Over the preceding two years I was fortunate enough to have some very special meetings with my birth families for the first time. Some of these moments were in beautiful places, some ordinary, all provided the backdrop for these most memorable events. My understanding of my origins and my sense of place and rootedness in this world began to emerge. I expanded my known family tree and developed a catalogue of spaces; a family map. In the course of this research I aim to investigate an idea of the 'genetics of space' and how this can shape us long after we have moved on. This work will play particular attention to Irish architectural typologies and how they too have been adopted and re-interpreted to form the backdrops to all our lives.