Producing a Hybrid Cooperative Space

As a recent phenomenon, the rise of coworking has become a subject of growing interest for sociological analysis in the general context of dialectical relations between the development of new forms of knowledge-based economic structuring, and the transformation of traditional modes of work organization. However, few studies describe what actually occurs within these spaces, which are examined primarily through their public, the co-workers, and are characterized by weak cooperative ties. Based on an ethnographic study conducted within a cooperative workspace called “La Cantine”, managed by a non-profit association “Silicon Sentier”, that is what this article sets out to describe. The author explores the interactional mechanisms through which physical space, as well as the “articulation work” carried out by the association’s employees, produce various forms of “overflowing” for the purpose of organizing cooperation between various actors : both large organizations and independent workers.