© Sebastian Weiss
For Hamburg-based photographer Sebastian Weiss, buildings are dramatis personae, or “characters”. Inspired by Ash Amin and Stephen Graham’s 1997 book The Ordinary City, in which the authors described the city as the “theater of life”, this photo-essay of architectural landmarks in the French cities of Arcueil, Nanterre, and Paris examines the personalities of public buildings.
In considering the “city itself as a theater,” Weiss has brought the “protagonists of the city” to the fore. “I was looking for architectural people,” Weiss recalls, “whose roles are essential and whose absence would make an entirely different story.” With this in mind, these are his favorite urban “performances”.
La cité Curial-Cambrai
Location: Paris, France / Architect: André Coquet
© Sebastian Weiss
© Sebastian Weiss
ZAC du Coteau
Location: Arcueil, France / Architects: ECDM Architectes
© Sebastian Weiss
SILOS 13
Location: Paris, France / Architect: VIB Architecture
© Sebastian Weiss
Choux de Créteil
Location: Créteil, France / Architect: Gérard Grandval
© Sebastian Weiss
Stade Jean-Bouin
Location: Paris, France / Architects: Rudy Ricciotti
© Sebastian Weiss
Centre des nouvelles industries et technologies
Location: Paris, France / Architects: Robert Edouard Camelot, Jean de Mailly and Bernard Zehrfuss
© Sebastian Weiss
Tours Aillaud
Location: Nanterre, France / Architects: Émile Aillaud
© Sebastian Weiss
Grande Arche
Location: Paris, France / Architects: Otto von Spreckelsen and Paul Andreu
© Sebastian Weiss
Cité de la musique – Philharmonie de Paris
Location: Paris, France / Architect: Jean Nouvel
© Sebastian Weiss
© Sebastian Weiss
Le Centre National d’Entraînement
Location: Paris, France
© Sebastian Weiss