https://www.zakkostura.com/articles daily 0.75 2025-09-18 https://www.zakkostura.com/articles/the-need-for-speed monthly 0.5 2025-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/be489164-076e-41ba-b1bd-f87dd32bed4f/AI+INFRA-V1+_ZAC.pptx.png Articles - The Need for Speed - Make it stand out Our data centers now need to be purpose-built for the technology inside, but the technology is being revolutionized every twelve months. Case in point: the roadmap for the Grace Blackwell servers over a 36-month period. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/16beb16a-03be-4105-ad88-495a7b1a919f/Untitled+presentation+%281%29.png Articles - The Need for Speed - Make it stand out Renderings of a three-phase build-out using Flexnode’s factory-built compute modules. Each subsequent phase is triggered and defined by upgrades to available power, new business requirements and the latest technology at the time of the expansion (source: Flexnode). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/521123cf-8ac3-44b7-85a7-d7751f25d325/AI+INFRA-V1+_ZAC.pptx+%281%29.png Articles - The Need for Speed - Make it stand out Comparison of a traditional, monolithic data center lifespan with one unlocked by Flexnode’s modular solution. In the case of the latter, initial tranches of compute power can be brought online earlier, the facility can be scaled up as needed, and the useful life of the campus can be extended indefinitely through tactical, continued renewal (source: Flexnode). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/35bbc6e1-084f-4f7a-9672-ee973666d9e3/Header+Image+Enlarged.png Articles - The Need for Speed - Make it stand out Just a few of the AI-generated data center renderings from my LinkedIn feed, accompanying announcements of multi-gigawatt projects to be delivered using largely conventional construction methods. https://www.zakkostura.com/articles/reframing-an-asset-repurposing-vacant-office-space-for-high-density-compute monthly 0.5 2025-09-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/8d2f64d7-c09a-47cf-a0b3-4232f5c3ac4f/bztkim3mktlkwvz8kbpp.webp Articles - Reframing an Asset: Vacant Office Space for High-Density Compute - Make it stand out Last year, DivcoWest completed a redevelopment of 325 Hudson Street that not only expanded the power and cooling capacity of the building but also included readily-available roof space to expand this infrastructure if required for new programmatic uses (image: DivcoWest). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/96af5cd8-41e0-4898-8ad6-edb47502275a/CoreSite-NY1-New-York-Data-Center-Webpage-OG-Image.jpg Articles - Reframing an Asset: Vacant Office Space for High-Density Compute - Make it stand out Conventional data center buildouts, like the one at 32 Avenue of the Americas, are driven by available space and are consequently large and require significant up-front infrastructure upgrades before any IT capacity is brought online (image: CoreSite). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/38e19911-4747-4d2d-8c54-7f14abca89f1/135-West-1.jpg Articles - Reframing an Asset: Vacant Office Space for High-Density Compute - Make it stand out 135 West 50th Street in Manhattan (image: James Hooker). https://www.zakkostura.com/articles/an-inflection-point-for-data-centers monthly 0.5 2025-07-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/e4c8994c-5f06-4ec0-862f-62ed6e09e012/20250320_140359.jpg Articles - An Inflection Point for Data Centers - Make it stand out One of NVIDIA’s Grace Blackwell nodes with 8 GB200 GPUs mounted inside. The tubes supply chilled water from a central manifold to a cold plate on top of each chip. These tubes are in essence a new network of capillaries that make the facility’s cooling system orders of magnitude more complex (source: Zak Kostura). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/93e3292e-a865-42d7-9e49-117eaf8ec841/fEO4RQXvSkNP6jdx.jpg Articles - An Inflection Point for Data Centers - Make it stand out Jensen Huang introducing Vera Rubin Ultra in March 2025, a standard-sized server rack. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/19059dc0-f9d1-4223-9fae-53ce22c55f51/5237-W-Jefferson-Blvd-Los-Angeles-CA.jpg Articles - An Inflection Point for Data Centers - Make it stand out That one rack would consume roughly the same amount as 5237 West Jefferson Boulevard in Los Angeles does on a typical day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/766ddc06-1f78-459b-a69d-175d8ccc137a/RS043-Blog-Data-centres-and-white-space.jpg Articles - An Inflection Point for Data Centers - Make it stand out Conventional data center white space (source: Rainford). