A reader in our Forum asks this provocative question: "As concerns grow over the future of our our planet's civilisation and environment... are we ready to embrace a new habitable architecture, the underground?"

Architects are already doing exciting things with Earth Sheltered homes that lie mostly beneath the ground surface. But, what about homes that tunnel really deep, like bomb shelters and military bunkers? Could a family really live there? Join the discussion: A New Architecture - Underground >

If there's any silver lining to the economic cloud that hovers over us, it would have to be the demise of the McMansion. In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Virginia McAlester, author of A Field Guide to American Houses, speculated that our current economic woes will lead to smaller houses. McAlester thinks we'll also see an increase in energy-efficient attached houses and duplexes. Yay!

Full story in the Washington Post: Recession Should Change Tastes

Philip Webb, often called the father of the Arts & Crafts movement, was born on January 12 in 1831. Along with William Morris, Webb designed furniture, wallpaper, tapestries, and stained glass. But he was most famous for comfortable, unpretentious country homes like the famous Red House he designed for William Morris.

January 10 is the birthday of the world's oldest (successful) public underground rail system. The London Underground opened 1863 with trains running every ten minutes. The noisy steam engines carried 40,000 passengers between Paddington and Farringdon that day, and transformed our thinking of urban design. The electric underground railway line was added in 1890, and London's system was given the affectionate name, The Tube.

^{Photo: The London Underground Railway, ©Transport for London 2005}