New Center Promises to be a Silicon Valley Landmark

Esherick
Homsey Dodge & Davis (EHDD) of San Francisco, Calif., will design The
Computer Museum History Center building in the proposed NASA Research
Park at Ames Research Center and Van Sickle & Rolleri (VSR) of
Medford, N.J., will design the exhibits for the new museum.
Groundbreaking is planned for the fall of 2003 and grand opening is
scheduled in 2005.

“The Computer Museum History Center has a unique mission to
preserve the history of the information revolution, using authentic
artifacts and stories collected around the world,” said Len Shustek,
chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Computer Museum History
Center. “We now have the architecture and exhibition team to move us
closer to our permanent home.”

“After an intensive selection process that narrowed it down to
three world class firms, we chose EHDD to design the permanent home of
The Computer Museum History Center,” said John Toole, executive
director & CEO of The Computer Museum History Center. “It’s exciting
to be working with their compelling and creative designs to embody our
vision to preserve computing history. In addition, Van Sickle &
Rolleri offers an outstanding team of experienced museum exhibition
design professionals and complements an outstanding team.”

The Computer Museum History Center began its selection process for
the architect in November 2000, soliciting proposals from top
architecture firms around the world. In February 2001, the museum
selected three finalists, Michael Maltzan Architecture of Los Angeles,
Calif., William Donough + Partners of Charlottesville, Va., and
Esherick Homsey Dodge & Davis of San Francisco, Calif., to participate
in a five month workshop-oriented ideas competition.

“The purpose of the competition was not to choose a design for the
new building, but to select the best architect for the project going
forward,” said Grant Saviers, trustee and building committee chairman
of The Computer Museum History Center. “All three firms made an
outstanding effort, making our decision all the more difficult.” The
museum’s website (www.computerhistory.org) has excerpts from the
architecture ideas competition.

“We are thrilled to work with The Computer Museum History Center
board and staff to design one of the first Silicon Valley landmarks of
the 21st Century,” said Chuck Davis, senior design principal, EHDD.
“Our goal is to capture the unique character of The Computer Museum
History Center and create an inspiring environment where people can
learn and study computing history and innovation.”

EHDD, founded in 1946 by legendary architect Joseph Esherick, has
become a leader in the architecture industry, with a wide breadth of
cultural institution experience including aquariums, museums, zoos and
libraries. EHDD has already designed recognized facilities such as the
Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, the National Museum of Marine
Biology/Aquarium in Taiwan, the Exploris Children’s Museum in Raleigh
and the East Wing of The New England Aquarium in Boston.

For the exhibition design, museum officials solicited eight
experienced museum exhibition design firms from across the country,
interviewed five of them and selected VSR to develop and design the
museum’s exhibitions. “We look forward to working on this most
prestigious project,” said Dennis Van Sickle, principal of VSR, who
recently completed work on the Experience Music Project in Seattle,
Wash. “The time has come to create a museum that captures the rich
stories of an industry that has truly changed the world.”

About The Computer Museum History Center

Established in 1996 with the movement of artifacts from The
Computer Museum, Boston, to Silicon Valley, The Computer Museum
History Center has become the world’s foremost authentic collector of
artifacts and stories of computing history. A fully independent
501(c)(3) non-profit organization since 1999, The Computer Museum
History Center houses one of the world’s largest and most
comprehensive collections of computer-related artifacts including
hardware, software, photos, films, videos and documents. Its
collection includes over 3,000 artifacts, 2,000 films and videotapes,
5,000 photographs, 2,000 linear feet of catalogues documentation and
several gigabytes of software. Objects in the collection include a
replica of a Hollerith census machine, an extensive collection of
computers designed by Seymour Cray, a WWII ENIGMA device, a
see-through Palm Pilot, parts of MIT’s Whirlwind computer and a
computer-generated Mona Lisa. During construction of the new facility,
exhibits are on display at the Museum’s existing facility at Moffett
Field. More information is available at:
http://www.computerhistory.org.

About NASA Research Park

The Computer Museum History Center will be part of the planned
NASA Research Park (NRP). The NRP will be a world-class shared use R&D
campus with universities, industry and non-profit organizations in
support of NASA’s mission to conduct research, develop new
technologies and pursue educational outreach programs. In July 2000,
NASA initiated the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process under
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations to develop
the land at Moffett Field under NASA ownership. In the proposed NRP,
academic, industry and nonprofit partners hope to conduct their
collaborative research and education programs with NASA. Upon the
successful completion of the EIS process, a land use agreement will be
signed and construction in the NRP may begin. More information is
available at: http://www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov.

About Esherick Homsey Dodge & Davis

EHDD is a renowned designer of museum and exhibit related projects
with more than 20 exhibit type facilities to its credit around the
world. The firm also designs academic facilities of all kinds,
schools, civic buildings and single-family residences. The firm has
been internationally recognized with many design awards and honors,
including the American Institute of Architects National Firm of the
Year Award, the 1989 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal
bestowed on Joseph Esherick, the Maybeck Award for outstanding
achievement presented to Joseph Esherick in 1992 and the Architectural
Firm Award from the AIA California Council. More information is
available at: http://www.ehdd.com.

About Van Sickle & Rolleri

VSR is an exhibit design firm that specializes in developing high
quality interpretive visitor experiences. VSR is recognized for its
work on the Experience Music Project, Seattle, Wash.; the Gerald R.
Ford Museum, Grand Rapids, Mich.; and the USS Intrepid, New York, N.Y.
VSR has received several awards including the Southeastern Museum
Conference Curator’s Committee Exhibition Competition Award and The
American Association for State and Local History Award of Merit in
2000.

Contact: The Computer Museum History Center, Silicon Valley, CA Karen Mathews, 650/604-2568 mathews@computerhistory.org