THE ATOMIUM

By G. H. Davis

SINCE THE DAYS of the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, every large world’s fair has
had some spectacular piece of architecture as a central attraction. The 1851 exhibition
had its Crystal Palace, the 1889 exhibition in Paris produced the Eiffel Tower, the 1939
fair in New York had the Trylon and Perisphere, and now the Brussels Universal and
International Exhibition of 1958 will have its Atomium—-probably the strangest
structure of them all.

This oddity, to symbolize the atom age, will be 334 feet high and represents a metal
crystal enlarged about 200 billion times. It was originally designed to be 460 feet high
but this plan had to be abandoned because of the danger to aircraft.

The nine spheres of the Atomium will be connected to each other by large tubes
containing Escalators or stairways to reach the spheres. To make the tubes less
noticeable, they will be covered with a paint camouflage while the spheres of highly
polished aluminum will shine brightly. It is proposed to have flashing lights around each
sphere to represent the orbits of electrons around the atom nucleus. Each sphere will be
59 feet in diameter, some being provided with two floors and others with three. Inside
the majority of the spheres will be exhibitions available to the public.

Up the central shaft will run an elevator capable of carrying about 20 persons per trip.
This elevator will carry people to the topmost sphere where they will find a first-class
restaurant and a magnificent view. From here they will be able to see not only the entire
fair grounds but the beautiful wooded country around Brussels, the Royal Palace of
Laeken and, in the far distance, the field of Waterloo.

The Atomium will have a complete system of ventilation as the interior of the spheres
would otherwise get very hot on summer days. Each sphere will be electrically lighted
and there will be glass-fiber portholes to let in daylight.

Both the United States and Russia have reserved spheres in which they will show atomic
energy for peace in many phases. Great Britain, France, Italy and many other countries
will be exhibiting in other spheres, while the base sphere will be used for a Belgian
exhibit.

Many engineering problems have had to be overcome in the designing and building of
the Atomium, particularly the main foundation at the base of the central shaft. At one
time rumors were circulated that there had been a serious cave-in, but the engineers on
the spot assured me that this was untrue and that the foundations were fully capable of
supporting nearly double the weight of the finished structure and a big crowd in the
spheres. Certainly, the shaft stood solid and straight to the sky when I viewed it, though
it only had its lowest sphere in position at the time.

Will Resist Gale Winds

The designers also had to guard against wind pressures which may be considerable on
such an unconventional structure. Again I was assured that wind-tunnel tests have
proved conclusively that the finished building will be well able to withstand gale-force
winds of 112 miles per hour, far greater than any ever experienced in the area. At night
the Atomium spheres will provide a glittering and beautiful spectacle with the gigantic
globes sparkling with a vast number of points of light.

Of all the foreign exhibits that will be temporarily planted on Belgian soil during this
world’s fair, the largest area will be occupied by the United States with a pavilion and
adjacent grounds covering 29,700 square yards. The great circular pavilion will be the
largest free-span circular building in the world. The pavilion is 340 feet in diameter and
90 feet high and has an adjacent theater that will seat about 1000 persons.

This “crystal and gold palace,” as the pavilion has been described, will be constructed
chiefly of plastic and steel and topped with a plastic suspended roof resembling a bicycle
wheel. The roof will be attached only to a rim connected with an inner metallic ring by
steel cables in tension. The ceiling, also suspended, will be of metal mesh permitting
light to flood the pavilion.

The outer ring of this huge “bicycle wheel” will rest upon two concentric rows of gilded
steel columns. The walls will be hung between the columns and made of cellular-plastic
“honeycomb,” sealed with an undulating plastic cover. Present plans also suggest there
will be hanging gardens around the building.

Classic Simplicity

The second floor will present an uninterrupted space about 60 feet wide overlooking the
interior garden on one side and directly connected with exterior gardens and a balcony.
The classic simplicity of the pavilion will be enhanced by The Great Seal of the United
States, of enormous dimensions, placed over the main entrance. A colorful note will be
the flags of all the states flying from the building.

The pavilion is circular to conform with the shape of the site and was designed by
Edward D. Stone of New York.

The United States pavilion has been called dignified and impressive, possibly because it
does not follow the “weird and wonderful” modernistic designs of several of the other
countries. The exhibit is costing approximately $15,000,000.

The Swiss section of the exhibition will take the form of a group of pavilions joined like
the cells of a beehive. A small lake in the center of the pavilions reminds visitors of the
lakes and other vacation features of Switzerland. Inside the Swiss buildings will be more
reminders of the rugged grandeur of a land that has been called “the playground of
Europe.” The exhibits will also include products of Swiss industry (especially
watchmaking) and the wonders of its civil engineering in building enormous dams and
tunnels high in the mountains. Considerable space will be devoted to agriculture and
also the culture and history of the country.
The French building, of somewhat bizarre design, will be made of metal and
prefabricated concrete panels. It is designed to give an impression of columns and wires
and tends toward the modern trend in French architecture. The chief architect is M.
Guillaume Gillet.

The interior of the French pavilion will hold exhibits of engineering, handicrafts and
agriculture as well as cultural displays. Special space will be devoted to Paris and a
typical high-class French restaurant.

Canada’s exhibit will be housed in an almost square pavilion that will contain a movie
theater, a large restaurant, cocktail lounges and a coffeehouse. Sixty Canadian students
will be in attendance to explain to visitors all the numerous exhibits, both agricultural
and industrial. Canada, long regarded as an agricultural country, will put special
emphasis on its rapid industrial development and great mineral wealth.

Just across the way from the United States section of the exhibition will be the square
glass-roofed U.S.S.R. building. This massive concrete, steel and aluminum structure will
surround a gigantic statue of Lenin. The pillared entrance to the pavilion will have wide
steps and above it a large hammer and sickle.

When I viewed the partly constructed Russian building it gave me the impression of
rather unimaginative solidity compared with the lighter touch introduced by many of
the other nations. It seems to typify the heavy decorative type of architecture of the
Victorian era which is so characteristic of the present architecture of many of the large
buildings in Moscow.

The Russians, with their usual reticence, have not announced much detail of what their
building will contain, but it has been stated unofficially that many items will be
exhibited that have not previously been released for exhibition or shown to the Western
World. There will be tremendous emphasis on Russian progress in civil engineering,
atomic energy (this will also be shown in one of the spheres of the Atomium) and the
arts and sciences. It is probable that some material will be included on the Russian
satellite.

Another structure that will no doubt become one of the outstanding features of the
Brussels fair is the large footbridge which traverses the foreign section of the exhibition.
It is divided into two walks with a central open space which is 39 feet wide. The bridge
will be 49 feet high and 1312 feet long.

Widespread Building Program

In addition to organizing the fair, industrious Belgians are feverishly constructing new
highways, bridges and railroads to handle the traffic. They are also encouraging
international exhibitions in Brussels which cannot be accommodated at the fair.
Coincident with the ‘world’s fair but separate from it will be the annual International
Inventors’ Exhibition, opening on June 6 for a month. Its president, Paul Quintin,
recently toured the United States inviting American inventors to submit their entries
and said he expects some 1000 inventions to be accepted for exhibit and for sale or
license to manufacturers attending the show.

One thing is certain—all roads in Europe this year will lead to the great world’s fair in
Brussels.

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