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/b0d9bbe4-fb97-43d4-93a5-dc533607c1d4/GoRnOKWbYAAgHAY.jpg Articles - An Inflection Point for Data Centers - Make it stand out The comprehensive integration of power, cooling and network into the racks of AI servers upends the conventional paradigm of “white space” (source: NVIDIA). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/539187cb-7e82-4a1d-9373-d97b8584f3b5/20250320_140207.jpg Articles - An Inflection Point for Data Centers - Make it stand out Closeup of the NVIDIA DGX SuperPod (source: Zak Kostura). https://www.zakkostura.com/articles/ai-in-aec-tracking-use-cases monthly 0.5 2025-02-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/3628e634-8260-4ced-aaf6-5e65c8a95f98/8424947336_a8f6ce5eca_b.jpg Articles - AI for Design: It Starts with a Mindset The Concorde, mounted on the pier below the space shuttle, in a measure of unintended symbolism (Image source: Wikimedia Commons). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/7fea1229-95f9-4c0f-a96e-323ddac831cd/Design+Workflow.jpg Articles - AI for Design: It Starts with a Mindset The two stages of a Design Iteration. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/69d2d6e5-719e-4320-bef0-ef32de906cdb/Design+Workflow.jpg Articles - AI for Design: It Starts with a Mindset Simplified Iterative Design Workflow. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/c434f7e7-c1b3-4a46-8c47-62214336d1b4/ezgif-1-044aa1e430.jpg Articles - AI for Design: It Starts with a Mindset AI can dramatically accelerate wind analysis. But for the results to be reliable, the model needs to be trained on enough data to fully capture the wide range of possible building shapes and surrounding environments. As a result, the AI models for wind analysis that I have found are built for fairly narrow use cases, and even then they still require massive amounts of data to properly train. (Image source: sweco.fi) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/11cabc2b-1055-4ef4-ac02-3ae8c3daf276/Sketchbook+-+page+2+%281%29.png Articles - AI for Design: It Starts with a Mindset The Project Management workflow progresses in parallel with design. The effort required for Project Management responds to key milestones in the design process. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/d15fd4eb-a892-4dd1-b7ef-c41407dd84f4/08e369a5166c6aa77d29c2adecd0fa04.jpg Articles - AI for Design: It Starts with a Mindset Grumman F-14 Tomcat https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/e7104d26-7d43-4f68-a89e-ca62bd116003/Dubai_Marina_Skyline.jpg Articles - AI for Design: It Starts with a Mindset AI models (specifically Generative Adversarial Networks) have demonstrated an ability to predict wind interference effects of other tall buildings within an urban cluster, something that would be exceptionally difficult for individuals to do without extensive testing. https://www.zakkostura.com/articles/ai-in-aec-can-we-revolutionize-better-this-time monthly 0.5 2025-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/af39c9f0-32c7-4763-9576-f20063244140/1733197777337-2e40b5dc-df7b-4b2d-9cec-20324fb35049_1.jpg.png Articles - AI in AEC: Can we Revolutionize Better this Time? - Make it stand out We thought we were pretty funny. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/9669eba2-a627-49a6-80ba-89d9bb48e1ad/download+%281%29.jpg Articles - AI in AEC: Can we Revolutionize Better this Time? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/5a1ce3ab-28ad-4a15-a30c-2176a0e5506d/image+%285%29.jpg Articles - AI in AEC: Can we Revolutionize Better this Time? - Make it stand out Without a doubt, BIM helps on complex projects. But it only works with tight coordination between partners, and that coordination is now a prerequisite regardless of project complexity. https://www.zakkostura.com/articles/rethinking-innovation monthly 0.5 2025-01-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/9a42c9c7-1fc7-4509-afd0-66eb4990ef49/imgonline-com-ua-twotoone-u7N5vRoRmic4Dpo.jpg Articles - Rethinking Innovation: When Less is More - Make it stand out Two very different views of the same building. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/b7cf3d55-eaa6-41cd-a36d-acef8d98421d/Screenshot+2025-01-07+064854.jpg Articles - Rethinking Innovation: When Less is More - Make it stand out An example of the kind of complex structural detailing needed to stiffen tall buildings using outrigger and belt truss systems (image from Shanghai Tower, not from projects referenced in this article). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/38c50940-5121-4074-9134-b92c7d6dc38c/v5d2c43q931c1.jpg Articles - Rethinking Innovation: When Less is More - Make it stand out The building, roughly one year after its official opening. