The winner of the 2002 Paviors’ Award was Newcastle City Council for the ‘Blue Carpet’ in Laing Square.

This is a new public open space formed from old streets on the east side of the City centre. It is the first such square to be created in more than 100 years. In 1996, a design competition for the scheme was won by the Thomas Heatherwich Studio. The new square is constructed from recycled blue sherry bottles. These have been bonded with white resin and made into 450mm by 150mm tiles to ensure that ‘the surface is the Art’.

A certificate and wall button were presented by the Master, Ivan Nellist, to Cllr Linda Wright in Newcastle in July 2002.