ARCHITECTURE|PHOTOGRAPHY|WRITING

Shooting London

An urban optical illusion

Now you see it, now you don’t. Photo by author

Even for an architecture enthusiast like me (although of an amateur bent, still unable to tell a Greek Doric column from a Roman one. But let’s leave that for another post) London baffles me no end. Rather than looking at buildings and houses from a knowledge-based perspective, I’ve decided to allow my feelings and emotions to run free. How I feel about a particular construction matters more to me than the style in which it was built.

There are exceptions, of course. The Atlas building on City Road is one of those. I’ve no idea how many times I’ve cycled, walked, and driven past this edifice. But it was only recently when I co-led a walk from Pitfield Street to Smithfield Market, that this architectural beauty called my attention.

I was waiting for the lights to change on City Road. That’s where I took the above photo. I was struck by the optical illusion the building projected. I asked the rest of the party if they felt the same and they answered affirmatively. However, our responses were all different. To some, Atlas was “swaying” (impossible as it may sound). To others it seemed to be “waving” (I know, I know).

Intrigued by this mystery I went online to find some answers. The information I came across was…