“As warehouses for technology, data centers are far from human-centric architecture. That’s partially because cooling, maintenance, and security are emphasized in design. Yet scores of people work in these enormous buildings — humans maintain and operate the buildings and the technology within, creating workplace communities with a wide range of functions, from social to utilitarian.”

After a year-long study of six data centers across the U.S. and Europe and the daily user experiences of the people that work within them, five takeaways proved to be principal in humanizing data center design.

Read more from architect Zoe Cloonan’s “Five Lessons in Employee Engagement from Mission Critical Facilities” featured on FacilitiesNet.com here.