Everything gets its own week-long celebration these days, including watercress. But Architecture Week is actually worth investigating further: there are hundreds of events up and down the country and it's not often you get a chance to stop and think about all the ways in which the cities and houses we live in affect our lives. However, like most things in modern life, you don't necessarily need to leave the house or office to take part.

Here's five things to do online:

1. Architect in the House is the tried-and-tested scheme in which a local architect swaps an hour of their time in return for a £40 donation to Shelter. Book online here and you'll soon have a chartered architect knocking on your door full of bright ideas for extending the kitchen and stopping your carbon emissions. Alternatively, you can get free advice from architect George Stowell courtesy of YouTube

2. The Design Museum has created an Architecture Island in www.secondlife.com to host the museum's activities while it installs a real-life exhibition of leading British architect Zaha Hadid's work.

3. Listen to top commentators debating the future of Britain's towns and cities. Peter Ackroyd takes a look at the future of London on Monday (find out more here) whilst Maxwell Hutchinson revisits Leicester, the city that inspired him to become an architect (watch the video here)

4. Take a look at this online exhibition of architectural photography from Manchester, which captures buildings at the end of their useful lives

5. OK, so this is one you may actually need to leave the house (and travel to Birmingham) for. Download this part fact and part fantasy self-guided audio tour of Birmingham from award-winning comedienne Janice Connolly and artist Nicole Blackman and Stay Away From Lonely Places!

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