In pursuit of an NYC apartment, German photographer Gesche Würfel accidentally stumbled into the oft-overlooked world that is the city's many floral, lushly decorated basements, most of which belong the buildings' superintendents and their families. All on display in Portland's Blue Sky Gallery, the Basement Sanctuaries series explores that ways in which the inhabitants create livable, cozy homes out of the cramped windowless quarters, often replete with faux flower gardens and cleverly utilized nooks and crannies. "I am drawn to unusual, derelict, mundane, and often overlooked spaces," explains Würfel. "The supers' decorations function as a territorial claim over the basement's public/private space."
· Forget The Skyscrapers, Check Out New York City's Basements0 [Co. Design]