Self-Sustaining Village: Reworking the Consumer Culture Through Minimalism and Collaboration
Open AccessThe rise of industrialization has yielded exponential growth in consumerism, which has arguably aided in the development of compulsive habits, thus expending resources beyond necessity. An array of studies indicate a strong correlation between one’s higher spending and a decline in overall lifestyle satisfaction. In addition, we live in a society which encourages minimalism, recycling, compost, and overall environmental sustainability, but also bombards us with advertisements, promotions, deals and discounts which lead to a desire to spend more. This emphasis on “spend more, use more...but recycle” has become a common practice which creates a toxic cultural norm; It leads to lack of self-discipline, self-expression, and increases our overall reliance on mass produced commercial goods to solve our day to day problems.This study will look at how careful and organized spatial planning can promote minimalism in a space and encourage its inhabitants to reduce overall material consumption. The romanticization of materialistic consumption can be addressed by evoking awareness and transforming perception that cater to realistic ideals of society than to the romanticized pursuits of modern consumerism. A combination of psychology and architecture is used to design a spatial platform to challenge the materialistic consumerism through habit, interaction, and community building.
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