/
Close
Newsletters  | Mobile

World's Strangest Buildings

11 of 32
The Atomium, Brussels, Belgium

nagelestock.com/Alamy

The Atomium, Brussels, Belgium

A 1958 World’s Fair leftover, the Atomium is far more eccentric than the 1964 Unisphere in New York or the 1962 Space Needle in Seattle. Conceived by an engineer, André Waterkeyn, it is a gigantic replica of an iron crystal molecule and was intended to symbolize “the peaceful use of atomic energy for scientific purposes.” Five of its nine spheres are accessible to visitors, as is its maze of interconnecting tubes.

Quirky Quote: According to the Atomium website: “The completely steel-clad Atomium is a kind of UFO in the cultural history of Humanity, a mirror turned simultaneously towards the past and the future, comparing our Utopias of yesterday with our dreams for tomorrow.”
—Karrie Jacobs



11 of 32

You might also like

Advertisement

Sign Up

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Marketplace