New Housing New York
Queens, NY
This waterfront site is not easily accessible to Manhattan except by ferry. Currently the site is a mix of industrial and light manufacturing with isolated housing blocks that are served regionally by their proximity to the expressway.
Our proposal maintains the three story fabric of Queens, but stacks it into two distinct levels. The lower tier related to the local uses while the upper tier is connected by wharfs to the docking height of larger ships and tour boats. The strategy multiplies the possibilities of both regional goods transport linking waterways to highways while the residential program addresses the needs of local residents and Manhattan commuters.
Queen’s urban fabric is made up of two and three story walkups with garages below. This scale allows for inexpensive wood frame construction and the potential to pay home mortgages by income generated by renting the second unit of the duplex.
Our new fabric is made of similar 25 foot by 60 foot townhouses that are shifted in plan and section to accommodate larger industrial footprints and staggered so that each lower unit gets light exposure on two sides.
The units which are landlocked in the plan are programmed for light industrial warehouse use and private garages. We reestablish the streets that were de-mapped so that the site which is now a barrier to the river opens up accessible paths to the public waterfront.