Conspicuous consumption as architectural proxy

Contemporary architecture in emerging economies is at risk of losing rich cultural identity in built environments as much of today’s reaction is driven by afixation on superlative ostentatiousness as the normative design process. This thesis asserts that there are several attributes of architectural conspicuous consumption that emerging economies could adopt in order to sustain their cultural identity through architecture. This will be achieved through the inclusion of both past cultural traditions and current global trends, which will be demonstrated in the thesis project in Guangzhou, the centre of China’s industrial market and growing urban center.