The Cloud Has a Zip Code: Designing Responsible Infrastructure for the Intelligence Age – Buildings 2026 Keynote

The cloud is not in the sky. It has a zip code. It connects to a grid, consumes resources, occupies land, affects communities, and carries a carbon footprint. As AI and advanced computing reshape our economy, data centers are becoming one of the defining infrastructure systems of our time. The question is less about if we can build enough capacity and now more about how we can design it responsibly and in a way that earns the social license to operate. This keynote presentation, delivered by Gresham Smith Chief Digital Transformation Office Mike Sewell, touched on integrating energy, resilience, sustainability, technology, and community into the physical backbone of the intelligence age.