La Scala

View of the work on top of the building

La Scala was designed for the theatre De Meerse in Hoofddorp. The work was named after the famous theatre in Milan. The origin of this work lies in language.

“La Scala” literally means ladder: the object placed on the roof of the theatre is a ladder of words. But the French word for ladder, l’echelle, also means ‘scale’ – the proportions of a map. This meaning evokes an idea of perspective: things that become smaller, vanishing into infinity. So doing, the ladder has been distorted and the perspective lines disappearing into the vanishing point have been emphasised.

View from a distance
  • Idee & execution: Martine Neddam
  • Commissioned by: Gemeente Haarlemmermeer
  • Constructor: Neon Weka, Holland
  • Completed: 1993
  • Removed : 2013