Buildings are pretty much everything we see; they occupy either living space or anything to be put inside. Data centers are what homes the web, and for Google, they are the ones that store what the company has in its disposal.
Just like the importance of modern living, those buildings are pretty much 'dull' and 'boring' to look at. Google wants to change this perspective with the Data Center Mural Project. And what it does is to put beauty on the massive 'dull' beasts.
To initiate the project, Google is beautifying its data center buildings by making artists to paint giant murals on the buildings. The idea behind the project is to add human elements to what was normally described as utilitarian building.
According to Google about its data center whereabouts, they're located in:
- America: Berkeley County, South Carolina; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Douglas County, Georgia; Jackson County, Alabama; Lenoir, North Carolina; Mayes County, Oklahoma; Montgomery County, Tennessee; Quilicura, Chile; and The Dalles, Oregon.
- Asia: Changhua County and Singapore.
- Europe: Dublin, Ireland; Eemshaven, Netherlands; Hamina, Finland; St. Ghislain, Belgium.
Out of the 15 data centers it has, Google is starting with two.
In Mayes County, Oklahoma, artist Jenny Odell designed a mural that represents "the flow of goods, power and information." The art was designed by combining bits and pieces of satellite imagery from Google Maps in Photoshop. The mural was then handpainted by several workers.
In St. Ghislain, Belgium, street artist Oli-B has designed a abstract mural that portrays "the cloud" in the context of the data center’s local community, employees and environment.
The tech giant Google said that at least two more data centers will become the canvas for dedicated artists. The company is also considering in doing the same with the 11 other data centers that are scattered around the world.
Data Center Mural Project is a project in progress, and it's all available on its website.
