NEWCASTLE'S controversial Blue Carpet sculpture has won a national award.
Newcastle City Council's head of engineering, Tony Elliott, will be presented with the Local Government News Street Design for the Pedestrian Environment 2002 award today.
The Blue Carpet was criticised for being over budget on completion and questions were raised over the durability of the materials used.
However, a Newcastle City Council spokesman said: "The LGN award recognises both the quality of the Blue Carpet and the improvement it has brought to the environment.
"The judges considered both the aesthetic and engineering achievements of the Newcastle landmark, making the role of the city's works staff as important in winning the award as that of designer Thomas Heatherwick."
Mr Elliott said: "Bringing Thomas Heatherwick's design to fruition presented enormous challenges for our engineering team, but they rose to them splendidly.
"The competition to design the square reflected our determination to use the space as imaginatively as possible."
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