Top 10: Data Centre Architects

Behind every hyperscale campus and colocation facility sits a complex architectural process, transforming extraordinary technical and security demands into the buildings that underpin our digital economy.

With AI workloads reshaping rack density and power requirements almost by the month, the companies capable of keeping pace have become some of the most sought-after names in the industry.

In this Top 10, Data Centre Magazine ranks the leading building, design and architectural organisations making the biggest mark on the digital infrastructure sector, chosen for their project pipelines, technical innovation and influence over how the data centre industry builds its future.

10. Syska Hennessy Group

CEO: Cyrus J. Izzo
Founded: 1928
HQ Location: New York City, US

Syska Hennessy's reputation within its data centre circles runs deep.

Founded in New York in 1928, the engineering firm has spent decades shaping mission-critical facilities, with MEP expertise underpinning some of the industry's most demanding builds.

Its focus on resilience and energy efficiency has made it a trusted partner for operators who cannot tolerate downtime, and that century-long engineering pedigree still shows in the detail.

9. HOK

CEO: Eli Hoisington and Susan Klumpp Williams (Co-CEOs)
Founded: 1955
HQ Location: St. Louis, Missouri, US

HOK, which is best known for designing stadiums, airports and corporate campuses, has steadily built a credible digital infrastructure practice by applying the systems thinking that shapes its largest civic projects.

The St. Louis firm brings sustainability expertise honed over decades of green building work, which is useful given how closely the power and cooling efficiency of data centres are scrutinised.

A 2024 research project by HOK evaluated how office towers can be transformed into AI hubs and urban data centres, embedding sustainability along the way.

8. Arcadis

CEO: Heather Polinsky
Founded: 1888
HQ Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Few firms on this list can claim roots stretching back to the nineteenth century, but Arcadis has used that longevity well.

Its 2014 acquisition of Callison enhanced its architectural capability, and the combined practice now advises data centre operators on site selection, sustainability strategy and design delivery.

In late November last year, the company announced that its subsidiary, KUA, secured four significant data centre projects in Germany, totalling 229 company project wins at the time of announcement.

Under its new CEO Heather Polinsky, who assumed the role on 1 March, Arcadis leans on its scale, offices across dozens of countries, to serve multinational clients navigating different regulatory landscapes.

7. Arup

CEO: Jerome Frost
Founded: 1946
HQ Location: London, UK

The London-founded engineering company Arup built its reputation on structurally daring projects such as the Sydney Opera House, and has since applied that rigour to keeping servers cool and powered in our digital world.

That includes working on data centre projects with high-profile clients like NTT Communications, Digital Realty and Flexnode.

Its multidisciplinary model brings engineers, sustainability consultants and digital specialists under one roof, suiting a sector where mechanical performance matters as much as the envelope.

Employee-owned and led by CEO Jerome Frost, Arup brings independence from shareholder pressure to its thinking.

6. Stantec

CEO: Gord Johnston
Founded: 1954
HQ Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Stantec's data centre offer has grown considerably through acquisition, folding in Morrison Hershfield's engineering depth and ESD's specialism in energy-efficient, mission-critical design.

As a designer of infrastructure for Ark Data Centres, SEGRO and Digital Realty Stantec has become one of the most reliable firms for early-stage data centre consultation.

The company can take a project from early feasibility through to detailed mechanical and electrical engineering without handing off to a third party.

Edmonton-headquartered and led by CEO Gord Johnston, Stantec has leaned into this integrated model as more operators want fewer consultants managing more of the process, and faster delivery timelines to match.

5. Gensler

CEO: Elizabeth Brink and Jordan Goldstein (Co-CEOs)
Founded: 1965
HQ Location: San Francisco, California, US

Gensler is the world's largest architecture firm by revenue, and its data centre work benefits from a research culture spanning nearly every building type imaginable.

That cross-pollination shows in how the firm approaches campuses meant to blend into surrounding communities rather than visibly announce themselves as industrial infrastructure.

Founded in San Francisco in 1965 and led by co-chief executives Elizabeth Brink and Jordan Goldstein, Gensler pairs that design sensibility with the muscle of a firm spanning dozens of offices worldwide.

4. HDR

CEO: John Henderson
Founded: 1917
Location: Omaha, Nebraska, US

Omaha-based HDR has built its reputation on essential sectors like healthcare, water and transport, and carried that same engineering discipline into data centres.

Employee-owned since 1996, its structure encourages long-term thinking over short-term contract chasing, something operators planning decade-long campus build-outs tend to value.

Under CEO John Henderson, HDR leans on in-house engineering strength rather than outsourcing the technical detail, giving it tighter control over the mechanical and electrical systems that make or break a mission-critical facility.

3. Corgan

CEO: Scott Ruch
Founded: 1938
Location: Dallas, Texas, US

Corgan has become one of the most important names in architecture and design, ranked the No.4 architecture firm by Building Design and Construction.

Founded in Dallas in 1938 and still headquartered there, the employee-owned practice built its early reputation designing airports, work that demands the same obsessive attention to logistics and uninterrupted operation that defines a modern data centre.

Under CEO Scott Ruch, Corgan has expanded aggressively, acquiring firms including Cooper Robertson, while continuing to serve hyperscale operators.

Its research-driven approach to design has become something of an industry benchmark.

2. Jacobs

CEO: Bob Pragada
Founded: 1947
Location: Dallas, Texas, US

Jacobs is a technical professional services giant with engineering roots stretching back to 1947 and a footprint spanning infrastructure sectors well beyond buildings.

That breadth matters in data centres, where grid connections and environmental consulting determine whether a site is viable before an architect draws a single wall.

Headquartered in Dallas and led by chairman and CEO Bob Pragada, Jacobs pairs that infrastructure expertise with genuine design capability, advising operators on grid capacity and renewable sourcing for the buildings.

Few firms offer an end-to-end perspective at Jacobs' scale.

1. AECOM

CEO: Troy Rudd
Founded: 1990
Location: Dallas, Texas, US

AECOM, formed in 1990 through the consolidation of several established engineering and architecture firms, has grown into one of the largest infrastructure consultancies in the world, and data centres now sit firmly within its core business.

Headquartered in Dallas and led by CEO Troy Rudd, AECOM brings design, engineering, programme management and construction advisory together under one roof, a combination that appeals to hyperscale operators managing enormous, time-pressured build programmes across continents.

The firm currently leads the global data centre construction market by share, and over the past 25 years has supported the delivery of more than 11 gigawatts of capacity across 45 countries.

Its involvement across the entire project lifecycle gives it an influence over how the sector builds that few competitors can rival.