New York Buildings are beautiful, but it can be hard to admire them through the crowds and the grime.

Photographer Marc Yankus imagines the Big Apple devoid of these distractions in The Secret Lives of Buildings, a fanciful look at what the city might be like without all those cars and stuff. “It’s like walking into a parallel universe, one that’s not packed and dense,” he says.

Yankus has lived in New York since he was 11, and photographed the city for 20 years. Three years ago, he decided to document the buildings that fascinated him. He wanders the streets of Manhattan, snapping photos with his phone. He then returns with his dslr to photograph the buildings from a variety of vantage points.

Then the real work begins. In post-process, Yankus isolates the structure, removing street signs, cars, and even other buildings. Sometimes he’ll insert something from another photo to change the perspective. “I’m creating my vision of the city, making it closer to my perfection,” he says. “It becomes a timeless New York City.”

One uncluttered by the hustle and bustle that makes New York, well, New York.

New York Buildings | All photographs are © Marc Yankus | Editor Charley Locke