NarrativeReDux: "Hi, there. I want to talk to you about ducts."

Williamsburg as it is

As it stands, Williamsburg is a relatively diverse area. The residents currently include hipsters and young adults who wear clothing from this era who are starting off on their own, and, as wikipedia would put it, "Many ethnic groups have enclaves within Williamsburg, including Germans, Hasidic Jews, Italians, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans." Of course, as time passes so do the groups that come and go. A lot of development is going on to create condos and other high rise projects. This obviously comes at the cost of replacing the current residents and "feel" of the neighborhood. It is not something that is only happening to Williamsburg, examples harsh development could be found all over Manhattan, Queens, and, when these places are exhausted, the Bronx. Whether talking about the future and reveling in the present, architecture's role is undoubtedly to serve culture, not control or inhibit it. I believe, for the future, architecture needs to have a responsible hand when it comes to topics such as pollution and responding to the city and its inhabitants, and, while there may not necessarily be any right answer, there are certainly wrong ones.

Williamsburg is a very industrial heavy zone; also the Williamsburg Bridge has a tremendous impact on the infrastructure and importance of this particular area. To speak on the architecture in the area, you must first really address, not the buildings themselves, but the uses. Manufacturing, production, and exporting of those produced items play a vital role in how the area functions and, of course, how the area is organized.

Williamsburg: 50 Years Later (After the duct work.)

Williamsburg, now known as the Area 12, has become one of the prime examples of an urban mixed use community. Inhabitants go to work, children go to school, and the elderly enjoy the libraries. Soring obelisks of black stone and aluminum dominate the cityscape. The one permeating factor seen through this cityscape is the forest of mechanical systems that spread and branch and in turn untie all of Area 12. A living breathing city composed of ducts, shafts, and conduits. The ducts seem to flow out of the boiler rooms and into the streets forming massive distribution columns the weave in and out of adjacent buildings. The processed air rises in plumes of white condensed atomsphere to bring warmth in the winter and cool air in the summer. Conduits that bring Area 12 to life become a nervous system. The buzz of electricity breaks the seldom silence found in the alleys and streets of this city. Information travels at the speed of light above and below the heads of the citizens. This has become a city of individual thought and entities united by a common goal of creating a fully functional and thriving city powered by the industry of its people and the power of their mechanical systems.