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Stainless steel has been around for a little over 100 years, so to celebrate its centennial (albeit a little belated) we thought we’d have a bit of fun and describe to you 5 of the world’s greatest stainless steel sculptures.
Cloud Gate – Chicago
Cloud Gate is actually one of the largest stainless steel sculptures in the world. Weighing in at some 98 tons and measuring a massive 66 feet in length, it’s been welcoming people to Chicago since 2006. Famous for it’s unique reflective properties it’s designed to look like a drop of mercury. Perhaps what’s more amazing is that it’s highly polished exterior has no visible seams despite the fact that there are over 2500 feet of linear seem welds.
Jerusalem Upside Down – Israel
Created by Indian Born British sculptor Anish Kapoor in 2010 ‘Turning the world upside down’ is said to do exactly that. The 16ft tall stainless steel mirror-polished sculpture resembles an hour glass that reflects the ground and the sky and reverses them so that they appear upside down. Located at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem it really is an amazing piece of work.
Sibelius Monument – Helsinki
Finished in 1967 the Sibelius monument was made to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the legendary Finnish composer Jan Sibelius who died in 1957. The monument sits in Sibelius Park in Helsinki and consist of over 600 hollow stainless steel tubes all welded together in a wave-like pattern. Weighing over 24 tons it’s said to represent the music of this great composer.
Canberra Cones – Canberra
Commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia and opened to the general public in 1982, the sculpture consists of 7 highly polished stainless steel cones. Measuring over 20 metres in length it cuts an impressive sight as it distorts and reflects the surrounding colours and shapes of the trees.
The Yorkshire Man Of Steel – Sheffield
At the time of writing The Yorkshire Man Of Steel by sculptor Steve Mehdi hasn’t been completed yet but already it’s become one of the most eagerly anticipated sculptures in recent years. Built on the area of an old landfill site in Rotherham, Yorkshire it will have prime position next to the M1 motorway (JCT 34) where people in approximately 100,000 vehicles per day will get to see it as they drive past. The cost of the privately funded project is expected to be around £3.5 million and is expected to be completed in 2016. The highly polished 30 metre high landmark will be placed on a black granite base which is said to represent the two main industries of steel production and coal mining that have dominated the area for centuries.
Here at Metro Steel we can’t promise you a breathtaking sculpture resembling those above but we can do pretty amazing things with steel. If you’ve got a steel project whether it’s for the construction industry or for private use then call us on 07 3204 1000. Alternatively if you’re passing our Deception Bay premise then why don’t you drop in and tell us your requirements. The kettle’s always on!
