October 29, 1998 - Expression College for Digital Arts Launches Construction on Emeryville Campus

EMERYVILLE, Calif. - Expression College for Digital Arts on Tuesday formally launched the renovation of the 85,000-square-foot building that will contain its classrooms, offices, teaching laboratories, a 200-seat theater, recording studios and video editing facilities.

Expression President Gary Platt, award-wining sound studio designer John Storyk and Bay Area architect Stephen Fee have designed a home for what they hope will become the premier high-tech digital visual media and sound-arts career training center in the Western United States.

The building at 6601 Shellmound St. in Emeryville previously housed Expression’s corporate neighbor, Sybase, Inc. Expression bought the property this summer and began removing furnishings and demolishing unneeded internal structures. Tuesday’s ceremonial launch marked the beginning of the constructive phase of the project. Work is expected to be complete in time for Expression to welcome its first class of 60 students on Jan. 11, 1999.

Students will attend classes and labs nine hours per day, five days a week for 14 months in a total immersion “boot camp” for learning. Graduates of the private, post-secondary school will emerge ready to work in a variety of coveted positions in Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and arts and high-tech centers around the world.

“This is the culmination of a lot of planning and hard work on the part of several people,” Platt said at the groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday night. “This building reflects the kind of school it will house. It will be an innovative, wired environment, producing cutting-edge graduates who will be able to fit into any media environment they choose.”

The general contractor on the project is Oakland-based CIC Associates, Inc. The 20-year-old company specializes in corporate building rehabilitation and high-end interiors, particularly for high-technology. Its clients have included Microsoft, PeopleSoft, Ziff-Davis, C-Net and about 15 radio studios.

Tuesday’s ceremony was attended by several people important to the development of the Expression facility. Attendees included Marty Wilson, president of CIC; and Fee, a principal of Fee Munson Ebert Architecture Interior Design, the senior architect on the project.

Others at the ceremony included Hope Spadora, director of real estate for Sybase Inc., who was the key figure in acquiring the building from Sybase; John Gooding, president of GUS Facilities, a facilities manager that provides services such as security and janitorial for Expression; Matt Elmquist, director of Aegis Corporate Services, which brokered the real estate deal; and other community members.

All playfully posed with hard hats around a skip loader, construction cones and barriers brought in to mark the festivities.

When completed, the facilities will include several sound studios stocked with equipment from companies such as Tascam and Studer, suites containing advanced film editing and composting equipment including Avid Illusion, SSL 4000G, Neve VR, NT, Soft Image and SGI, and several computer labs and acoustically designed classrooms. The facility will also include a full performance theater with a blue screen for filming special effects.

About Expression College for Digital Arts
Founded in 1999, Expression is a unique, fully licensed digital arts college. Expression College for Digital Arts teaches and grants Bachelor degrees in three programs: Sound Arts; Digital Visual Media (comprising 3DAnimation and Visual Effects); and Digital Graphic Design (emphasizing Broadcast Design and Motion Graphics.) Expression utilizes a professional accelerated program and students live and learn in the culture of digital arts for approximately 2.5 years. Each class is limited to a small number of students to insure excellent and hands-on learning and the student to computer ratio is one-to-one. Students are taught by and work with the best practitioners and equipment that the industry can offer. Expression’s close ties to top industry professionals provide students with real-world client projects, mentorship and internship opportunities and a top-rated career development track that has resulted in a 80+% placement rate for graduates. When graduates leave their Expression family behind, they are prepared to assume sought-after jobs in Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and other art and high technology centers around the world. Expression College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Career Schools and Colleges of Technology, (ACCSCT).

Expression College for Digital Arts’ campus is located in an imagination-inspiring 85,000-square-foot building, at 6601 Shellmound St. in Emeryville, Calif., just across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco. For more information, please visit Expression’s Website at: www.expression.edu.

Contact:
Karen Wertman, Director of Marketing
Expression College for Digital Arts

Expression College for Digital Arts Website
www.expression.edu