Reading the McMansion thread put me in mind of this excellent book. Has
anyone here read it? For folks who haven't, it's a book about "what
works" in architecture and in town planning. It's basically a distilled
collection of rules of thumb regarding good design and building practices.
An example is the rule that states that a good room will have light
coming from at least two directions. In my old added-on house, we have
several submarine rooms that have all their windows in one wall. Bad.
The nicest rooms follow the rule.

Ray