The Atomium

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    The Atomium is one of the most original and striking buildings in modern architecture. Designed by André Waterkeyn for the 1958 World Fair in Brussels, this structure is made of 9 interconnected steel spheres connected in a crystal-like lattice modeled after the atomic crystal structure of iron (hence the name Atomium).

    The Atomium is 102 meters tall (335 feet) and large enough to accommodate a restaurant and observation platforms and to provide roomy escalators and staircases inside its tubes for visitors to traverse from one sphere to the next.

    It is amazing to think that the Atomium was originally built merely as a temporary novelty feature for the World Fair, and was supposed to be dismantled afterwards. Fortunately, it was highly popular and quickly attained iconic status and was spared and is still standing proud after more than 50 years. It exudes unique retro-futuristic charm both inside and out that makes it a delight to visit.

    { sheila }, Creative Cities, mguð, loxias, and 12 other people added this photo to their favorites.

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    1. GUIDEPACKER 18 months ago | reply

      Thank you for choosing creative commons license. This photo has been selected to be featured on www.guidepacker.com soon. The image will appear with a link to this Flickr page and you will be given credit for taking such a great picture.
      If you do not want your photo to be used on our travel website, please let us know!

    2. Viejito 18 months ago | reply

      As should be clear from the link I posted above, more than two years ago — and I do not blame you for not reading all those old replies — there is a copyright claim to this "work of art" — the building, not the photograph — and the company enforcing the copyright claims that the photographer cannot give anyone the right to publish this photograph: they claim that the right belongs to them: “All your photo are belong to us”...;-)

    3. Alinedev1 4 months ago | reply

      Hi, we have published this photo on our Facebook page, RTBFInfo. www.facebook.com/rtbfinfo?ref=hl

      Thank you for it (and it is linked to an article that kind of promotes the structure, so I do not think it will be a problem for the rightholders of the building)

    4. Alinedev1 4 months ago | reply

      I deleted the photo from our page, regarding the rights problem...

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