COALITION TO PRESERVE HISTORIC HOLMDEL BELL LABS

SITE TO ANNOUNCE MAJOR INITIATIVE

The coalition of state and national organizations working to preserve the former
Bell Labs site in Holmdel, NJ will announce a major initiative to help advance efforts
regarding the preservation and sympathetic and sustainable reuse of the internationally
significant landmark.

The coalition, consisting of the NJ Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA-NJ), Preservation New Jersey, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Recent Past Preservation Network, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, New Jersey Conservation Foundation and DOCOMOMO-US (the acronym stands for the “documentation and conservation” of the “modern movement”) and DOCOMOMONY/NJ Tristate will make its announcement on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. on the public open space at the intersection of Crawford’s Corner Rd. and Seven Oaks Dr., Holmdel, NJ, a site directly opposite the entrance to the Holmdel Bell Labs property.

The Eero Saarinen-designed building and Sasaski-designed landscape at the Bell Labs site have been deemed eligible for inclusion in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. Shuttered by current owner Alcatel-Lucent in July 2007 and listed for sale, the site now requires innovative design proposals for significant renovation and restoration if this landmark in the history of planning, architecture, landscape architecture and technology is to find the new commercial uses that will allow for its preservation.

Scheduled to participate in the announcement on March 26 will be Clinton J. Andrews, Director, Urban Planning and Policy Development Program, Edward J.Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University; Seth Leeb, AIA, President, AIA-NJ; Michael Calafati, AIA, Chair of AIA-NJ’s Historic Resources Committee; Ron Emrich, Executive Director, Preservation New Jersey; Theodore H.M. Prudon, PhD, FAIA, founding president, DOCOMOMO-US; and architect Jay Wentz, Holmdel resident.

Directions and parking information will be available on the Preservation NJ
website on Tues., March 25, 2008 or by calling 609-392-6409. For more information, click on the headline.