The USD $10 billion mindset: designing infrastructure for legacy, not just scale

In a recent episode of Transform Tomorrow’s Thinking Today, Tai Hollingsbee offered a refreshingly human answer to that question. Rather than chasing the biggest or fastest data centre build, he’d invest in communities that could benefit from the ‘by-product’ of a project on this scale — tangible and additive social outcomes from co-located community infrastructure.

It’s a powerful reminder that infrastructure is about purpose as much as it is about performance. And sometimes, the most meaningful impact comes from investing in places — and people — that have been overlooked.

Data centres are essential to modern life. They enable public services to function, a kidney transplant to be delivered on time to a hospital, keep satellites in space and underpin the global financial system that lets us pay for our coffee on our phones. But despite their critical role, they’re often seen as resource-heavy and disconnected from the communities around them.

Land acquisition, energy consumption and water usage can create tension — especially in regions where resources are already stretched. Without clear community benefit, data centres have been being viewed as extractive infrastructure: necessary, but not welcome.

This perception gap is both reputational and structural. Infrastructure that lacks social license is going to be harder to build, fund and sustain. The demand for computing power is at its greatest in human history, and therefore there is urgency to rethink how — and where — we build.

Data centres built with community purpose can deliver meaningful outcomes across sectors: 

The ESG investment market has influenced the capital flows into infrastructure projects where communities are impacted. Investors are looking for projects that deliver measurable community outcomes on top of technical performance. Over the next two decades, an estimated $70 trillion will transfer from Baby Boomers to Gen Z — a generation that values transparency, sustainability and social impact. These are the investors of the future.

Governments are also shifting focus. Regional development, digital equity and climate resilience are becoming central to infrastructure planning. Data centres that serve communities — not just systems — are better positioned to attract funding, earn trust and deliver long-term value.

This is where the $10 billion mindset becomes strategic. We don’t need to change the entire industry overnight. Instead, we should be aiming to change the lives of the communities that need it most — and prove that infrastructure can be both high-performing and high-impact.

Legacy isn’t measured in gigawatts; it’s measured in outcomes. When infrastructure helps a school stay open, a hospital run cheaper, or a young person learn a new skill, that leaves behind a lasting legacy.

Designing for legacy means asking different questions:

• “Who benefits from this project?”
• “What impact will it have in five, ten or twenty years?”
• “How can we build in ways that strengthen communities?”

At GHD, we believe infrastructure should be resilient, regenerative and responsive to human needs. That includes the digital infrastructure shaping our future.

We may not all have $10 billion to invest, but we do have choices about how we design, where we build and what we prioritise. Co-located data centres with community benefits are a blueprint for infrastructure that leaves a legacy. When we build with purpose, we’re not only changing systems; we’re helping change lives.