StimULI - Data Centers at the Edge

OFFICEUNTITLED was pleased to participate in ULI Los Angeles’s sold-out StimULI event, Data Centers at the Edge: Designing the New Digital Core, held on September 25, 2025 at AECOM’s Downtown Los Angeles office. The panel examined how edge data centers are emerging as the physical infrastructure of the digital economy—and how their increasing proximity to urban centers is reshaping cities. As AI and data-driven technologies accelerate demand for localized infrastructure, data centers are becoming an urban design challenge, raising critical questions around regulation, sustainability, and integration with the built environment.

Shawn Gehle, Co-Founder and Principal of OFFICEUNTITLED, joined industry leaders from Equinix, Corgan, and Turner Construction to discuss how this evolving building type can move beyond its role as hidden infrastructure. Drawing from his experience in workplace and mixed-use design, Shawn emphasized the opportunity to reimagine data centers as intentional, context-responsive components of the city—designed not only for performance, but for long-term urban compatibility.