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This original presentation model from the office of architect Minoru Yamasaki of Troy, Michigan was produced in 1971 to illustrate how the World Trade Center would look when finished in 1974. It is the only surviving architectural model; two others of a smaller scale were destroyed in the Twin Towers when they fell.

Architectural models are constructed to provide a client with a view of how a proposed project will look upon a given site on completion. Because of size and fragility of materials, models are difficult to store and maintain and are often badly damaged or destroyed over time. After this exhibition, the model will undergo conservation and be displayed on extended loan at the new home of The Skyscraper Museum in Lower Manhattan. The conservation has been made possible by a generous grant from the Museum Loan Network.

Model Credits:
Yamasaki and Associates
World Trade Center presentation model, 1971
Plastic on wood base, plaster, paper
On loan from the Prints and Drawings Collection, The Octagon, the Museum of the American Institute of Architects, Washington, D.C.

Image Credit:
Tony Vaccaro
Yamasaki and WTC model, 1969-70, reprint
Courtesy of the photographer Tony Vaccaro
Minoru Yamasaki, the architect of the World Trade Center, sits at the far right and poses with other members of Yamasaki and Associates in their office in Troy, Michigan.