Nowadays, the government often closes eyes on controlling the design and construction of new houses, so people can build them in their own style instead of going with the old design. While I do understand people’s reasons behind those decisions, I believe that this approach would cause more cons than pros.
On one hand, coming up with a unique design and setting up your own house with it could be seen as something creative or even beneficial in some cases. The ability to design your own place in your way creates a feeling of freedom in people, which also allows them to freely express themselves. As for the benefits to this, a lot of people often complain about plain and boring designs in some neighborhoods and the opportunity to “have it your way” could certainly battle this issue. This has been proven right in a 2014 study that was conducted by the University of San-Francisco. In this study, the researchers picked two groups of people. The first one lived in a traditional neighborhood with the same designs, and the second one lived in the neighborhood, where houses were customized, appealing to their owners. Results had shown that people living in custom neighborhoods showed higher levels of dopamine than those in plain and boring ones.
On the other hand, creating your own design without proper knowledge could lead to disastrous consequences. Not every person is able to construct a stable house design and often come down to rash and unprofessional design decisions. In order to create a building that would be resilient enough to survive the aftermath of a natural disaster, an individual has to possess deep knowledge in the spheres of architecture, which include interior and exterior design. Furthermore, the reparations for the havoc would have lesser costs. The prime example of this is the consequences of a recent hurricane in Florida. The house that stood out from the rest had suffered the most after a rampaging storm, which caused collateral damage to its adjacent buildings. What’s more is that this was only prominent where the custom-designed house was located.
To conclude, while the custom-made house design could certainly offer its own benefits, such as improved health and state of mind, the final decision comes down to whether you are able to risk your own safety for the sake of expressing yourself. In my view, staying alive is much more important than standing out.