11 Apr Google Earth Rugs

A young German artist has designed a new carpet based on earth… Google Earth that is.

David Hanauer’s new area rugs are printed with satellite images taken from Google Earth. Anyone who’s toured around Google Earth before can easily spot the suburban housing developments, highways, parking lots and parks all seen from space.

The images are arranged in repeating patterns that resemble contemporary Persian rugs. In fact, if not studied closely the rugs could be mistaken for simple spinoffs of old geometric designs that stretch back thousands of years. Hanauer claims that the Persian rug design was actually his inspiration. He was not, he says, trying so much to make a statement on technology but rather trying to modernize an ancient style.

The project began when Hanauer was a student at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design in Germany. Now, however, it looks as though it may be a very lucrative business venture. Currently, one of his rugs is on sale for 400 euros at a top designer store in Berlin.

Pictured below are a couple of our favorites from the project: