The individual aspects and ideas of the “home” and “work” space are evolving and shifting as long distance travel becomes something of the past. Tourism and travel were once something done on leisure time, occurring somewhere between where the home and work meet. In today’s ever changing world and economy a worker no longer has to travel great distances around his or her environment in order to make a living. In the case studies of “Les Olypiades” and the city of Elche’s booming shoe industry the home becomes a place of work and the two intertwine themselves to one and other.
This mixture of residential and commercial industry has created a hybrid identity of migrants and natives a like. For example, the building in Paris, France, which was created to house hundreds, has become a melting pot of Chinese culture as more and more immigrants flock to the area. The Dubalin article goes on to state: “the Asiatic community realized the possibility that they could manage a plurality of functions in complete freedom…”(Dubalin, 82). The building itself has become divided into sectors of living including the residential home, restaurants, workshops, and places of religion. In the Elche, Spain article Multiplicity explains, “while [shoe] production had historically been concentrated in a few large industrial buildings, today it is literally dispersed throughout the entire city” (Multiplicity, 151). This blending of home and work, in both Elche’s and the building in Paris’ case has created a counter culture of stay at home workers who live in a blended world of commerce and leisure.
The low-income housing project “Les Olypiades” has been carefully structured to hold a cities worth of infrastructure while maintaining a suitable living style. While the top floors of the building are for residents the “subterranean levels are occupied by larger scale suppliers, warehouses, refrigerated storage facilities, car-parking for delivery vans and general utility installations”(Dubalin, 82). In order to maintain a living space with the addition of larger industries the residents here have created different markets and districts to house the work and imports. The citizens of Elche have also over gone a similar change with the creation of the their footwear district. The change in industry from factory to jobs at home has left a gap for landlords and local shops to take advantage of domestic workers, for this reason the predominant work force are stay at home women. By allowing the shoe industry to conduct their work inside of the home these women have given up their private lives for that of the public in order to pursue a local career.
The city of Elche itself has become a living and breathing industrial plant, as work has literally over taken the households and workers now live within the system. The homes and workshops situated amongst the city have shifted into checkpoints along the assembly line of a production factory. As opposed to any other local ingredient found on the streets the only found consistently within Elche anymore are the bags full of shoes. The concrete monster of “Les Olypiades” has come to life as a fluctuating and breathing city on the rise as business and entrepreneurs have a chance to combine the work force with the domestic duties in life. Together these two cases of Elche and Paris have become perfect examples of the changes in the “home” and “work” scenario as the two blends to create a hybrid model of life.
Bibliography
Dubalin, Y. et. al. “A City in a Building: Paris Subversions.” USE: Uncertain States
of Europe. Ed. Susan Wise. Milan: Skira Editore S.p.a., 2003 80-87
Multiplicity. “House Factories: Elche Disseminations.” USE: Uncertain States of
Europe. Ed. Susan Wise. Milan: Skira Editore S.p.a., 2003. 150-157
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