Introduction
In our cities, do we truly realise what lies beneath our feet?
What we see — streets, buildings — is often very little compared to the multitude of structures that inhabit the underground.
Beyond circulation routes, countless networks run through the subsoil, enabling residents and businesses to communicate, to access water, energy, information, and sanitation.
In this series, I track the visible traces of this complex universe, its points of contact with the world “above”. These traces identify the networks and usually mark their access points from public space.
These access points — generally manhole covers — often display the technical function of the network, and sometimes the branding of the companies that manufacture them (for example, the many “PAM” covers from Pont‑à‑Mousson found worldwide).
Other cities turn them into genuine elements of urban ornament, sometimes magnificent, as in Budapest.
Here we witness a beautiful interplay between the technical and cultural dimensions of urban policy.
And in the end, I also enjoy the intrigued, amused, or ironic looks of passers‑by who watch me photographing these everyday objects — so common, yet so rarely observed.