From Wired : Washington, DC, of the Future

If architects can be inspired by The Matrix, then it should come as no surprise that conceptual artists get off on real-life architecture. Clyne, who designed the futuristic Washington D.C. for Minority Report, talked about the process of turning satellite photos of the real city into the neon-lit world of precogs.

Working from a vague script direction that said simply, “There are familiar buildings of Washington D.C., plus some new ones,” he conceived of a new urban landscape, hulking mirrored buildings looming around the still-recognizable green spaces of the Washington Mall. “A lot of my work is done in Photoshop, where I take photos of real places and turn them into a collage, mixing textures and photos to new effect,” he said.

Courtesy Dreamworks, Courtesy Fox Studios
Illustration: James Clyne