The Atomium ( ? - TOH -mee-? M ) is a landmark building in Brussels, originally built for the 1958 Brussels World Expo (Expo 58). Located at Heysel Plateau, the exhibition grounds take place. Now a museum.
Designed by engineer AndrÃÆ'Â © Waterkeyn and architects AndrÃÆ'Â © and Jean Polak, the height is 102 m (335 ft). Its nine 18Ã,m (60Ã, ft) diameter stainless steel sphere is connected, so the whole shape of the unit cell of the iron crystal is enlarged 165 billion times. A tube with a diameter of 3 m (10 feet) connects the ball along 12 sides of the cube and all eight vertices to the center. They attach stairs, escalators and elevators (in the center, vertical tubes) to allow access to five livable balls, which contain exhibition space and other public spaces. The top includes a restaurant that has a panoramic view of Brussels.
In 2013, CNN named it the strangest building in Europe.
Video Atomium
Subject
In the 1950s, faith in scientific progress was excellent, and the structure that depicted atoms was chosen to accomplish this. Atomium depicts nine atoms of iron in the form of a cubic cell centered on the body of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times.
Although Atomium describes the unit cell of iron, the balls were originally coated aluminum. But after the 2004-2007 renovation, aluminum was replaced with stainless steel, which is mainly made of iron. Likewise, while the subject of Atomium is chosen to describe the enthusiasm of the Atomic Age, iron is not and can not be used as fuel in nuclear reactions.
Maps Atomium
Construction
The Atomium was built as the main pavilion and the icon of the 1958 World Exposition in Brussels. Atomium development is a technical achievement. Of the nine balls, six are accessible to the public, each with two main floors and a lower floor reserved for service. The center tube contains the fastest time lift (5 m/s), installed by the Belgian branch of the Swiss company Schlieren (later taken over by Schindler). It allows 22 people to reach the top in 23 seconds. Escalators mounted on slant tubes include the longest in Europe. The largest is 35 m long.
Three of the four top spheres have no vertical support and are therefore not open to the public for security reasons, although the ball at the top is open to the public. Original design requested no support; the structure is just to rest on the ball. Wind tunnel tests prove that the structure will collapse in winds of 80 km/h (140 km/h of wind have been recorded in Belgium). Support columns are added to achieve sufficient resistance against somersaults.
The atomium, designed for the last six months, was not destined to survive the 1958 World Exposition, but its popularity and success made it a key element of the Brussels landscape. Its destruction is postponed from year to year, until the city government decides to defend it. However, for thirty years, little maintenance work was done.
Remodeling
At the turn of the millennium, the state of the building has become very bad and a thorough renovation is needed. Atomium renovations began in March 2004; it was closed to the public in October, and remained closed until February 18, 2006. The renovation included replacing the faded aluminum sheet on the ball with stainless steel. On December 21, 2005, new Atomium outdoor lighting was tested. The meridians of each ball are covered with rectangular steel plates, where LED lighting is integrated. LED applications illuminate the lights at night. The lamp can also blink simultaneously or alternately in each meridian, symbolizing the range of electrons around the core.
On 14 February 2006, the Atomium was officially reopened by Prince Philippe, and on February 18, 2006, reopened to the public.
This renovation cost EUR26 million. Brussels and the Atomium Association paid a third of the cost, the Belgian government financing two-thirds. To help pay for the renovations, scraps of old aluminum plates are sold to the public as souvenirs. A triangle of about 2 meters (7 ft) sold for EUR1,000.
On the occasion of reopening, the 2 euro commemorative coin depicting the building was issued, in March 2006, to celebrate the renovation.
Gallery
Worldwide copyright claims
SABAM, the Belgian community to collect copyright, has claimed intellectual property rights worldwide on all image reproductions through the United States Artists Rights Society (ARS). For example, SABAM issued a request that the United States website remove all Atomium images from its page. The website responds by replacing all such images with a warning not to capture Atomium photos, and that the U.S.B.L. Atomium will demand if you show it to anyone. SABAM affirms that permission is required.
Ralf Ziegermann commented on the intricate copyright instructions on the Atomium website specifically for "personal images". Belgian heritage organizer Anno Expo (planning the 50th anniversary of Expo 58), in Mechelen city announced a "cultural guerrilla strike" by asking people to post their old photos of the Atomium and ask 100 photoshopoppers to paint over the ball. SABAM replied that they will make an exception for 2008 and that people can publish personal photos for one year only on their terms for non-commercial purposes.
Anno Expo then announced that they had censored part of their own report due to "complications" and referred to their meeting with SABAM. The Mayor of Mechelen, Bart Somers, called the Atomium copyright rules unreasonable.
On February 23, 2009, Axel Addington, web content manager for Atomium, sent a clarification email to the Glass Steel and Stone website, which several years earlier edited his Atomium photographs after being threatened. He has stated:
The perceived royalty [sic] by the descendants of AndrÃÆ'Â © Waterkeyn, the engineer who composed the Atomium in 1955, and not by the A.S.B.L Atomium. So you may have been sued by SABAM (Belgian Copyright Company) for the Waterkeyn Family.
From the Atomium website, copyright restrictions currently exempt individual individuals under the following conditions:
This is a case where photos are taken by private individuals and displayed on private websites with no commercial purpose (the current trend for photo albums).
In accordance with the law, the right to use for Atomium images will be naturally extended until January 1, 2076, in other words, the seventh anniversary of AndrÃÆ'Â © Waterkeyn's death.
In the summer of 2015, the Belgian political party Open Vld, proposed a bill to enable Freedom of Panorama in Belgium. The bill was passed into law in June 2016, allowing Atomium images, and other public buildings under copyright, to be legally distributed.
See also
- Panorama freedom
- List of tallest structures in Belgium
References
External links
- Official website
- Renovating atoms and interior design by Conix Architects
- Atomium in Structurae
- Webcam Atomium
- Atomium: virtual visit
- Free Image Atomium
- Brussels Discovery
- Atomium Architecture
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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