation of the precision air conditioning system and the water fog will begin soon, which is also a logistical challenge due to the size and weight of the pipes themselves. The diameters of the steel plumbing pipes inside the building are almost half a meter, and their length exceeds seven meters.
A technological cooling system is also being implemented with a heat recovery installation, which will be used to heat the entire building. The facility will have an intelligent monitoring system to ensure continuity of operation of all components.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W-r75kcfw
CK STOS construction on three shifts
To catch up on the harsh winter, the robots are currently being run in a two- or even three-shift system.
– We have already completed the building's fillers at level -2 and -1. Work is underway on the insulation and zasps of the outer walls of higher floors. Most of the floor level 0 has already been made. We started making the level +1 walls and we are rolling the level +2 ceiling – says Katarzyna Przybylska, a construction engineer from NDI. – The structure of the building does not resemble typical cubic buildings. We manufacture walls that work as shields and suspended ceilings, which are located on several levels within one storey.
Despite ongoing construction work, the NDI, while maintaining all construction standards and technologies, is already running finishing works inside the building.
– We started thermal insulation of the ceilings of underground garages, the first painting of walls, and literally in a moment we will move to the assembly of steel substructures, necessary for fixing glass walls, which surround laboratories and halls – explains Michalina Szewczuk, the general contractor of NDI.
The "bunker" with server room, lobby, porter room, toilets, so-called showroom and office rooms will be located on the ground floor. On the first floor there will be offices, conference room, social facilities and technical rooms. At the level of +2 and +3 there will be, among others, offices, fan room and refrigeration equipment and technical part operating the server plant. The building will have two underground floors for parking lots and technical rooms.
The basic cost of the investment, which will end in the first half of 2022, is PLN 155.7 million. PLN 90.1 million comes from the EU grant under the European Regional Development Fund, obtained thanks to the involvement in the project of the Marshal's Office of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. However, the total investment cost will exceed PLN 200 million – the difference is due to the need to supplement CK STOS with additional, specialized equipment (including a supercomputer), which the university will gradually buy and install in the facility in subsequent years.
Source: Gdańsk University of Technology
