MiCiM delivers 1.5MW data centre upgrade for major client in Slough
MiCiM were appointed by a major international data centre operator as the main contractor to carry out a 1.5MW upgrade on the ground floor of a live two-storey datacentre site in Slough, the UK’s foremost datacentre hub. Completed in 2025, this represents the final phase of this 11,000+m² colocation facility.
MiCiM were already familiar with the site and had worked there on prior projects under the previous owner. This gave us an opportunity to impress, and build a relationship with, a new client. In addition to MiCiM’s role as main contractor, we also provided quality control, commissioning, document control and planning services.
Our approach
Although this was a smaller project than others in MiCiM’s portfolio, with an on-site duration of less than a year, it was not without its challenges. MiCiM created a new dedicated power stream and ancillary plant and services to facilitate, including two new chillers, a new generator, two new transformers, 8 PDUs and 8 static transfer switches
However, this work had to be carried out in a live data centre facility, within the existing constraints of the structure, without causing disruption to day-to-day operations or expanding the building itself. Cabling was a particular challenge, with significant constraints in the available ceiling space. Despite this, a total of 25km of cabling was installed for this project. Modifying pipework, which had to accommodate the new chillers, was also challenging. MiCiM’s M&E Manager, Harry Rutter, explained,
“One of the most delicate issues was migrating the live building IT load to a new chilled water system. MiCiM overcame this by detailed upfront planning and constantly providing clear and concise communications with the client team, working to a strict programme whilst ensuring all works were undertaken safely and to the MiCiM standard.”
One innovative solution to allow business as usual to continue during the project was re-designing the cable runs to route externally, as the original design would have required a tenant of the client relocate.
The MiCiM team’s cooperative approach was demonstrated on this project by accommodating some complex variations without impacting the overall PC date of the project.
Thanks to the team’s efforts, the project was delivered ahead of schedule, achieving practical completion in July 2025 after just 9 months of work on site.