I’ve written about a fair number of tech infrastructures in my time, but walking through the details of NARRA1—the massive hyperscale data center in Laguna built by Digital Edge—made me pause. Here’s a structure that doesn’t just hold petabytes of data; it’s engineered to do it responsibly, quietly, and coolly—despite being smack in the middle of a tropical country known for 40-degree summers and surprise typhoons.
There’s a nerdy story behind this piece and it has to do with reconnecting with friends right after the pandemic. I had been corresponding with Johnny Benitez, a friend from my high school years who had also worked for Google Philippines. After he left Google, we had always planned, over coffee, to pay a visit to JV Rufino — a family friend who I had the pleasure of working with during the INQ7 days — and in 2024, Johnny and I made our way to NARRA1, a data center that has been hailed to have a PUE of below 1.2. What was odd and intriguing about this facility was that it was built over the pandemic, and designed to be an outlier as a “cool” data facility in a tropical country. In April of 2024, we made our trek to Laguna.
Located in Laguna Technopark, just under an hour from Metro Manila, NARRA1 isn’t your average server farm. It’s a $100 million, purpose-built hyperscale data facility that’s been operational since March 2023. And when they say “purpose-built,” they really mean it. From seismic control to flood resistance to a floor load capacity that could support a small tank, the structure is as robust as it is future-ready.
But the real story here is what’s happening inside—and how it stays so remarkably cool.
Let’s talk cooling systems. Most traditional data centers rely heavily on mechanical cooling, which is costly and consumes a lot of water and power. NARRA1 flips the script by using Nortek’s StatePoint® Liquid Cooling (SPLC) system, which is basically the Tesla of data center cooling. It harnesses outdoor air and water in the most efficient way possible, ditching harmful refrigerants in favor of free cooling. The result? An estimated 20% savings in power consumption and up to 50% less water usage compared to traditional setups.
This isn’t just impressive—it’s borderline miraculous in a country that swelters year-round.
Digital Edge is aiming for an annualized PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of under 1.2, which is pretty close to the gold standard globally, but practically unheard of in Southeast Asia. Water efficiency is also a huge win: WUE is pegged at 1.355 liters per kWh, thanks to SPLC’s minimalist water consumption design.
And they didn’t stop at just cooling. The rest of the facility is built with the same level of care—redundant power setups (N+1), smart fire suppression, dual Meet-Me-Rooms for connectivity, and 24/7 biometric security. Think James Bond lair meets eco-conscious Silicon Valley server farm.
What really stands out is how all this aligns with their broader ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) mission. NARRA1 is gunning for LEED Gold and BERDE certification, among others. And with ISO certifications under its belt (14001, 27001, 45001), it’s not just “green marketing”—this is compliance at scale.
All of this makes NARRA1 not only one of the most advanced data centers in the Philippines, but arguably one of the smartest in Asia. It’s a facility that doesn’t just serve the cloud—it floats on the cloud of what’s possible when infrastructure meets intention.
In a LinkedIn post by NEO CEO Raymund Rufino, this 2025, NARRA1 will receive the BERDE certifed data center award, an award given by the Philippine Green Building Council to recognize the impact of climate change in the real estate industry.
