Atomium
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The Atomium is a Monument of Brussels, Belgium, representing the elementary mesh of the Cristal of Fer (phase Cubique centered) increased 165 billion times. It was also a reference to the nine Belgian provinces of the time (which are today ten with the scission of the Brabant).
To go there
to leave in tail train.
Description
Atomium was conceived by the engineer André Waterkeyn and was set up by the architects André and Jean Polack for the World Fair of Brussels of 1958 (Expo '58),
It is a building halfway between the Sculpture and the Architecture which culminates to 102 Mr. His steel structural weighs 2.400 tons. It became, even as the Manneken Pis and the Grand-Place, the symbol of the capital of the Belgium.
It is composed of a steel frame carrying nine spheres connected between them and equipped with aluminum.
The spheres have a diameter of 18 meters and weigh each one approximately 250 tons. Symbolically, Atomium incarnates the one time audacity which wanted to confront the destiny of Humanity with the scientific discoveries.
The construction of Atomium was a technical prowess. On the nine balls, six are made available to the public, each one comprising two principal stages and a floor lower reserved than the service. The central Tube contains the fastest elevator of time (5 m/s), it makes it possible 22 people to reach the top of 23 seconds. The escalators installed in the oblique tubes, count among longest of Europe. Largest 35 m length measure.
Atomium, conceived to last six months, was not intended to survive the International exhibition of 1958. But its popularity and its success made of it a major element of the landscape of Brussels. Its destruction was thus deferred year by year until being abandoned. During all this time, little maintenance work was carried out.
Restoration
During the Years 1990, the urgency of an in-depth restoration became an obviousness. In front of the importance of the required investments, the question of the conservation of a construction which was not in the intended beginning that to last a few months was again posed. An alternative envisaged to repair only external surfaces and to give up the exploitation of the building. In front of the strong reactions caused by these two possibilities, it was decided to proceed to a complete rehabilitation.
Strongly degraded by the work of time, become dull, the sealing external become ineffective and the interior elements of decoration and furniture with the charm years 1950 too damaged, only the structure could be preserved.
In 2001, the renovation project is finally launched thanks to a partnership between the Belgian Federal state, the Région of Brussels-Capital and Brussels-city.
The restoration more than necessary was started in March 2004 and ended in February 2006. The original cover in Aluminum was replaced by a news, more resistant, in Stainless steel. Each sphere was covered in the beginning with approximately 720 triangles with Aluminum, a part of them was put on sale as remembering. In order to facilitate the installation and to improve the sealing, these triangles were replaced for each sphere by 48 large triangles, each one reproducing the drawing of the 15 small triangles which it replaces. To avoid the assembly of gigantic scaffolding S, each plate hoisted by a crane was installation by a team of Cordiste S.
The financing of renovation works is estimated at 27 million euros.
The inauguration of the renovated structure took place the February 14th 2006.
To celebrate the restoration of Atomium, a Pièce commemorative of 2 euros was struck in March 2006.
Interior installation
Of the six spheres accessible to the public, the basic sphere is reserved for the permanent exposure devoted to the the Fifties, the World Fair and the construction of Atomium. Another accommodates temporary exhibitions, a third with general-purpose vocation can allow the organization of various animations, films, concerts, festivals or conferences. The central sphere contains a bar and the higher sphere in addition to the panorama, a restaurant whose characteristic will be to be, undoubtedly, the only one to propose a Belgian kitchen without fried… the fryers not having been authorized for safety reasons! The sixth is the ball of the children, intended for the organization of workshops of urban pedagogy and for the original project to make it possible starting from September 2006 to the children from six to twelve years to spend the night there.
The designer Ingo Maurer drew interior luminaries of the building.
Anecdote
Atomium gave its name to the beer Atomium.
See too
External bonds
- Official site of Atomium
- Atomium - virtual visit
- Atomium - photograph group
- Atomium - photographs
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