Atomium - WikiHQ

The Atomium ( , , ) is a landmark it is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken (northern part of the City of Brussels), where the exhibition took place. It is the city's most popular tourist attraction, and serves as a museum, an art centre and a cultural destination. Steel tubes connecting the spheres enclose stairs, escalators and a lift (in the central, vertical tube) to allow access to the six visitable spheres, which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere includes a restaurant with a panoramic view of Brussels. The building was completely renovated between 2004 and 2006 by the companies Jacques Delens and BESIX.

The building is located on the /, at the intersection of the / with the / and the /, and opposite the Centenary Palace of the Brussels Exhibition Centre (Brussels Expo). It is served by Heysel/Heizel metro station on line 6 of the Brussels Metro.

Naming

The name Atomium (pronounced ) is a portmanteau combining the words atom and aluminium, the metal with which the spheres were initially covered. The Brussels-Capital Region is bilingual; hence, both the monument's French and Dutch names— and —are official. In French, (pronounced ) is used both in the masculine and in the feminine, even if the monument's official team prefers the feminine. In Dutch, (pronounced ) is neuter. In English, it is usually referred to with the definite article 'the' in front: the Atomium. In the 1950s, faith in scientific progress was strong, and the subject was chosen to embody the enthusiasm of the Atomic Age. With the Atomium, the country thus sought to promote the post-war ideal of peacefully applying atomic research and technology to improve lives and benefit mankind.

thumb|left|upright|[[André Waterkeyn, the Atomium's engineer, in front of a model of his creation]]

The construction of the Atomium was a technical feat. In January 1955, a first project was presented by the engineer André Waterkeyn, director of the economic department at , the Federation of Companies in the Metal Fabricating Industry (now known as Agoria). The architects André and Jean Polak were responsible for the concept's architectural transposition, drawing up numerous sketches in the process. The company received assistance from the consulting engineers Artémy S. Joukoff and André Beckers, who were supported by the V. Daniel design office. Construction of the foundations began in March 1956 and the building, erected by the Jambes-Namur Construction Workshops, was completed less than a month before the inauguration of Expo 58, on 17 April 1958.

The Atomium, designed to last six months, was not intended to survive the 1958 World's Fair, but its popularity and success made it a major element of Brussels' landscape. began in March 2004. The Atomium was closed to the public in October of that year, and remained closed until 18 February 2006. Although the Atomium depicts an iron unit cell, the spheres were originally clad in aluminium. The renovation included replacing these faded aluminium sheets with stainless steel, which is primarily iron, and building a new reception pavilion with a boomerang-shaped roof.

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 covered one-third of the costs, whilst the Belgian government financed the remaining two-thirds. To help finance the renovation, pieces of the old aluminium plates were sold to the public as souvenirs. A triangular piece measuring approximately in length sold for €1,000. In March 2006, a €2 commemorative coin depicting the building was issued to celebrate the renovation and reopening.

File:Brussels Atomium under construction -0395.jpg|The Atomium at the start of the 2004–2006 renovation (5 February 2004)

File:Atomium pic-007.JPG|Closeup of the central sphere during the renovation (25 February 2005)

File:Atomium 2007.jpg|Illuminated spheres with LED lighting after renovation (11 September 2007)

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Usage

The Atomium, with over 600,000 visitors per year, is the most popular tourist attraction in Brussels, and acts as an international symbol of both the city and country. In addition to its heritage value, it is also a cultural venue and an arts centre.

Worldwide copyright claims

thumb|A photograph of the Atomium in 2006, censored due to lack of [[freedom of panorama rights at the time]]

SABAM, Belgium's society for collecting copyrights, had previously claimed worldwide intellectual property rights on all reproductions of the Atomium's image via the United States Artists Rights Society (ARS). For example, in 2003, SABAM issued a demand that a United States website remove all images of the Atomium from its pages. SABAM confirmed then that permission was required.

In 2008, Anno Expo, who organised 50th anniversary celebrations of Expo 58 in Mechelen, announced a "cultural guerrilla strike" by asking people to send in their old photographs of the Atomium and 100 photoshoppers to paint over the spheres. SABAM responded that they would make an exception for 2008, allowing people to publish private photographs for one year, provided they were for non-commercial purposes. Mechelen's mayor, Bart Somers, called the Atomium copyright rules absurd.

In the summer of 2015, the Belgian political party Open Vld, which was part of the then-ruling Michel I Government, 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.

Gallery

File:The Atomium during civil twilight (DSCF1135).jpg|The Atomium during civil twilight

File:Atomium by night 2018.jpg|The Atomium by night

File:Atomium sphere (DSCF1211).jpg|Central sphere

File:Atomium-Brussels-2.jpg|Several spheres

File:Atomium Escalator (4347819911).jpg|One of the escalators connecting the spheres

File:Stairway to earth.jpg|Stairwell

File:Atomium Exterior Staircase.jpg|Exterior (emergency) staircase

File:Atomium Restaurant.jpg|alt=Dining table and chairs from the restaurant atop Atomium|Restaurant above the main observation deck

File:Atomium Staircase.jpg|Interior stairs to ground level

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References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Atomium renovation and interior design by Conix Architects
Webcam Atomium
Atomium: virtual visit
Atomium's architecture