Professor M.Elango
Dissertation
November 2009
CONSUMERISM IN ARCHITECTURE
1. Background of the research The globalised modern society is on an economic drive altering the expression of several aspects attached to it. After the Industrial Revolution, mass production of goods resulted in the supply largely exceeding the demand. As a result, producers turned to advertising for selling their surplus supplies and encouraged conspicuous consumption of their unwanted goods and services. Consumerism endorses consumption and material possessions as a necessity for physical and emotional well-being. Thus began the era of mass consumption and caused the shift of the society from being producer based to consumer based. Consumer …show more content…
However, it is being constantly exploited for economic gains that its potential is watered down. Not only are architectural spaces are being consumed, its design, details, and features have become highly desirable stuff for the reproduction of social identity. Consumerism is not confined to the individualistic needs of a person but also extends into the society at large.
1.1 Architecture as a commodity
Consumerism in architecture is not limited to the production of building categories that aid in increasing consumption of products within it, but is much wider in the globalised era ‘architecture’ itself has become a product to be consumed. Moreover, this idea of consumption extends beyond individual buildings or spaces into a larger context of city itself where it aims to project a different and new image and in the process undergoes transformation in parts or as a whole.
Architecture has itself become a product to be consumed in the recent years with the growth of constructors, developers and real estate agents. It is referred to as a ‘commodity’ because like any other product they are also built, sold, bought, altered and rented and the spaces are also quantified in foot and meters. ‘Consumption’ in architecture does not confine itself to the ‘spaces’ alone but its design, details and features are also being …show more content…
It becomes impossible to separate commercialization of architecture from globalization since it has resulted in the usage of images and architects from various parts of the world with the notion of creating a stand for themselves in the global market Architects themselves are considered to have different commercial values based on the value of the product produced by them. Fig 1 : Guggenheim museum, Bilbao Fig 2 : Disneyland A built environment intended to seduce consumers is more likely to offer instant gratification. Considering the Guggenheim museum designed by Frank.O.Gehry leaving behind the analysis of the quality of built form and architectural style, had been intended as an economic revitalization for the city of Bilbao. The buildings of Walt Disney are also has an economic motive behind the ‘unique’ faces of all their