Thailand, especially Bangkok, has a booming construction industry. Many of the workers in the construction industry are migrant workers, drawn to Bangkok by the lure of high salaries. Most come from Isaan, the impoverished rural region of northeastern Thailand along the Cambodian and Lao borders, but many also come from Cambodia (so many, in fact, that there’s now a shortage of construction workers in Phnom Penh) and some from Myanmar.

Workers have had a difficult time finding affordable housing close to their construction projects, which are frequently in the most expensive parts of town. Many construction firms have built dormitory housing units in vacant lots close to their job sites, others house workers on the site, in leaky corrugated metal huts.

Workers live on the site until it’s nearly finished or their work is done. Then they move on to the next site. It’s a life in motion, powering the expansion of a global metropolis.