Step through the door of an ancient castle in Southern Italy and find yourself transported to an otherworldly, psychedelic scene as the floor flutters and shifts in mesmerizing patterns of color and light. Artist Miguel Chevalier transformed Castel Del Monte, an Italian castle built in 1240, for an interactive digital installation of altered medieval tapestries for a project called ‘Magic Carpets.’

Not only does the light projected onto the floor of the church move with the music in biomorphically-inspired patterns, it reacts to the movements of the visitors as they pass through the space. “This world of colors and shapes in movement takes us, as in a giant kaleidoscope, on an imaginary, poetic voyage,” says Chevalier.

The shapes shift from geometric pixelated patterns taken from traditional Italian mosaic work to lava-like swirls as unsettling music plays in the otherwise darkened space. Seen from the windows in the upper floors of the church, the display is even more dramatic, but the best way to experience the installation is without a doubt to immerse yourself at ground level, enjoying the feeling of the floor seeming to move underneath you.

Reimagined, repositioned and recomposed, this photo manipulation series turns familiar elements of buildings into abstracted compositions that morph beyond architecture, bridging disparate worlds of design and art.

Canadian photographer Cory Stevens starts with exteriors, ceilings, walls and windows, then adds his artistic twist – a variation on the polar panoramic approach.

While pattern recognition may persist in some cases, the rotation and multiplication in many of these pieces makes them increasingly abstract.

The symmetry of these fractal forms begin to make us see other patterns of nature, like snowflakes or star systems, in the shapes and materials of otherwise everyday towers, monuments, habitations, town squares and civic circles.

From the photographer: “Though my primary focus is on architecture and urban environments, I also like to indulge my love of the natural landscape. Digital abstracts have also become a growing segment of my work – inspired by my passion for design and the modern aesthetic.”