Scheuten starts building Sphinx

Scheuten starts working on the installation and assembly of the glass Sphinx at the Kop van Weerd in Venlo, the Netherlands. 600 sheets of glass measuring 10 mm in thickness to be processed layer by layer to create 6-metrehigh work of art.

In 1993, as part of the celebrations surrounding Venlo's 650th jubilee, the Jacques & Ellen Scheuten Foundation donated a glass work of art to the city for the Maasboulevard. Two decades on and the piece is to be located at the Kop van Weerd. Scheuten, specialists in the development and production of high-quality glass products, will be taking care of the engineering, delivery and assembly.

The Sphinx will be sited on a solid concrete base with natural stone cladding, with the entire structure measuring 6 metres in height and weighing in at 100,000 kilograms. The first sheet of glass is to be installed around the building industry holiday once the complete base is ready to accommodate the work of art. It is anticipated that the artwork will be unveiled during the course of the fourth quarter. Scheuten Absoluut Glastechniek, specialists in the design and implementation of complex glass projects, will be implementing this project in close cooperation with Fons Schobbers, the Venlo-based artist who designed the Sphinx. Fons Schobbers: “This sculpture is the product of working with two monumental forms that have reached a state of equilibrium in a field of tension. And I'm always seeking the tensions that exist between materials. A glass sculpture is a good example of this."
Tom van der Heijden, Works Manager Scheuten Absoluut Glastechniek: “Scheuten is always looking for new applications for our products. This work of art is unique in Europe. After all, the glass is being used as the material for a load-bearing structure, and it will be stuck together layer by layer using a special technique.”

Scheuten is a European manufacturer and supplier of high-quality glass designated for total solutions for buildings and infrastructure. Scheuten focuses on quality and durability during the entire process of float glass production to the delivery of the end product. Moreover, the company realizes prominent glass engineering and construction projects around the world.

NRC newspaper reported 22 January 2014: Glass art work has been removed. The large glass sculpture Sphinx of the artist Fons Schrobbers in Venlo has been broken down today. In the object, consisting of six hundred glass plates, are cracks. This results in danger for the environment. The work of art was a gift from the glass manufacturer Sheuten on the occasion of the 650 anniversary of Venlo as a city in 1993. 

SCHEUTEN
Van Heemskerckweg 9
NL-5928 LL Venlo
the Netherlands
www.scheuten.com