When did the notion of being ‘unique’ and different from others become a prime criteria in the clients idea of a house?


When india opened up her market to global products, mid 1990s, we also joined the rat race of a tyipical consumeristic society. For global brands which was yearning for a long term positive market, india was a huge boon, which resulted in severe competitions in all facets of products, whether big or small. At the same time, with the opening of educational streams to self financing institutions and private bodies, more and more sectors of society got access to higher education, which is western knowledge driven and hence not looking at developing their indigenous strengths. This also created a large set of white collared applicants with very demanding financial benefits, who could be lured into the consumer product race. Every body aspired to become unique and special, which gave them that sudden lift in their emotional concious.
This idea of being unique and special, backed up with consistent financial inflows, had its own influence in residential architecture too. While pre-globalised society, was more focussed on collective improvement and social dependence, globalized consumer society leaned towards nurturing personal egos and hence their craving to become special. Being continually infuenced by a varied form of marketing media, products and consumerism became a daily affair for each individual.
From the form, to the tile in a toilet, everybody want something unique to showcase their might and intellectual capabilities. Designers could make use of this scenario to carve their own styles of approaches and details and hence market them as a specific design solution provider. Fight for survival has now left its space to a fight for supremacy.

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