Carlo Scarpa’s Vision And Influence

“if the architecture is any good, a person who looks and listens will feel its good effects without noticing”

The influence of Scarpa’s visionary use of materials and design …

In design and architecture circles (and beyond!) few names evoke such reverence as Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978), and rightly so. This Venetian virtuoso, whose work continues to influence contemporary design, understood that materials speak their own language—whether in delicate glass mosaics or robust concrete.

I want to see things. This is the only thing I can relate to.

This simple yet profound statement from Scarpa encapsulates his deeply sensory approach to architecture. Nowhere is this more evident than in his groundbreaking 1957-58 Olivetti Showroom in Venice’s Piazza San Marco—where he pioneered colour-coded flooring that would influence design forever more.

The showroom features a revolutionary system of glass mosaic tiles with distinct colours marking different functional areas: red at the main entrance, blue at the side entrance, yellow at the rear, and white in the central space. This brilliant fusion of Venetian craftsmanship with modern spatial organisation created not just a floor, but an intuitive navigational system—decades before such approaches became standard.

From Venetian Mosaics to Modern Wayfinding

SIBLAND products have been chosen to deliver this legacy in contemporary projects. Scarpa’s belief that “if the architecture is any good, a person who looks and listens will feel its good effects without noticing” captures the subtle power of thoughtfully designed flooring.

• Milan Linate Airport: Custom concrete patterns support intuitive wayfinding, subtly guiding travellers through complex spaces while contributing to overall wellbeing—a contemporary evolution of Scarpa’s colour-coded vision. [SIBEXTREME AG STYLE]
• Landås Skole in Bergen: Green cement inserts mark stair steps and create strategically designed slopes on wheelchair ramps—showing how thoughtful material selection can both guide movement and enhance safety while maintaining visual harmony. [SIBEXTREME AG STYLE]
• Chanel Boutique in Bodrum: Terrazzo solutions create an elegant geometric pattern, drawing inspiration from Scarpa’s meticulous attention to how materials interact with their environment. [SIBECO TERRAZZO]

Material Poetry in Practice

Scarpa was described as having “the power to give the form of a work of art to even the most banal things.” SIBLAND materials carry forward this transformative potential through:

• Textural Possibilities: Surfaces that engage both eye and touch
• Material Compatibility: Supporting Scarpa’s vision of “combining a base material with a precious one”
• Functional Beauty: Enabling intuitive wayfinding and movement
• Environmental Responsiveness: Materials that respond to and enhance their surroundings

When specifying SIBLAND products, you’re embracing a design lineage that stretches from Scarpa’s Venetian innovations to today’s cutting-edge concrete solutions—where flooring becomes not just a surface to walk upon, but a medium that shapes human experience.

Since 1974 we’ve been at the forefront of industrial and decorative concrete. We install millions of square metres of concrete flooring annually through our network of global, specialist and professional, installation partners.

Get in touch to find out how we can work together.