When architect Eero Saarinen designed the TWA Terminal at JFK International Airport, he created an uncompromising structure, uniquely responsive to the human experience of travel. Saarinen’s landmark terminal suggested that any place, even one occupied for a brief moment, even one not intended as a final destination, could be forever imbedded in our memory. Built at a time when commercial travel was transitioning from propeller to jet aircraft, the iconic terminal was destined for a future that would never arrive. Since 2001, the site has remained in a state of suspension, and it is this phenomenon that serves as the platform for an international exhibition of contemporary art, Terminal 5. While the terminal stands as a vacant masterpiece of air travel, the Terminal 5 exhibition is intended to further the public encounter with the airport, contributing to an enriched understanding of travel, architecture and contemporary art. As a project for the early 21st century it offers a new model for responding to existing resources in public space by providing an experience that privileges a unique moment in time.