The Evoluon is a conference centre and former science museum erected by the electronics and electrical company Philips at Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, in 1966. The building is unique due to its very futuristic design, resembling a landed UFO, with its concrete dome that is 77 metres in diameter and is held in place by 169 kilometres (105 mi) of reinforcing steel bars. It was designed by architects Leo de Bever and Louis Christiaan Kalff, while the exhibition it housed was conceived by James Gardner. De Bever and Kalff only got two demands for the design of the building: it had to be "spectacular" and it had to be possible to hold exhibitions in the building.
In the 1960s and 1970s the Evoluon attracted large visitor numbers, since its interactive exhibitions were a new and unique concept in the Netherlands at that time. Eventually, nearby cities began opening their own fancy science centers, and attendance at Evoluon started to consistently decline year after year. After several years of losing money, the original museum closed down in 1989 and the Evoluon was converted into a conference centre, opening in 1998.
joaoslr says
The Evoluon is a conference centre and former science museum erected by the electronics and electrical company Philips at Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, in 1966. The building is unique due to its very futuristic design, resembling a landed UFO, with its concrete dome that is 77 metres in diameter and is held in place by 169 kilometres (105 mi) of reinforcing steel bars. It was designed by architects Leo de Bever and Louis Christiaan Kalff, while the exhibition it housed was conceived by James Gardner. De Bever and Kalff only got two demands for the design of the building: it had to be "spectacular" and it had to be possible to hold exhibitions in the building.
In the 1960s and 1970s the Evoluon attracted large visitor numbers, since its interactive exhibitions were a new and unique concept in the Netherlands at that time. Eventually, nearby cities began opening their own fancy science centers, and attendance at Evoluon started to consistently decline year after year. After several years of losing money, the original museum closed down in 1989 and the Evoluon was converted into a conference centre, opening in 1998.
Photo source
Crossposted from /r/ModernistArchitecture
cr4d says
Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom…
BrittanyAT says
If we at UFO Inc. ever make an office building, we promise to make it look something like this
essentialfloss says
Why is there a young child alone in that paddle boat?
Officer-Battletoad says
I saw Kraftwerk play there!