Can America's new suburban homes get any bigger? Do families really need 6,000 square-foot homes? When the kids go off to college, what do homeowners do with all that empty space? Some of today's leading residential architects are asking these very questions and coming up with some surprising-or not so surprising-answers.

One is Sarah Susanka, former principal with Mulfinger, Susanka, Mahady, & Partners, an architectural firm with offices in Minneapolis and Stillwater, MN. "So many houses, so big with so little soul," Susanka laments. "Our suburbs are filled with houses that are bigger than ever. But are they really better? Americans are searching for homes in unprecedented numbers. But a house is more than square footage and the number of beds and baths. In one of the wealthiest societies ever, many people are deeply dissatisfied with their most expensive purchase."

As we move into the next century, it's time to abandon the floor plans of the 19th century, Susanka says: "Formal living and dining rooms are dinosaurs-relics from the Victorian era. Our lifestyles have completely changed, yet the living room, dining room, and kitchen are still in the same places in a house as they were 100 years ago.

The solution is "rethinking the home" Susanka says. "Houses should be composed of adaptable spaces, designed to share various functions, in use everyday. The core of the Not So Big House is an interconnected area that encompasses kitchen, living, and dining functions. All of these areas are physically and visibly open to each other and are shared by family and friends." In designing, Susanka and her colleagues have employed techniques that work. Long views from one room to another make a house feel larger while, at the same time, the large space can contain several activity centers to make each area feel cozy. A diagonal view can enliven a home. Ceiling height is important. Smaller homes shouldn't scrimp on circulation space, she says. And lighting both artificial and natural-is important. "The move toward a simpler way of living, and toward a realignment of our outer lives with our inner beliefs, leads along the same path as building Not So Big," says Susanka. The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka with Kira Obolensky is published by Taunton Press, Newton, CT, and is available at local and online bookstores.