In my opinion, there are a wide range of reasons that lead to curiosity of peoples house or buildings they lived in, and among those, nationalism, ethicism and localism are some important factors. From baby bloom to generation Z, our worlds have been filled with information and novel stuff. People are devoted to blend the self in a group but also maintain there uniqueness. Nationality and ethics are the easiest concept to get a sense of belongings. On the other hand, to stress the history and culture of your cities, blocks and homes are a way to defend your differences. Therefore, finding out about the history of one’s accomodations serves the purpose localism. One can discover and awe on the history and culture of their houses and even deepen their bond to the land physically and mentally. Moreover, if the houses are passed down from one’s ancestors, the process may also pay tributes to them. Families may also enjoy such activities as a whole.
To dig into the history of houses and buildings, there are several ways. To start with, discussing with elder family members and neighbors might be the easiest way. Researching on the internet may also be a feasible solution if your house are sort of “famous”. For those who lived in “normal” houses, to check ancient local newspaper and library materials are some ways that I can think of. To be honest, the process may not be easy because I believe that most houses do not have proper documentaries on their “history”. In Taiwan, few people try to research on their houses history since most of the houses are built in the past 30 years. Nonetheless, my great-grandma did live in an old Chinese-fashion building that I was quite interested in. I asked her about the house and found out that it was built by her grandpa by hand, and lots of the decorations in it had their own meanings. It was an amazing experience for me to discover the house and also my family history altogether.
In conclusion, it’s itself an interesting phenomenom that people are becoming interest about the history of the buildings they liven in, and to acquire emotional bond with local and preserve the uniqueness of one may be an important reason that people do so. People have lots of ways to research on their houses although it may not be easy.