Can Buildings Shape Identity? Exploring How the Architecture of Residential Homes Restricts Individuals' Personal and Social Freedom Part 1 Dissertation 2026 Carys Morris University of Wales Trinity Saint David Swansea | UK Our homes shape who we are.They are the spaces where we grew up, the walls that got us through lockdown, and the backdrops to our best and worst moments. Yet over 75% of people feel they have absolutely no control over how their own house looks or feels. When we build neighbourhoods and houses that focus on efficiency, and not on self-expression, we limit the development of personal identity. My project asks a vital question: how are these rigid environments warping who we are, and who we become?This work is a direct attack on the modern construction industry. My data shows that when you strip control away from residents, you create a deep sense of alienation - turning what should be a personal sanctuary into a sterile box.I want to challenge how the housing industry operates. By cutting through the corporate obsession with profit margins, this project puts human experience back at the centre of architecture. It directly fights the copy-paste mindset of modern housing developments, proving that builders need to look past market uniformity and start designing for the psychological needs of real people.If you have ever walked through a new housing estate and felt a strange, hollow emptiness, this project explains exactly why, and shows how we can fix it. Tutor(s) Ian Standen