In the 1930s, Tomas Bata’s shoe making empire was expanding rapidly. After a difficult start
the company grew significantly and factories were built not only in the Czechoslovakian town
of Zlín but all around the world. Many “Zlín satellite” copycat towns (up to 40 are accounted
for in its heyday) were created between the 1930s and the 1970s. Nicknamed “Bata Villes” the
modernist worker’s utopian communities were the result of the founder’s global vision: A place
where everyone would work, live and play, in a state of near autarchy.
On the 80th anniversary of the creation of the Bata Shoe Company in East Tilbury, Essex, UK, the
project “AlphaVille” explores the legacy of this “Bata Ville” community.