1. History
    Construction and Expo 58  Renovation 

2. Interior

3. Worldwide copyright claims

4. Gallery

5. See also

6. References

7. External links

The Atomium ( {{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|t|oʊ|m|iː|ə|m}} {{respell|ə|TOH|mee-əm}}) is a landmark building in Brussels, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58). It is located on the Heysel Plateau, where the exhibition took place. It is now a museum.^[1]

Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak,^[1] it stands {{convert|102|m|abbr=on}} tall. Its nine {{convert|18|m|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected, so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Tubes of {{convert|3|m|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} diameter connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all eight vertices to the centre. They enclose stairs, escalators and a lift (in the central, vertical tube) to allow access to the five habitable spheres, which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere includes a restaurant which has a panoramic view of Brussels.

History

Construction and Expo 58

The Atomium was built as the main pavilion and icon of the 1958 World's Fair of Brussels (Expo 58). In the 1950s, faith in scientific progress was great, and a structure depicting atoms was chosen to embody this. The Atomium depicts nine iron atoms in the shape of the body-centred cubic unit cell of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times.^[2]

The construction of the Atomium was a technical feat. Of the nine spheres, six are accessible to the public, each with two main floors and a lower floor reserved for service. The central tube contains the fastest elevator of the time at {{convert|5|m/s||abbr=on|sigfig=1}}, installed by the Belgian branch of the Swiss firm Schlieren (subsequently taken over by Schindler). It allows 22 people to reach the summit in 23 seconds. The escalators installed in the oblique tubes are among the longest in Europe. The biggest is {{convert|35|m||abbr=on|sigfig=1}} long.

Three of the four top spheres lack vertical support and hence are not open to the public for safety reasons, although the sphere at the pinnacle is open to the public. The original design called for no supports; the structure was simply to rest on the spheres. Wind tunnel tests proved that the structure would have toppled in an {{convert|80|km/h||abbr=on|sigfig=1}} wind ({{convert|140|km/h||abbr=on|sigfig=1}} winds have been recorded in Belgium). Support columns were added to achieve enough resistance against overturning.^[3]

The Atomium, designed to last six months, was not destined to survive the 1958 World's Fair, but its popularity and success made it a major element of the Brussels landscape. Its destruction was therefore postponed year after year, until the city's authorities decided to keep it. However, for thirty years, little maintenance work was done.

Renovation

By the turn of the millennium, the state of the building had become quite deteriorated and a comprehensive renovation was sorely needed. Renovation of the Atomium began in March 2004; it was closed to the public in October, and remained closed until 18 February 2006. The renovations included replacing the faded aluminium sheets on the spheres with stainless steel. On 21 December 2005, the new Atomium outdoor lighting was tested. The meridians of each sphere were covered with rectangular steel plates, in which LED lighting was integrated. The LED application illuminates the bulbs at night. The lights can also flash simultaneously or in turns at each meridian, symbolising the range of an electron around its core.

On 14 February 2006, the Atomium was officially reopened by then Prince Philippe, and on 18 February 2006, it opened again to the public. The renovation cost €26 million. Brussels and the Atomium Association paid one-third of the costs, the Belgian government financed two thirds. To help pay for renovations, pieces of the old aluminium plates were sold to the public as souvenirs. One triangular piece about {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} long sold for €1,000.^[4] On the occasion of the reopening, a 2 euro commemorative coin depicting the building was issued, in March 2006, to celebrate the renovation.

Though the Atomium depicts an iron unit cell, the balls were originally clad with aluminium. Following the 2004–2007 renovations, however, the aluminium was replaced with stainless steel, which is primarily iron. Likewise, while the subject of Atomium was chosen to depict the enthusiasm of the Atomic Age, iron is not and cannot be used as fuel in nuclear reactions.

Interior

Of the six spheres accessible to the public:^[5]

• the bottom sphere is reserved for permanent exhibitions dedicated to the 1950s, the 1958 World's Fair and the construction of the Atomium;
• the second sphere hosts temporary exhibitions;
• the third and central spheres have a versatile vocation and allow the organisation of various events, films, concerts, parties or conferences;
• the top sphere, in addition to the panorama, holds a restaurant;
• the sixth sphere is the children's ball, intended for the organisation of workshops of urban pedagogy, allowing the children from six to twelve years to spend the night there.

Worldwide copyright claims

Ralf Ziegermann remarked^[9] on the complicated copyright instructions on the Atomium's website specific to "private pictures".^[10] The organisers of Belgian heritage, Anno Expo^[11] (planning the 50th anniversary celebrations of Expo 58), in the city of Mechelen announced a "cultural guerrilla strike" by asking people to send in their old photographs of the Atomium and requested 100 photoshoppers to paint over the balls.^[12][13] SABAM responded that they would make an exception for 2008 and that people could publish private photographs for one year only on condition they were for non-commercial purposes.^[12] Anno Expo later announced they had censored part of their own report due to "complications" and referred to a meeting they had with SABAM.^[14] Mechelen's Mayor, Bart Somers, called the Atomium copyright rules absurd.^[15]

From the Atomium's website, the current copyright restrictions exempt private individuals under the following conditions:^[16]

In the summer of 2015, Belgian political party Open Vld, proposed a bill to enable Freedom of Panorama in Belgium. The bill was enacted into law in June 2016, allowing pictures of the Atomium, and other public buildings under copyright, to be legally distributed.^[17][18]

Gallery

See also

• Freedom of panorama
• List of tallest structures in Belgium

References

External links

• {{Official website|http://www.atomium.be/ }}
• Atomium renovation and interior design by Conix Architects
• {{structurae|id=20000887|title=Atomium}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110724013016/http://www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm/5678 Webcam Atomium]
• Atomium: virtual visit
• Atomium's architecture

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