# Architecture, engineering & MEP design

Part ID: 9.03 · Layer 9 (Building shell, site & construction)

Architecture and engineering firms that design a data center's building envelope and its mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems before construction begins.

This is the design layer that sits between the developer/tenant (9.01, 9.02) and the general contractors (9.04) who build to the design. Architecture covers the shell and site layout; MEP engineering specifies the power distribution, cooling, and plumbing systems that Layers 5 through 8 of this taxonomy physically supply, translating a target IT load and density into drawings a contractor can build from and equipment vendors can quote against.
AI campuses have compressed design timelines even as the systems being designed have gotten more complex — liquid cooling loops, higher-voltage electrical distribution, and larger single-site power capacities all require MEP engineering that a decade of enterprise-colocation templates didn't anticipate. Firms that have built repeatable, pre-engineered designs for hyperscale and AI-campus MEP can turn projects faster than those still customizing each site from scratch, which is the main differentiator investors watching this space should track — that and the engineering labor capacity to staff a larger pipeline of concurrent projects at all.

**AI delta:** AI campuses require MEP designs for higher-voltage electrical distribution and liquid cooling loops that a decade of enterprise-colocation templates didn't anticipate.

## Companies

| Company | Role | Confidence | Ownership | Ticker | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AECOM | designer | inferred | public | ACM |  |
| AtkinsRéalis | designer | inferred | public | ATRL.TO |  |
| Fluor | designer | inferred | public | FLR |  |
| Jacobs | designer | inferred | public | J |  |
| Stantec | designer | inferred | public | STN |  |
| Sweco | designer | inferred | public | SWEC-B.ST |  |
| Tetra Tech | designer | inferred | public | TTEK |  |
| WSP | designer | inferred | public | WSP.TO |  |
| Arup | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Bechtel | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Black & Veatch | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Burns & McDonnell | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Buro Happold | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Corgan | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Cundall | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Deerns | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Exyte | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Gensler | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| HDR | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| kW Mission Critical | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| M Moser | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Mott MacDonald | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| NV5 | designer | inferred | unknown |  | Acuren |
| Page | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Ramboll | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Salas O'Brien | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Sargent & Lundy | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Sheehan Nagle Hartray | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Syska Hennessy | designer | inferred | private |  |  |
| Ware Malcomb | designer | inferred | private |  |  |

Confidence tags: disclosed = company/filing statement; reported = trade press or partner list; inferred = taxonomy lead.