If you walk through Midtown in New York City and look up, you’ll see a string of nondescript buildings towering over the street. Taken in as a whole, the buildings are mostly underwhelming—just 50-story slabs of concrete and glass that look indistinguishable. But tweak your perspective just a little bit and those masses of material can turn into a beautiful pattern worthy of hanging on your wall.
I know, it’s hard to believe the Marriott Marquis hotel, a notoriously ugly building in the heart of Times Square, could be considered art, but Alexandre Jacques has a knack. For the past few years, the French photographer and creative director has been taking photos of buildings, or more specifically the striking facades of buildings in New York, Paris and Brisbane, for his Architectural Pattern series. By zooming in on the exterior of buildings, Jacques is able to transform even the worst eyesore into a mesmerizing, infinite pattern.
Jacques began the project after visiting NYC for the first time. With a fresh pair of eyes, he was able to see things that you and I tend to take for granted or miss altogether in a rush of getting from place to place. “I saw lines and patterns everywhere. It was amazing,” he recalls. “I spent whole days looking to the sky.”
>“I saw lines and patterns everywhere. I spent whole days looking to the sky.”
Before he gets to a city, Jacques usually has a pretty good idea of which buildings he'd like to shoot. He looks for a few main things: Is there a main color? What shape is the building and windows? Is the building made of concrete or glass? “Any of these details can make for a very different picture,” he says.
Jacque does little in the way of Photoshop alterations, so the patterns you see are a direct reflection of what’s actually on the building, which is actually pretty incredible. It’s rare that we get to see the gilded strings of Renzo Piano’s New York Times building up close. Or the clouds and blue sky reflected in the shining glass windows of 7 World Trade. But even cooler yet are the strange geometrical patterns shot around Paris.
Side by side, it’s an interesting comparison of international architectural trends. While New York City is full of densely-windowed skyscrapers, Paris’ facades rely on shape and color in a way NYC buildings refuse to do.
Jacques plans to extend his series to more cities later this year, maybe Shanghai, Hong Kong or Dubai. He says every city has its own distinct architectural trends, and he’s happy to shoot all of them, as long as the weather’s good. “Sometimes I have to wait as the clouds pass, and rain has ruined my travel,” he says. “Photography is about patience. I will come back, Amsterdam!”
You can buy prints of Jacques' photos here.
