Ceramic City: Urban Street Pattern Floor & Wall Tile Design

Understanding the design of cities is all about scale. Take these tiles, for instance, that let you lord over your very own urban universe, right from the comfort of a home kitchen or bathroom –

they look like concrete, cork or slate from a distance due to their texture, but up close they reveal a winding cityscape.

The simple, figure/ground approach used by designer/manufacturerLEA Ceramiche divides open spaces and solids into two tones, and then adds a touch of three-dimensionality by raising the roofs up. This creates both a fascinating lighting effect but also invites interaction – it is too tempting to pass up running your fingers along the rippled ceramic surface.

While the textured versions are intended for walls (their floor variations are smooth-finished), it would be interesting to know how well they would work for flooring – one could imagine that the texture on your toes would be an interesting one. Regardless, this would be particularly useful for large surface areas in sizable rooms – you would lose out on the long-distance view morphing into a close-up understanding if you installed these in too small a space.