Enter Queens by Rafael Herrin-Ferri
Perhaps the most engaging aspect of the Queens vernacular is at street level where the specifics of entering a highly modified, idiosyncratic housing stock are articulated to produce non-traditional and sometimes very surprising configurations. This series of photographs – part of the All the Queens Houses survey – features some of the most original examples of “entry conditions” the borough has to offer. There is almost always a dynamic relationship to the ground plane due to the multiple points of access these simple residential structures try to accommodate: the main stair (rarely in the classic straight Manhattan or Brooklyn stoop format), basement or cellar access (legal or otherwise), and in many cases, a garage or carport that is tied into the overall “front-of-house” composition, either with paint or the ubiquitous aluminum step-down awning.