Look Inside the Former Bell Labs in Holmdel, NJ

In the mid-2000s, the once-treasured Bell Labs building in Holmdel, NJ, appeared to be another real estate white elephant — too giant and expensive to maintain, unsellable and, it seemed, bound to be demolished. Somerset Development acquired the former Bell Labs building and re-developed it into the mixed-use, successful Metroburb known as Bell Works. Alexander Gorlin of Gorlin Architects was a key contributor to the success of redeveloping Eero Saarinen‘s 1962-designed complex. Paola Zamudio, Founder & Head Designer of NPZ Style + Décor, was brought on by Somerset Development to serve as the lead designer and creative director of Bell Works. You can explore this innovative space on the first-ever live walking tour presented by Remote Daily. Led by Creative Director of Bell Works Paola Zamudio, guests will go behind-the-scenes at the 2-million-square-foot building.

Property of Bell Works

The Bell Labs complex in New Jersey is a Modernist marvel with a glass-encased facade and open-atrium. The massive building stretches a quarter of a mile and sits on a 472-acre site. From 1962 until the early 2000s, it served as the center of campus for Bell Laboratories, a research and development division of AT&T. Before Saarinen’s building was constructed, there was another Bell Labs building at the site. It was there that Karl Guthe Jansky invented radio astronomy. Throughout the rest of the twentieth century, thousands of researchers and engineers reported to the Holmdel complex to work on some of the world’s most important technological breakthroughs.

Property of Bell Works

The complex hit the market in 2008 and was sold in 2013. It was then transformed into the innovative cultural hub Bell Works. In Friday’s virtual tour presented by Remote Daily, Creative Director and Founder + Head Designer at NPZ Style Décor Paola Zamudio will walk you through Bell Works and show you how you can design your own world. This tour is part of Remote Daily’s a one-of-a-kind interactive talk show that connects viewers and innovators for a daily dose of inspiration every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 1pm EDT. Participants gather on zoom to hear from world-class speakers, attend workshops, enjoy live music and more!

This live virtual tour, Design Your Own World—A Virtual Walking Tour with Paola Zamudio, Creative Director, Bell Works, presented by Remote Daily, will take place on Friday, November 20th at 1:00PM ET. Sign up to be an Untapped New York Insider, free for two months with code JOINUS, to gain access to this and a series of other exciting online events. 

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Next, check out 6 Buildings in New York by Eero Saarinen and The Top 10 Secrets of Westbeth Artist Housing, Former Bell Labs Research Facility in NYC