The Octagon, the museum of the American Architectural Foundation, is proud to display the newly conserved original presentation model of the World Trade Center. The exhibit will be open to the public September 25–December 3. A September 10 preview for members of the media offered the first opportunity to see this important artifact since its conservation was completed in early September.

Originally built by the office of architect Minoru Yamasaki between 1969 and 1971 for presentation to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the World Trade Center model vividly reflects the sheer size and mass of the original site. Measuring 8-feet by 10-feet at the base, with the twin towers rising just over 7 feet, the detailed representation has undergone an extensive conservation process of repair and stabilization to reverse the deterioration and loss of original materials.

Original photographs by renowned architecture photographer Balthazar Korab—along with images taken by Lee Stalsworth during the recent restoration project—will complement the model. A video documenting the conservation process, innovative solutions developed by the team, and interviews with key participants past and present also will accompany the exhibit.

After the Washington exhibition, the model will be displayed at the new Skyscraper Museum in Battery Park as the centerpiece of the museum’s opening exhibit. Following this two-year exhibition in New York CIty, the model will return to its home at the Octagon Museum.

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