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/f46c3c73-880f-4b67-baa4-10aae200139d/649f46386f86074e92a04e4c_giphy-22.gif Articles - Rethinking Innovation: When Less is More https://www.zakkostura.com/articles/from-stone-to-steel monthly 0.5 2025-01-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/f68fb8c6-73af-4b97-832b-39b050ffb88d/file_enhanced.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Aerial view of the Hagia Sophia, showing large piers to buttress the perimeter wall against lateral thrust (image source unknown). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/b29eefdc-a277-458e-a672-73a53144abb0/imgonline-com-ua-twotoone-BfDohamkX7wYQ.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out The straight-line timber formwork used to construct Chapel Lomas de Cuernavaca, Mexico, and the resulting final form. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/a57e7313-5a9e-4347-99e9-e7eac722ee69/1-s2.0-S2352012424007112-gr3.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Sportcenter Paradies, Kanton Basel-Land, Switzerland, showing modular reuse of formwork for thin-shell concrete structures. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/623830db-85b7-40cb-a127-e8a89e634395/imgonline-com-ua-twotoone-S6tR9Jkw9kMqcM.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Comparison of sections between the Hagia Sophia, left, and Notre Dame de Paris, right. The comparative lightness of Notre Dame’s structure is apparent. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/cd031396-a0c4-476e-a404-e32907f87944/Picture11.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Munich Olympic Park, Munich, Germany https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/0b017d4a-a63c-4f02-84d1-739b6541d43f/imgonline-com-ua-twotoone-1mKrAXR7F1iXsF32.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Left image: The shape of a string subjected to three different loading patterns (consisting of one, two and three intermediate weights suspended from it), and the corresponding “purely compressive” form - an inverse of the purely tensile. Right image: Jasper Johns’ The Lagoon, comprised of a series of perfect mathematical catenaries. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/f8b73907-f895-42b8-a74a-7f51c284a53a/imgonline-com-ua-twotoone-PRTururoGKqAEpQ.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Apse of the Hagia Sophia, left, versus the apse of the Basilica of Saint Denis, right (images courtesy of Tugba and Wikimedia Commons). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/398db7ac-7ad5-4aec-ae59-0d6a979dd2cb/Baalbeck_Temple.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek (image courtesy of Paul Saad). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/02687d3c-e197-4a9e-ac92-1254721e76e7/Hagia-Sophia-Laengsschnitt.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Sectional view of the Hagia Sophia (drawing courtesy of Wilhelm Lübke). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/e15cadac-31b8-44b5-8ef5-ddeb245ffc73/2012-09-07-11-45-19.jpg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Catenary model for Sagrada Familia, crafted by Antoni Gaudi. The model itself is now an exhibit piece in Barcelona. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/289249d6-ef7a-431a-845f-939baeb1e424/download.jpeg Articles - From Stone to Steel: The Ever-Evolving Quest for Structural Efficiency - Make it stand out Flying buttresses beside the nave of Notre Dame de Paris (image courtesy of Getty Images). https://www.zakkostura.com/contact daily 0.75 2025-01-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/9b913b1a-a3a8-489c-8b46-a6e9d083b8f3/_DSC7163-Enhanced-NR.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/f797171f-33fe-446b-8a10-7f85ac07798d/image+%284%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/0bf93515-accb-491a-b57c-6901b4b0dff6/image+%281%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/bf2ccffd-d168-4b27-89df-8d1fcd767b5f/image+%283%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/d6c21f94-7989-43c1-b68b-e4e316b05f1a/image+%282%29.png https://www.zakkostura.com/home daily 1.0 2025-07-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/bc7d5ed9-cc12-414e-a682-cf30e029fc2f/15275936277_ed9d714691_b.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/78341435-ac88-4f75-aeb6-2ab1a4735da3/Cable+Net+250+%28c%29+Zak+Kostura-2.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/677b2e64daf920286a1114c0/379ea901-2fdd-4349-81fd-444bbb42e86e/leadimage_mexicointernationalairport.jpg