Probably the best-known example of a “temporary” structure
that has achieved permanence is the Eiffel Tower in Paris, built for the 1889
Exposition Universelle. However, the
same is also true of one of Belgium’s renowned landmarks, the Atomium in Heysel
Park, Brussels.
The Atomium was built for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair,
otherwise known as Expo 58. This was the first such event to be held after the
Second World War and it took place at a time of both hope and tension, given
that major scientific advances were being made at the same time that the
world’s major powers were eyeing each other with suspicion during the Cold War.
1958 was the year that saw the birth of NASA and the launch
of the integrated circuit. The Soviet Union had, the year before, sent the
first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit. At Expo 58 the United States
and the Soviet Union were next-door neighbours in their pavilions, and they
took every opportunity to score points off each other. The motto of the Fair:
“A World View – A New Humanism”, seemed to be wildly optimistic.
Belgium, a small European nation that had suffered invasion
and devastation in both of the century’s world wars, could not compete in terms
of scientific or technical advances, but its contribution to Expo 58 is the
only substantial survivor that can still be visited today. This is a massively
magnified model of a cell of an iron crystal, some 165 billion times larger
than “life size”. It comprises nine globes, each being 59 feet (18 metres) in
diameter, connected by straight tubes through which staircases and escalators
provide access to the spheres. The whole structure appears to stand on one of
the spheres, so that the Atomium is tipped up, with one sphere on each corner
and the ninth at the centre. Each sphere, apart from the central one, therefore
connects with three other spheres, plus the centre. The Atomium stands 335 feet
high (102 metres).
The Atomium was only intended to stand for six months but
was regarded as such an innovative structure, and so symbolic of the atomic
age, that it was allowed to stay in place.
It was designed by engineer André Waterkeyn with interiors by
André
and Michael Polak. It was based on the standard method used by scientists to
represent molecular structure, and which would have been familiar to anyone who
had attended school chemistry lessons where balls, representing atoms, were
joined by rods to show how they linked together. This method had already
escaped from the laboratory to become a staple of contemporary design, be it
for chair legs, coat hooks, light fittings or tableware.
Not being designed as a permanent structure, the Atomium was
looking past its best as its 50th anniversary approached, and in
2004 it was closed to the public for a major refurbishment. The original
aluminium cladding was replaced by stainless steel and all the interiors were
given a complete makeover. The Atomium re-opened in 2006 and it is now a major
tourist attraction.
One of the spheres is devoted to a permanent exhibition on the
theme of Expo 58, and there are temporary exhibitions in some of the other
spheres. The topmost sphere contains a
restaurant with views over Brussels and beyond. The “Kids’ Sphere” has been
designed with primary school groups in mind, giving children a chance to spend
a night in a “mini-sphere” as part of an overall learning experience.
At night the Atomium is illuminated with nearly 3,000 lights that
give it a completely different appearance.
A visit to Brussels would not be complete without a visit to the Atomium,
if only for a trip to the top sphere. A visit can be combined with one to
“Mini-Europe”, also in Heysel Park, which features scale models of 350
buildings from around 80 cities in Europe.
© John Welford
No comments:
Post a Comment