The Guggenheim Bilbao is one of the most influential museum designs of all time. Located in the North of Spain, the venue opened in 1997 and redefined museum architecture and design. Rather than simply showcasing incredible gems inside its walls, the Guggenheim Bilbao by Frank Gehry is just as astonishing on the outside. The main building resembles a boat sitting atop the Nervion River, sparking viewers’ imaginations. Surrounding the main building are multiple giant artworks and sculptures, bringing the entire area to life.
One artwork in particular that stood out to us is the Arcos Rojos by Daniel Buren. Installed in 2007 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the museum, the artwork takes over the La Salve Bridge. It aimed to transform the bridge into something more fascinating, interesting, and bold. However, the sculpture could have no impact on the bridge’s function. To do this, Buren designed a vertical piece of artwork that sits perpendicular to the bridge. The sculpture arches over the bridge, encircling the road and reflecting beautifully in the water below.
The Arcos Rojos is nearly entirely covered in a red “skin,” which contrasts the original green color of the bridge. The only part of the sculpture not red is the edges and underside. Instead, these areas are black and white stripes. These borders come from translucent material. At night, light displays from these edges add to the captivating nature of the bridge. Together, the result is a perfect combination of functionality, beauty, and light, serving as an ideal entrance to the city.
Inspired by Buren’s work, we took the art installed at the bridge as inspiration for our geometric carpet. Specifically, we used an image from the underside of the bridge as our main point of vision. Within this shot, the straight lines of the original green bridge contrast both in color and shape with the curved red sculpture. The backdrop for this is the brilliant blue sky. These three colors – red, green, and blue – became our color palette for this geometric carpet.
Using these tones, we used an interesting mix of semi-circles, arches, and rectangles in the design. Keeping with the bridge’s structure, all green parts of our geometric carpet are straight and angular. We combined dark and light green with the main shade, representing the panels of the bridge and adding dimension. With this, you can also see white and black stripes comparable to the sculpture’s edging. Of course, we also included red arch shapes in our geometric carpet design, mirroring the curvature of the sculpture. All of this sits against a baby blue backdrop.
The placement of these shapes in our carpet may appear random as there is no consistent repeating pattern. By rotating the shapes, it creates an air of fluidity, making it adaptable in different settings.
If you love our geometric carpet or want to design a custom carpet of your own, please get in touch. At Talk Carpet, we specialize in creating budget-friendly personalized carpets for a range of commercial interior projects. You choose the pattern, color, and substrate, and we do the rest, sending you a sample within seven business days. All of our carpets are made from ECONYL yarn to reduce waste and help better our planet. Furthermore, as a part of DIFFA’s specify with care program, 1% of all custom carpet sales are donated to charity fight against HIV and AIDs. To learn more, get in touch with the team today to create the carpet of your dreams.
