Building

The workhome, like the dwelling, is ubiquitous. It can be found throughout history, in all cultures across the world. In the UK we conceptualise it as ranging from No 10 Downing Street where the Prime Minister governs the UK supported by numerous employees, to the council flat where the solitary piece-worker makes Christmas crackers on her kitchen table.

This section, work in progress, starts to look at the architectural elements of the workhome, skin, entrance, windows, stairs and roofs. In some workhomes, the dual function is celebrated. This can lead to an idiosyncratic architecture that juxtaposes industrial and domestic scale volumes and elements. Ozenfant's workhome by Le Corbusier and Cash's cottage Factory in Coventry are examples of this.

In other workhomes, the dual function is suppressed. This is sometimes because one function is dominant, maybe the workhome is in a residential or industrial neighbourhood, or because a function is delibrerately hidden. A covert curtain-maker's workhome is an example of the former and a graffiti artist's the latter.

 

 



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