Campus & Community

Double takes

2 min read

On Harvard’s campus, looks can be quite deceiving

With attention to geometry, repetition, and round shapes, the images pictured may seem like optical illusions upon first glance, but with a “double take,” the eye will discern the scenes. The images are not double-exposed or manipulated. These layered and complex views can be found in plain sight on Harvard University’s campus.

William James Hall acts as a backdrop for reflections of Gund Hall.
Two students are reflected off the vibrant window display of neckties at a men’s clothier on the corners of Mt. Auburn and Dunster streets.
Students meet for a colorful afternoon snack inside the Northwest Laboratory.
A student works with an iPad while a worker performs repairs in the basement of the Science Center.
An image of the Malkin Athletic Center is displayed on an electronic screen in the entrance of the center itself.
An illusion of a grid is created through a framed poster and a side of the Science Center building. The Memorial Church steeple emerges through the chaos.
The Memorial Church (front), Memorial Hall, and William James Hall are seen through the blinded windows of The Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center.
A convex glass structure distorts the view of men chatting in the basement of the Science Center as a man in a wheelchair enters the frame.
A University van reflects pedestrians and views of Harvard Yard on its window.
Pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars pass through a Harvard Square shop’s windows, with views of Lehman Hall.
The walls of Maxwell Dworkin Hall appear to merge as a man travels into the building from Pierce Hall.
A silhouetted man works in the Northwest Building while the Museum of Comparative Zoology is seen through the glass.
Sunlight casts dramatic shadows in the Northwest Building.
A student waits for the shuttle at Memorial Hall as Adolphus Busch Hall is seen in its reflection.