Symmetry has long been an important part of architecture–see the classical architects who revered it, and the Modernists who rejected it. Research suggests that part of this longstanding fascination with order and balance is neurological: the human brain is just hard-wired to think that symmetrical things are beautiful. So point your neurons toward Hungarian photographer Zsolt Hlinka’s immensely satisfying new series Urban Symmetry .

Photographed along the River Dunabe in Budapest, all of the residential buildings in Hlinka’s series are perfectly symmetrical. And I mean perfectly. Everything–from the colors of the window shades to the ornament on the balconies to the proportions of the chimneys–is reflected identically from one side to the other. Monochrome backgrounds that match the buildings’ color only emphasize the perfect symmetry.

As with anything that’s a little too perfect, however, there’s a twist: with the help of Photoshop, Hlinka achieved this perfect symmetry by cutting the building in two and then mirroring one of the halves onto the other side. Still, looking through the series (and the short video Hlinka made to accompany it) there’s something inherently pleasing about the balance and exactitude of these grandiose buildings–even if they have been digitally manipulated.