<P> The Atomium was built as the main pavilion and icon of the 1958 World Fair of Brussels . The construction of the Atomium was a technical feat . Of the nine spheres, six are accessible to the public, each with two main floors and a lower floor reserved for service . The central tube contains the fastest elevator of the time (5 m / s), installed by the Belgian branch of the Swiss firm Schlieren (subsequently taken over by Schindler). It allows 22 people to reach the summit in 23 seconds . The escalators installed in the oblique tubes are among the longest in Europe . The biggest is 35 m long . </P> <P> Three of the four top spheres lack vertical support and hence are not open to the public for safety reasons, although the sphere at the pinnacle is open to the public . The original design called for no supports; the structure was simply to rest on the spheres . Wind tunnel tests proved that the structure would have toppled in an 80 km / h wind (140 km / h winds have been recorded in Belgium). Support columns were added to achieve enough resistance against overturning . </P> <P> The Atomium, designed to last six months, was not destined to survive the 1958 World's Fair, but its popularity and success made it a major element of the Brussels landscape . Its destruction was therefore postponed year after year, until the city's authorities decided to keep it . However, for thirty years, little maintenance work was done . </P> <P> By the turn of the millennium, the state of the building had become quite deteriorated and a comprehensive renovation was sorely needed . Renovation of the Atomium began in March 2004; it was closed to the public in October, and remained closed until 18 February 2006 . The renovations included replacing the faded aluminium sheets on the spheres with stainless steel . On 21 December 2005, the new Atomium outdoor lighting was tested . The meridians of each sphere were covered with rectangular steel plates, in which LED lighting was integrated . The LED application illuminates the bulbs at night . The lights can also flash simultaneously or in turns at each meridian, symbolizing the range of an electron around its core . </P>

Original plan for the atomium after expo 58