Cloud Society

Lately, colossal structures known as “Data Centers” are springing up all over Israel and the rest of the world. Israel has a clear strategic advantage: As an infrastructural link between the global east and west, it may play a pivotal role in connecting the world’s internet and communication infrastructures.
Today, many data centers are built without consideration for the residents forced to live near these huge structures, and sometimes even despite their protests. Trillions of dollars are invested in this emerging industry, though insufficient attention is given to the environmental impacts it generates. These huge data centers are usually built near densely populated areas with existing efficient communication, transportation, and energy infrastructures, which are essential for their continuous operation, while completely ignoring the needs of nearby residents. This project proposes a new approach to the planning of Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructures, while highlighting the environmental and energy costs associated with the race for technological advancement.
The project includes a new transportation and technological path connecting Eilat and Be’er Sheva, based on the global submarine communication infrastructure. New Data Centers and Solar Power Plants are built along this route. The new planning approach is expanded in the compound of the new Data Center and Solar Power Plant in Neot Smadar in the Israeli Negev desert.
Over the years, many initiatives have sought to connect the Israeli Negev to the rest of the country, but none have succeeded. It is mostly neglected, disconnected from transportation infrastructures, and houses many polluting facilities. Its status has been set as the national “Back Yard” where all the services the country would like to conceal and forget about are concentrated. However, the Negev desert lies along the central path connecting the global east and west and therefore has the potential to become a major player in global infrastructure and for the towns that benefit from it. This begs the question: how can the spatial phenomenon of Data Centers be utilized to develop high-quality residential spaces in the Negev Desert?