Grand Designs

[MrLongbeard]

New series on now.
Oh , dear this looks like the first house is gonna be a dogs dinner, you really can't buy taste

[KungFooBob]

The guy has an F40, so you can let him off a shit house.

[Count Steer]

The guy has an F40, so you can let him off a shit house.

The pic I posted in the Marcus thingummy thread of the round the world woman* was a Grand Designs subject - converted Munstead water tower in Godalming into a house. IIRC Kevin got a bit wobbly on the iron grid walkway at the top. F40? Hah! Round the world old bimmer?

*Elspeth Beard

[Pirahna]

I posted months ago about Grand Designs and a house build they followed. Long story short, lots of dodgy editing and dialogue making a complaining neighbour look like a twat. The reality was Kev getting fully behind a very piss taking builder. A hateful man.

[Taipan]

Must admit,last nights house was not for me by a long chalk, but complaints to ofcom about it?

Green eyed monsters?!

Grand Designs viewers deluge show with complaints over 'sickening' £2.5m home
Homes in poor areas cost less than the kitchen of the supercar investor's home!

A new series of Grand Designs has returned to our screens, but viewers were not happy about the amount of money that spent on the project.

The first episode saw Kevin McCloud follow property and supercar investor Joe Priday and his wife Claire on their futuristic build in Devon.

Known as The Hux Shard project it cost £2.5million, covers 6,000 sq ft and stands seven feet tall. Viewers compared its jagged structure to the likes of a civic centre, a Bond villain's lair, and even a Holiday Inn.

It has a gym, cinema room and a study for the kids with a huge open plan kitchen and living-space. The house is ultra-modern and also eco-friendly, powered via the sun and air.

A website dedicated to the build says: "The project is a truly outstanding and innovative design, helping to raise standards of design more generally in rural areas.

"Reflecting the highest standards in architecture, the project will significantly enhance its immediate setting and be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area."


The £2.5 million home that featured in the first episode of Grand Designs (Image: Channel 4)

Some viewers were not impressed with how much money was spent on the project - especially the £125,000 kitchen - and branded it "sickening".

Others were more supportive, saying: "Love the fact that the young family are self-made and created something unique in their home area. Good for them. It is funny reading the Twitter anger and jealousy too...!"

The couple started off with a budget of £800,0000 but eventually spent £2.5 million on the grand home.

One wrote: "In all seriousness, that was one sickening 'Grand Design'. Everything about it highlighted the gulf between the haves and have-nots. What he spent on just a Kitchen??! And what about the environmental cost?"

But viewers were not impressed with how much money was spent on the project - especially the £125,000 kitchen - and branded it "sickening".

[Mussels]

Complaining about the build price of a Grand Designs home? I can only assume they haven't watched it for many years.

[r1flyguy]

I most surprised how they get planning permission for some of the odd designs in the middle of a town!

I always thought that when developing a property in the middle of an existing settlement the design had to be ‘in keeping’ with the surroundings! Some of the buildings albeit stunning on the inside are bloody awful on the outside and nothing like ‘in keeping’

Kevin McCloud using the same script and ideals for every episode;
1) Pre-Planning - say it’s going to be amazing, kind to the environment and self contained
2) Mid-Build - say it’ll never be finished, it’s over budget and looks wrong
3) Finished - say it amazing, best sympathetic design and wonderful awe inspiring piece of architectural genius.

[MrLongbeard]

Nice gaff, but a site you couldn't pay me a million pounds to live on

[asmethurst99]

Do they still play Badly drawn boy with lots of drone footage ?

[David]

What you need to remember is that its Telly...not real life.

[weeksy]

Just watching the final few mins of episode 1....

It's just... well... fucking ridiculous isn't it..

I just can't see how/why you'd want to live there. MAybe i'm not the right person for this.

[Rockburner]

Nice gaff, but a site you couldn't pay me a million pounds to live on

yeah - the location was terrible, but if you want to live in the SE of the UK and you don't have much cash, then you're stuck with barely-suitable sites or bungalow gobbling.

House itself was pretty good. I like the super-flush solar panels and also the idea of using a bus as a 'temporary' building for his workshop.

[MrLongbeard]

Them solar panels will be fecked within a year after all the local youths have run up and down his roof a few times

[wheelnut]

Just watching the final few mins of episode 1....

It's just... well... fucking ridiculous isn't it..

I just can't see how/why you'd want to live there. MAybe i'm not the right person for this.

Not for me eother, but I can appreciate the design that's gone in to it. No wonder it was a nightmatre to build, there's a reason why houses are generally square.

[millemille]

The only Grand Designs episode, in fact it was episodes as they went twice, that I felt admiration for the owners and everyone involved was Hellifield Peel castle.

An architect and his wife bought what was basically a pile of rubble....



..and sweated blood to turn it into an amazing home...









My design engineering consultant did a very early Grand Designs with a house he designed, 100% off grid for energy/100% self sufficient, and took legal action to prevent it being broadcast after he had concerns over misrepresentation and he believed, given how the legal proceedings went, that he's not the only person to have done so...

[Taipan]

Just watched the triangle, pointy place. I'd not want to live there as it must be hell to sit outside on a summers day with all that train and traffic noise and fumes, but it must be said he made a great job of a bad lot! Really admired what he did there, but it was nagging me, that for that money he could possibly just bought an existing place somewhere a bit more rural?

[Bigyin]

Just watched the triangle, pointy place. I'd not want to live there as it must be hell to sit outside on a summers day with all that train and traffic noise and fumes, but it must be said he made a great job of a bad lot! Really admired what he did there, but it was nagging me, that for that money he could possibly just bought an existing place somewhere a bit more rural?

I was similar and wouldnt want to live in it but i was seriously impressed by the craftsmanship he put into it and the end result was a superb bit of architecture and design ............... day to day life would be a different matter

[weeksy]

Just watched the triangle, pointy place. I'd not want to live there as it must be hell to sit outside on a summers day with all that train and traffic noise and fumes, but it must be said he made a great job of a bad lot! Really admired what he did there, but it was nagging me, that for that money he could possibly just bought an existing place somewhere a bit more rural?

Just starting this one... i must say at first viewing it seems pointless beyond words and i can't even contemplate living there.

[DefTrap]

Not watched GD for a while, simply because I was bored with Kevin McCloud's formulaic approach. Although his summary soliloquy at the end always gives us a laugh - we play McCloud bingo, see how many of his favourite terms he can shoehorn in.

Anyway, I caught an episode the other day, still the same. I would say pension him off but they'd probably end up replacing him with bloody awful Sarah Beeny.

[MrLongbeard]

New series started last week, but for those that are tired of the format and faux jeopardy this fella has just started his own youtube channel which may turn out more interesting and real;
https://www.youtube.com/@RejectedbyGrandDesigns/videos