Under Control: Constructing the Nerve Centers of the Cold War

Time: 4:00 pm

Location: the Director’s Conference Room at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

American federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense and NASA, financed the creation of command and control centers that operated in digital, real-time environments during the postwar years. Contemporaneous advances in communications technology and computer systems enabled the construction of these spaces, and their architecture reflects presumed national security needs of the era. These innovative designs embodied a particularly Cold War commitment to a centralized headquarters. This confidence soon faded, however, and these centers were de-emphasized in favor of redundancy and decentralization. They became relics of an earlier time. No longer are there such distinct physical markers of a protective structure. The new architecture of command and control is found in the network, not in the building.

For further information, please contact: Tom Lassman at 202-633-2419; lassmant@si.edu.

NON-SMITHSONIAN VISITORS MUST RSVP NO LATER THAN 48 HOURS BEFORE THE SEMINAR. On the day of the seminar, please report to the South Security Desk at the Museum’s Independence Avenue entrance. Those holding SI ID badges may proceed directly to the Director’s Conference Room on the 3rd floor.

Next Seminar, April 21, 2016: Patrick McCray, Lindbergh Chair, National Air and Space Museum, will present “Frank Malina…Dreamer of Space, Engineer of Art.”