Heizel, Brussels

This is palace 5, also known as Eeuwfeestpaleis (palais du centennaire), which stand the Heizel, Brussels. The Heizel is a rather large site which is used for exhibitions, fairs and expositions. Built to celebrate 100 years of Belgian independence, palace 5 is the largest exposition building in the Benelux. It is part of a complex that was used for the world fairs of 1935 and 1958. Palace 5 was also the venue of Euro Vision song contest 1987 (in 1986 Belgium won the contest with Sandra Kim, the only time for it to win...)

Not all buildings from the world fairs still exist though. Most of them were demolished shortly after since they were built especially for the fair and didn't have any use anymore. 5 of them still exist, and while certainly worth seeing, none of them is as impressive as palace 5. The architecture is a mixture of modern and art deco, quite typical for buildings from the interbellum.

Right to the south of palace 5 you will find another relic from the expo of 58. Now a museum (with a restaurant in the top sphere), the structure symbols the structure of an Iron crystal, magnified some 150 billion times.

Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn (which had one of the spheres named after it) and architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 m (335 ft) tall. It's a clear sign for the faith in scientific progress of that time. One funny note is that it was designed without supporting pillars, but for safety precautions these were added later. It has received several rewards, one of them being the 'funniest building in the Western hemisphere.'

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