Blue Carpet facts for kids

The Blue Carpet is a cool public artwork in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was designed by a famous artist named Thomas Heatherwick. You can find it in a public area right in front of the Laing Art Gallery. It looks like a giant blue carpet made of special glass and resin tiles. These tiles even curve up at the edges, making it seem like a real fabric carpet spread out on the ground! Even though it's called art, it's also a special part of the city's design.

At the points where this skin reaches a building the slabs curve upwards to create the sensation that the tiles are a fabric laid over the area.

What is the Blue Carpet Made Of?

The Blue Carpet. The tiles were originally a much deeper shade of blue.

The Blue Carpet is covered with special blue tiles. These tiles are made by mixing crushed blue glass with white resin. Where the carpet meets a building, the tiles gently curve upwards. This makes it look like a soft fabric draped over the ground.

You'll also see some cool benches that seem to fold right out of the carpet. Underneath these benches are glass-covered boxes. These boxes hold colorful lights that glow at night. On one side, an old staircase was replaced with a new one. This new staircase has a neat curving design made of wood ribbons. A local boatbuilder helped create it!

Why Was the Blue Carpet Built?

The Blue Carpet was finished in 2001. It took about six years to plan and build. The whole project cost about £1.4 million. Some of the money came from the Arts Lottery Fund. Other funds came from the European Regional Development Fund.

After the success of Antony Gormley's famous Angel of the North sculpture nearby, cities like Newcastle wanted more big public artworks. The Blue Carpet was part of a plan to make the area around the Laing Art Gallery look better. The gallery had a plain brick wall facing the city center after an old building was taken down.

The idea was for the Blue Carpet to fit in with the buildings around it. It was also meant to become a modern symbol for the city. Interestingly, the first set of tiles delivered were green, not blue! This caused a delay of several months. When it was finally revealed, people noticed the carpet was much paler than expected.

What is the Blue Carpet Like Today?

The tiles have rapidly faded to a blue-grey colour, a fact that is made more obvious when damaged tiles are replaced with those of the original colour.

The Blue Carpet has been a topic of discussion in Newcastle. Some parts of it are used by skateboarders as ramps. Over time, the blue tiles have faded quite a bit. They now look more blue-grey. When damaged tiles are replaced, the new, brighter blue ones make the fading even more noticeable.

The unique benches have also sometimes been damaged. They are often fenced off while waiting to be fixed. In 2001, there was even a fire that damaged the area. It cost £10,000 to repair.

In 2011, a politician named Martin Callanan said he didn't think the artwork was a good idea or worth the money. He suggested replacing it with normal paving stones. However, Newcastle City Council said they had no plans to remove it. They stated that the Blue Carpet is well looked after.