...thesis thoughts...

I'm really interested in the idea of American over-consumerism, and how the whole world has kind of been looking to our way of living as a model to how they should live their lives and so they also want to have more stuff and bigger things, creating more demand on resources and making the whole world huge over consumers. So, I was thinking that I could design some space that sets a new example for the world that hangs on the idea that less is more, the idea that you don't need as much as you think you do, and just focusing on kind of rethinking the way we live in and use our homes. I want my ideas to open people's minds and encourage more responsible living, and so I have this idea that you need to affect the individual, which will affect their home then affect the community then affect the city then the country and then the planet, and it becomes a ripple effect. So, for the kind of space I want to design I was thinking maybe a single family residence, or a multi-family apartment building, or maybe a mixed-use building that also has residences in them, and I wanted to focus on the average middle class family.