Sener culture

What inspired you to pursue a career in Architecture?

I am an architect, and I have always wanted to be an architect. From a very young age I was drawing on almost any surface I could get my hands on, even on the walls at home. As I grew up it never occurred to me to choose another profession. It was clear to me that I was a scientist, I still remember with horror the Latin classes, but mathematics and physics alone were not enough. Architecture is the balance between art and science, it drinks from all the disciplines of human development, puts them in a blender and makes them work together. Art, science and technology. It’s the most fun you can have. I enjoy the challenges it poses and instinctively, like all architects, I always end up trying to explain things by drawing.

How did you join Sener?

Good fate brought me to Quark, hence to Sener.

When I finished my degree in Architecture, it seemed to me that it lacked something, that it was not just about making beautiful drawings so I got a Master’s degree in Project Managing and worked at small studios, I ended up doing an internship at Sener in the planning department.

Thanks to this I started working for Rafael de la Hoz for many years and this opened my eyes to a wider world, where costs, deadlines and team management had more and more weight. The coordination of the different disciplines involved in a building made more and more sense. Then I was in an international company and this made me realise that there is another world beyond the Pyrenees.

At this point I was ready for another qualitative leap and Quark arrived. A new project (these peculiar buildings with so many facilities and various quirks), with new challenges and the best “vibe” in the market, thanks to my bosses. It was impossible not to join Quark.

What is your day-to-day life like?

I am the head of the Architecture Department. Over the years at Quark, as the company grew, we transitioned from a very horizontal structure to a more formal one. The people who have been with us for a long time took on more responsibilities.

I suppose my day-to-day life is very similar to that of others in similar positions: lots of meetings, emails, and calls. Despite this, I maintain daily contact with the team, keeping an overview of each project’s progress, solving doubts, and helping the rest of the team with my experience.

I have not completely abandoned the design aspect and enjoy starting projects by deciding, together with my electrical and mechanical colleagues, the foundational elements for new projects. Obviously, one of these foundational elements is the architectural design. Even though we primarily work on data centres, clients increasingly request their buildings to be more representative and have higher quality standards in the living areas.

Clients increasingly request their buildings to be more representative and have higher quality standards in the living areas.

How have you progressed since you joined Quark? What are the most important projects you are currently working on?

When I joined Quark, the team was small, and with my previous experience, I was able to develop architectural projects and coordinate the structure of the buildings alongside my colleagues. I was responsible for creating and revising plans, reports, specifications, and all necessary documents for licensing or execution projects. I also managed the licensing process with local councils.

As Quark grew and more architects, especially juniors, joined the company, tasks were distributed, and my role shifted more towards reviewing rather than doing, although I never completely abandoned working on parts of the projects myself.

The most interesting projects, in my opinion, are those that challenge us to innovate. These include projects in countries we have never worked in before and those that push us to explore how data centres will evolve to accommodate high-density AI servers.

How do you think the projects you work on influence the current / future world or society?

For the better. In my opinion, data centres are essential infrastructures in our technological world. Our daily lives and lifestyles would be impossible without them. There seems to be a negative perception of data centres because society doesn’t fully understand their purpose and only sees their high energy consumption in a world where environmental concerns are paramount. This is a good thing – data centres are pioneers in seeking alternative energy sources and achieving environmental quality certifications like LEED or BREEAM. They strive to be “carbon neutral” and “zero waste.” In Spain, many of these concepts are not yet widely adopted. However, many of our clients come from the Anglo-Saxon world, where these practices are more advanced. This allows us to introduce these concepts to the Spanish market and prepare for the international market in this aspect.

It is crucial that we all have a global awareness of protecting our planet, but NO ONE is willing to give up technological advances. Data centres perfectly represent this balance.

How do you keep up to date with general knowledge and trends in your sector?

Fortunately, our projects are always focused on applying new technologies in every aspect. Innovation is part of Quark’s DNA, allowing us to offer differentiating services. Additionally, our clients guide us in the technologies applied to their buildings. Each client has its own standards, which forces us to adapt to different ways of understanding buildings.

We are constantly innovating. Just when we think we have mastered the technologies used in data centres, new parameters emerge, and things change. The same applies to the programs we use for our daily work; they evolve, and we continually find new ways to leverage them. In recent years, we have transitioned from working on projects in Spain, in Spanish, for primarily Spanish clients, to working with international clients.

The trend has always been one of constant change and will continue to be, as this sector implements any new technology as soon as it is mature. The pursuit of efficiency and service to the technological society drives this constant change.

In your opinion, what distinguishes Sener from its competitors?

I don’t know much about the people who make up Sener yet, but our short interaction has shown me that their great professionalism and dedication must be a big part of their success.

In my opinion, Quark shares the same spirit and principles. Quark still has the advantage of being smaller, which fosters a very intense team feeling as we all know each other well.

I take it for granted that all engineering companies have great professionals, but I believe that the people who make up Quark are what distinguish us from other Data Centre engineering companies. Our commitment to the projects and the clients is unparalleled. It is our passion and dedication, helping our clients with whatever they need, that makes them come back to us.

What new challenges do you see yourself working on in the medium term?

In general, the challenge we are beginning to face at Quark, and which will drive our change in the medium term, is the internationalization and growth of the company. Maintaining the Quark spirit as we expand will be a significant challenge. Establishing new offices in several countries while preserving unity will be difficult, both from a human perspective and in terms of standardizing our projects to ensure they all reflect Quark’s quality and presence. However, we are fortunate to now be part of Sener, which has already navigated these steps before. Their support, backed by their experience, is fundamental.

We are lucky to have wonderful, inspiring bosses and the indispensable help of those who started with us. So, together with my fellow directors, Francesc Galobardes, Siddharta Aldavero, and Javier Martinez, we are taking small steps every day to work on the future of Quark alongside Sener.

Pilar Anastasio Senior architect specialising in data centre construction at Quark Sener group.

Contact: Pilar Anastasio Sánchez | LinkedIn