Visioning the future for a local landmark Charrettes spark ideas for reuse of Bell Labs site BY ERIN O. STATTEL Staff Writer The iconic building on the former Bell Labs site is not such a dinosaur after all. Professionals discuss future uses of the Bell Labs site. The coalition of architects and engineers dedicated to preserving the 2 million-square-foot Bell Labs building in Holmdel attended a design charretteApril 11-13 in an attempt to discover ways to preserve the Eero Saarinen-designed building. "Really, there are a lot of misconceptions about that building," said Michael Calafati, New Jersey Chapter chairman of theAmerican Institute of Architects. "It was believed that the building was too inflexible, that it can't be broken down into smaller spaces, but the charrette proved otherwise." From 2-6 p.m. on April 11, the Alcatel-Lucent-owned building was open to the public with tours provided by Lucent staff. About 38 architects, landscape architects, engineers and planners from New Jersey, New York and the Northeast walked the building and brainstormed ways that prospective buyers would be able to preserve and use the building to its benefit, rather than razing what some regard as the genius of Finnish-American architect Saarinen. The coalition ismade up of state and national organizations dedicated to preserving Saarinen's work in Holmdel. Represented within the coalition are the American Institute of Architects New Jersey Chapter; Preservation New Jersey; DOCOMOMO - N.Y./tristate chapter; and the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University. "The building now is outmoded, but on the bright side it can be retrofitted to a great degree," Calafati said. "The walls of polished reflective glass mirrors could be used for solar gain, making the building energy-efficient." Calafati noted that designers also proposed bringing natural light into formerwindowless laboratories through the use of atriums. "Everyone worked in teams and there was really a nice balance between young professionals and senior designers," Calafati said. "It was great to have former employees, Bell Labs Pioneers, as we called them, recalling the atmosphere in the building and the energy created while in it." The charrette was hosted by Holmdel Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU) at the senior center on Crawford's Corner Road. "Citizens for Informed Land Use has a deep commitment to public education about land-use issues in Holmdel, and the point of the charrette was to come up with creative ideas to make the site more marketable," said CILU President Jim McCorkle. "We care a lot about the beauty on that property and it adjoins other beautiful green stretches of land such as Bayonet Farm, Holmdel Park and F&F Nurseries so it would serve Holmdel well if it was kept green." McCorkle also referenced the Ramanassen Brook and how there is a large water recharge area beneath the Lucent property that is integral to the Swimming River Reservoir. The former Bell Labs site closed its doors last July, resulting in an exodus of almost 6,000 employees from the 472-acre site on Crawford's Corner Road. The propertywas put up for sale, and the last interested buyerwas Preferred Real Estate Investments of Conshohocken, Pa. The deal fell through last November amid allegations that Preferred would demolish the building. Saarinen, who also designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, designed the main building at the former Bell Labs site. The buildingwas erected between 1959 and 1962 and was expanded in 1966 and 1985. World-renowned landscape architect Sasaki,Walker andAssociates designed the landscaping surrounding the mid-century modern building. According to information fromPreservationNew Jersey, the site inHolmdel is eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places and already appears on the organization's list of Top Ten Endangered Historic Sites in New Jersey. Calafati said that Lucent was represented at the charrette and was receptive to what designers had to say. "We spent time talking about the current scenario. Time is a friend right now because it will help them find the right buyer," Calafati said. "Unfortunately, over time, a building and its landscape can deteriorate." "It was truly a remarkable event," said McCorkle. "I had fun with it and all the terrific talent and there was somuch creativity in attendance. One of the suggestions was even to sell the building to Google and put a rock-climbing wall inside. Now, that's creative." Erin Stattel can be contacted at estattel@ gmnews.com.