Poste San Marino continues with the third and final issue in its series of stamps dedicated to architecture in San Marino, specifically to buildings designed by internationally renowned architects – also known as ‘Archistars’ – who have enriched the region with their extraordinary creations. The project involves collaboration with the SUMS Archive, the Order of Engineers and Architects of the Republic of San Marino and the photographer Simone Maria Fiorani.
The 2026 issue features views of the World Trade Centre, located in Dogana, a magnificent project by the British firm Foster & Partners, which described it as a “combination of offices, apartments and leisure facilities”.
Completed in 2004 and comprising two main eleven-storey buildings, the WTC covers an area of approximately 47,000 square metres. The influence of the British school is unmistakable in the two WTC towers: a double glass/sunshade envelope conceals a hybrid structure – steel-concrete columns and post-tensioned cable slabs – built using HPC, the latest frontier in technological innovation in materials. A technically advanced work of art, incorporating certain features of high-tech architecture, the hallmark of the prestigious London-based firm.
The World Trade Center in San Marino is the first project in Italy by a designer of the calibre of Norman Foster, an undisputed leading figure on the global architectural scene. ‘Opera Prima’ was, in fact, the original name of the WTC, before the decision was taken in 1999 to bring the entire complex into the major international network comprising over three hundred WTCs in 92 countries.
