16 otherworldly images of a Parisian community you probably didn't know existed

If you ever find yourself traveling outside of Paris, you may be surprised to encounter a series of high-rise buildings looming in the distance.  

These large housing projects, known as the "Grand Ensembles," were constructed by the French government from the 1950s through the 1980s to help ease the housing problems that were prevalent throughout the country. Many of these high-rise buildings and communities still exist today.

Still, many Parisians are not aware of what these communities are really like for those who live there. The local media tends to marginalize these constructions, depicting them as low-income homes that are simply crumbling away outside the city.

"Today, the deteriorating buildings are largely considered failed experiments — catalysts for the alienation of their populations and a slew of accompanying social issues," Jordan G. Teicher writes in The Washington Post. 

Over the past few years, photographer Laurent Kronental has sought to document the housing projects and the people within them. Instead of just looking at the neighborhoods as a relic of the past, Kronental aims to show that there is still a promising future in store for these housing projects.  

And despite how it may seem in his images, the buildings are not abandoned. Kronental intentionally took photos of the districts empty of their inhabitants in order to add a deeper, more poetic look, as well as a sense of mystery. 

The series of photographs, "Souvenir d'un Futur," provides a closer and more investigative look into the housing projects that don't get as much attention — from the media, tourists, and French citizens themselves — as the rest of Paris gets. 

SEE ALSO: This Instagram shows a side of Paris you probably haven't seen before

Even though the buildings were constructed as long as half a century ago, their fantastic architecture still has a futuristic feel, and it's still considered progressive to this day.

After WWII was over, increased urban migration and an influx of foreign migrants led to a need for more public housing.

Today, some buildings show signs of deterioration (and some locations are now due for either renovation or demolition), but some are still habitable.