Jean Parker Phifer, New York based architect and author of Public Art New York, reads a selection about the New York Times Capsule, designed by Santiago Calatrava. This capsule is made of welded stainless steel, and is described by the artist as resembling a flower. It contains diverse artifacts of the late 20th century and will be permanently on display atop a polished black granite base until the year 3000, at which time the capsule will be opened. Derived from a sculpture series that explores the formal properties of folded spherical frames, the form of the capsule has been sliced through horizontally, forming two halves. The four top segments are hinged to the bottom four. The cavities of the segments are hollow and together contain about 50 cubic feet of storage space, allowing four tall containers to be housed inside. The items were selected from suggestions by visitors to the Museum of Natural History and the New York Times web site. They were treated with preservative, surrounded with a layer of Nanopore insulation, packed in special steel containers, and sealed.