Moffett Field Museum • The Architecture of Silicon Valley

Join us for our Speaker Series exploring The Architecture of Silicon Valley and the buildings that shaped our region’s history. Join us for a talk with Richard Adler exploring the architecture that tells the story of Silicon Valley’s transformation from a collection of small technology companies into a global center of innovation. For much of Silicon Valley’s history, its technology companies paid relatively little attention to the buildings they occupied. Early companies famously began in garages, dorm rooms, and modest industrial buildings designed more for practicality than appearance. As these companies grew into some of the world’s most recognizable brands, however, they began commissioning leading architects to create headquarters that reflected their ambitions, cultures, and identities. Through his photography, Adler examines this new generation of Silicon Valley landmarks, including Apple Park and the headquarters of companies such as Google, Meta, Adobe, and Nvidia. He also highlights historic structures that helped lay the foundation for Silicon Valley, including the HP Garage, Stanford Dish, SLAC, Hangar One at Moffett Field, and facilities at NASA Ames Research Center. Beginning in 2019, Adler set out to photograph these significant buildings and document the changing architectural landscape of the region. His photographs were featured in the 2023 Los Altos History Museum exhibition Building the Future: A Visual History of Silicon Valley. This talk brings together architecture, photography, technology, and local history to reveal a side of Silicon Valley that even longtime residents may not have seen.