The cityscape has inspired utopian and dystopian visions of the future–and, positive or negative, the concrete jungle serves as a wonderful source of aesthetic influence. From the odd underworld of Metropolis to the dark downtown of Blade Runner; from Giorgio de Chirico’s off-kilter streets to King’s fantastic New York skywalks, the megalopolis has captured our collective minds, both conscious and subconscious.

The Mohawk Group’s booth at #NeoCon10.

Now even Bigelow, the contract arm of The Mohawk Group, is getting captivated by the capital, harnessing “the contagious confidence and infectious spirit of our country's metropolitan centers.” Their new Urban Oz Collection of modular and broadloom carpet combines “rich and sophisticated earth tones and downtown chic patterns” in a collection that “embodies the modern rhythm of urban utopias across the country.”

With stimulation such as the parallel lines of skyscraper windows to the intersecting streaks of fast-moving traffic, Urban Oz condenses the mean streets into dynamic patterns beneath your feet: City Courage, Technicolor Beat, Glittering Skyline and Intellectual Terrain (broadloom). Colors like charcoal and gray are reminiscent of cement and blacktop; and taupe and beige bring to mind lights and people (the kinetic denizens of the city). A subtle interpretation of dizzying, multi-level scaffolding and glittering sheets of structural steel and glass, the patterns in Urban Oz allow the elements of the civic landscape to cross the threshold–into those downtown buildings and onto the floors. And, when these carpets reach “the end of their useful life,” you can have Mohawk reclaim and recycle them through their ReCover Program. Presented at this year’s NeoCon, Bigelow’s cityscape carpet can be seen at Showroom 377.