Ali Fard is assistant professor of architecture at the University of Virginia. He is coeditor of New Geographies, 7: Geographies of Information.

• ContentsIntroduction: Down into the Cloud1. Visions: The Sociotechnical Construction of the Cloud2. Interface: Urbanizing the Cloud3. Shadows: Hidden Forms and Territorial Instruments4. Concentrations: Campuses and Enclaves5. Extensions: Farms, Pipes, Mines6. Conclusion: Urbanism in the Shadow of DataAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

"Grounding the Cloud describes the contours of data clouds in the computing landscape – not only the physical plant of data storage but the remote urban outcroppings and the environmental blowback from an infrastructure that is not immediately visible or apparent. Ali Fard gives shape to this stretchy territory of misleading scripts, counterculture disguises, and smart-city fallacies that tries to obscure its massive accumulations of capital." —Keller Easterling, author of Medium Design: Knowing How to Work on the World"Timely and important, Grounding the Cloud reflects current developments in contemporary industrial architecture and places them within the historical perspective of earlier infrastructure projects. Ali Fard's unique perspective offers a truly compelling investigation of the physical and spatial manifestations of the digital economy." —Dietmar Offenhuber, author of Autographic Design: The Matter of Data in a Self-Inscribing World

Ali Fard is assistant professor of architecture at the University of Virginia. He is coeditor of New Geographies, 7: Geographies of Information.

• ContentsIntroduction: Down into the Cloud1. Visions: The Sociotechnical Construction of the Cloud2. Interface: Urbanizing the Cloud3. Shadows: Hidden Forms and Territorial Instruments4. Concentrations: Campuses and Enclaves5. Extensions: Farms, Pipes, Mines6. Conclusion: Urbanism in the Shadow of DataAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

"Grounding the Cloud describes the contours of data clouds in the computing landscape – not only the physical plant of data storage but the remote urban outcroppings and the environmental blowback from an infrastructure that is not immediately visible or apparent. Ali Fard gives shape to this stretchy territory of misleading scripts, counterculture disguises, and smart-city fallacies that tries to obscure its massive accumulations of capital." —Keller Easterling, author of Medium Design: Knowing How to Work on the World"Timely and important, Grounding the Cloud reflects current developments in contemporary industrial architecture and places them within the historical perspective of earlier infrastructure projects. Ali Fard's unique perspective offers a truly compelling investigation of the physical and spatial manifestations of the digital economy." —Dietmar Offenhuber, author of Autographic Design: The Matter of Data in a Self-Inscribing World

Ali Fard is assistant professor of architecture at the University of Virginia. He is coeditor of New Geographies, 7: Geographies of Information.

• ContentsIntroduction: Down into the Cloud1. Visions: The Sociotechnical Construction of the Cloud2. Interface: Urbanizing the Cloud3. Shadows: Hidden Forms and Territorial Instruments4. Concentrations: Campuses and Enclaves5. Extensions: Farms, Pipes, Mines6. Conclusion: Urbanism in the Shadow of DataAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

"Grounding the Cloud describes the contours of data clouds in the computing landscape – not only the physical plant of data storage but the remote urban outcroppings and the environmental blowback from an infrastructure that is not immediately visible or apparent. Ali Fard gives shape to this stretchy territory of misleading scripts, counterculture disguises, and smart-city fallacies that tries to obscure its massive accumulations of capital." —Keller Easterling, author of Medium Design: Knowing How to Work on the World"Timely and important, Grounding the Cloud reflects current developments in contemporary industrial architecture and places them within the historical perspective of earlier infrastructure projects. Ali Fard's unique perspective offers a truly compelling investigation of the physical and spatial manifestations of the digital economy." —Dietmar Offenhuber, author of Autographic Design: The Matter of Data in a Self-Inscribing World