Budapest Buildings Transformed into Street Corners with Striking Symmetry

Digital Collage Architecture Photography

Photographer Zsolt Hlinka creates imaginary places out of real architectural forms. His latest series called Corner Symmetry features intersecting buildings in Budapest that have been split in half and mirrored in the center of the composition. The result produces an extreme perspective of a stunning cityscape, where the top of the structures are angled at 45 degrees.  Because of this, it seems like we’re viewing them through a fisheye lens—but it’s really a meticulously crafted digital collage.

With much of Hlinka’s abstract architecture photography, we can’t help but think these buildings are real. It’s only after we’ve spent time with each picture that we realize they’re two halves of the same whole. This momentary confusion is all Hlinka’s design. “Buildings keep more of their surroundings with them, so the illusion becomes even more realistic,” he writes. “However, no matter which side of these familiar looking buildings do we start our inspection first, we will always end up on the same points.”

Corner Symmetry expands on Hlinka’s earlier project called Urban Symmetry. For that series, he digitally manipulated straight-on views of buildings to create harmonious reflections against similarly monochromatic backgrounds. They have a distinctly Wes Anderson feel that’s both whimsical yet curious—leaving us wondering what’s behind the doors of these isolated structures.

Zsolt Hlinka uses digital collage to construct his abstract architecture photography.

Digital Collage Architecture Photography

Digital Collage Architecture Photography

Each half of the building has been mirrored, creating a curious composition that you might believe is real—at first.

Digital Collage Architecture Photography

Abstract Architecture Photography by Zslot Hlinka

Digital Collage Architecture Photography

“No matter which side of these familiar looking buildings do we start our inspection first,” Hlinka writes, “we will always end up on the same points.”

Digital Collage Architecture Photography

Abstract Architecture Photography by Zslot Hlinka

Abstract Architecture Photography by Zslot Hlinka

Abstract Architecture Photography by Zslot Hlinka

Zsolt Hlinka: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Behance

My Modern Met granted permission to use images by Zsolt Hlinka.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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