Nanterre Tours Aillaud
A symbol of brutalist architecture in Île-de-France
In Nanterre, the Aillaud Towers, also known as the Cloud Towers, embody one of the most singular expressions of French Brutalist architecture . Designed by Émile Aillaud in the 1970s, they blend the power of concrete with the poetry of form. Through this series, I seek to reveal the silent beauty of these monumental towers, at once urban and dreamlike. Between light and abstraction, each image explores the boundary between art and urbanism , offering an authorial perspective on a unique architectural heritage in the Île-de-France region.
Jean-François Naturel
Nanterre – The Aillaud Towers: Fragments of a Brutalist Dream
West of Paris, the Aillaud Towers stand out against the Nanterre skyline, their distinctive silhouette rising majestically. Designed between 1973 and 1981 by architect Émile Aillaud, these eighteen towers, often nicknamed "the Cloud Towers," form one of the most emblematic examples of Brutalist architecture in the Île-de-France region. Their poetic concrete, adorned with colorful mosaics, breaks with the starkness of the large housing projects of their time.
In this vertical utopia, Aillaud sought to reinvent the way of inhabiting the city, by infusing an artistic dimension into the geometry of social housing.
Photographing the Aillaud towers means exploring the boundary between urban dream and architectural reality. Their monumental presence, both massive and undulating, seems to converse with the ever-changing sky of Nanterre. From certain angles, the repetition of forms creates an almost pictorial abstraction; from others, the light reveals the fragility of the concrete and the poetry of the details.
This photographic series is part of a broader reflection on modernist architecture and on how brutalism expresses the strength, sincerity and sometimes the melancholy of the contemporary city.
By isolating these towers from their immediate surroundings, my images seek to reveal their sculptural power, their almost dreamlike dimension. The mosaics, the shadows, the curved lines become the elements of a visual language between abstraction and reality.
The Aillaud towers are not just an architectural heritage; they are also a symbol of French modernity, a total work where urbanism meets poetry.
Through this series, I wish to pay tribute to the visionary ambition of Émile Aillaud and to this raw aesthetic which continues to inspire photographers, architects and lovers of contemporary architecture.