The Silicon Valley Sign Project

�1 Rev. Apr. 2015

Dear Reader,

What if Silicon Valley had a distinguished landmark? What if we placed it somewhere everyone could see it and be reminded of the wonderful valley they live in? What if Silicon Valley thought even bigger? How would someone start such a project? This journal was created as a “what if” guide to help my train of thoughts along the way, and I am very excited to share it with you. I want to make it clear that this is not something that has been reviewed, or approved by Santa Clara County or The City of San Jose. It is all imagination at this point. The journal is intended to serve as a visual aid for anyone wanting to know about this bizarre idea, or perhaps bring it to life!

The idea came about while helping build a local walking tour company. I have learned that although San Jose has a rich unique history it lacks a certain "cool" factor, call it taste, branding, or culture it is something one would expect from another large city of its caliber. So I thought to myself, why doesn't San Jose, or rather Silicon Valley have a distinguished landmark? Sure, the Valley has tech companies, beta testing self driving cars, and the Adobe Semaphore, but where’s our Golden Gate, Space Needle, or Hollywood landmark that screams the place where you are at?

I started talking to some friends about the idea, and they loved it. I continued to ask random people “what if we had such a landmark?” including my neighbors and even they were enthused by the idea. The now San Jose City Mayor Liccardo even heard me asking him “what if?” as I chased him down the elevator of the Knight Ridder building in Downtown San Jose a couple years ago! I won’t say his exact response, other than it gave me hope, or maybe he just was politely telling me “yeah right..”

I would like to thank San Jose State students Morgan Jones and Jason Williams who took the time to draft such an ambitious project. A special appreciation goes out to those who heard me out while I tried to find the words to explain why this could be great, and my family and friends for their unconditional support. I also can’t forget about you, the reader, thank you! Because you are taking a stand for the Silicon Valley Community. This will be a live document as I anticipate adding more to it in the future through your thoughts and comments. Feel free to e-mail me at hafidalfonso@gmail.com as I would love to get feedback from the community.

Sincerely,

Hafid Alfonso

�2 Rev. Apr. 2015

Overview and Purpose:

San Jose is a city that prides itself as the “Capital of Silicon Valley” It is home to numerous tech companies, and some of the brightest minds in the world. The city is considered a hub for technological innovation. However, San Jose does not have a distinguished icon displaying the creative ingenuity of Silicon Valley. This journal details a potential project proposal that ultimately expresses the idea of Silicon Valley to the world. The sign would represent the community furthermore as the center for technological, creative, social, and financial opportunity.

The sign:

First and foremost, using sustainable materials the sign could be net positive to the environment. I intend the sign to be virtually maintenance free; and most importantly, have the lowest carbon footprint possible and not harm any wildlife or native trees.The Silicon Valley Sign is envisioned to be approximately 200 feet in length with each letter standing at about 45 feet tall. The design is shown with the letters representing chips on a motherboard and case wiring attached to them. Animation can play a part in the overall design, possibly having the letters paneled with e-ink displaying binary code. Another option would be having the sign studded with LED bulbs around the letter edges along with the case wiring. These lights could have the option to change color during local major league sports game days/nights to match team colors.

a) Original draft sign artwork

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b) Draft rendering close-up

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c) Rendering view from Milpitas on highway 880

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d) Rendering view from corner of California Circle and Dixon Landing Rd in Milpitas

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e) Rendering aerial view

This rendering shows the sign facing southwest towards Downtown San Jose. The two arrows point to other potential sites along the eastern mountain range.

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f) Rendering view from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara

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e) Rendering colors at night

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San Jose Sharks Teal

San Jose Earthquakes Blue

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San Francisco Giants Orange

San Francisco 49ers Red

Location:

Ideally keep the sign within City of San Jose's unorganized territorial boundaries in quadrant 6 or 10. Other prospective sites include eastern mountain range of Milpitas and Fremont. The sign would be facing southwest towards the Downtown area of San Jose if constructed somewhere along the latter mentioned.

Image Source: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?nid=2037*Note above image is a phased out quad map previously posted on San Jose website

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Maintenance:

Factors to consider are vandalism and trespassing. The sign should have remote cameras attached in order to prevent any sort of tampering. If constructed with LED lights it may be virtually maintenance free. Solar panels should be considered to power the sign.

Mission Peak is considering charging it’s hikers a fee, the sign could work in conjunction with the park as an attraction for locals and tourists to get up close and take a picture. The park would benefit through the money collected for the sign and totem pole to pay for trail improvements,maintenance and repairs.

Environmental Impact:

TBD, an environmental analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) might be required to identify any potentially significant impacts to sensitive habitat areas, geologic and seismic sensitivity areas.

Benefits:

Silicon Valley is undergoing a boom. The sign would fuel the Valley’s growth by being part of one of the largest industries in the world which is tourism. It is capital that San Francisco is getting, but Silicon Valley is missing out on. Such a landmark could boost property values and local business.

Funding:

A couple of routes can be taken in order to fund for construction and any other maintenance costs, both long and short term.

Option A) Crowd-fund, and have this be a community driven project that is supervised by a local organization. Ideally the Silicon Valley Leadership Group or San Jose/ Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce(my opinion only)

Option B) Having an organization willing to help with the managing of funds, ask any company in the region to donate. The larger donations perhaps get to sponsor a letter.

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F.A.Q.

Question: Isn’t this like the Hollywood Sign?

Answer: It is similar. I have no doubt that people will compare the SV Sign to Hollywood’s. Don’t forget that South San Francisco also has its own landmark on Sign Hill Park.

Question: Why that eastern mountain range?

Answer: That area has no large amount of trees, it’s mainly grass. Compared to another site I have heard people asking about on Mt. Umunhum which is covered with them. Mt. Hamilton was considered, but due to the observatory being there I’m sure they don’t want any light near there.

Question: What would it be constructed of?

Answer: That is to be determined with engineers and architects.

Question: Have you considered the impact the sign would have on locals living near the foothills?

Answer: Yes, most likely their property values will increase. Traffic may spike, but a trail to an observation point should be made in order to avoid locals and tourists alike blocking nearby streets to take pictures.

Question: What can I do to support this?

Answer: The best thing I could say right now is to spread the word and share this document with others in person or social media. Lets get people talking about this! The challenge is finding an appropriate site to build on, so the nearby city or Santa Clara County approves it. If you would like to be hands on with this project, feel free to contact me!

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