Grand Designs

[teuchter]

Kevin is generally honest in his opinions during the body of the programme and then polite at the end.

The Australian one is polite all the way through and consequently boring. The one the other night was an idiot woman building a monstrosity on the gold coast and the presenter didn't have the balls to say as much except by means of a slightly sideways and pretentious remark to camera at the end. The thing didn't deserve to be on grand designs in the first place. Just rich people building faked-up rubbish from the pages of a magazine.

 

[stavros]

How long is it since we had a new series of GD over here? I mean brand new, not just revisits.

 

[teuchter]

Too long I reckon.

 

[teuchter]

First of new series on at the moment.

Featuring a complete idiot trying to build a castle.

 

[Badgers]

First of new series on at the moment.

Featuring a complete idiot trying to build a castle.

Any idiots watching it?

 

[zoooo]

He was mental, but his ideas were quite fun. I hope I see the one where they revisit him some day and he's got it finished. Could look ace.

 

[teuchter]

Any idiots watching it?

Yes

 

[ringo]

He must have been a nightmare to work with - no plans to work off, no experience, knocking walls down and moving them at the weekend when his engineer was away, no regard for conservation etc. The sort of building which will be considered interesting in the future though, we're much better at appreciating this kind of nutter with hindsight than at the time.

 

[teuchter]

I wonder whether all those guys he threw off the job got paid fully for the work they did.

 

[astral]

He looked like a nightmare to work with.

How can anyone even think about a build on that scale with no drawings or plans to work from?

 

[TitanSound]

He looked like a nightmare to work with.

How can anyone even think about a build on that scale with no drawings or plans to work from?

"Visionaries"

 

[teuchter]

He must have been a nightmare to work with - no plans to work off, no experience, knocking walls down and moving them at the weekend when his engineer was away, no regard for conservation etc. The sort of building which will be considered interesting in the future though, we're much better at appreciating this kind of nutter with hindsight than at the time.

If the building ends up interesting or even good, it won't be thanks to his ideas or imagination, it'll be the result of throwing piles of money at it and thanks to a load of other people who put up with his behaviour and probably didn't get paid properly for the time and effort they put in. People who built stuff, took it down, changed it and rebuilt it according to his whims.

I don't think people like this should be seen as loveable rogues - the impression I got was that he was selfish, exploitative and basically like a spoilt kid. Kevin McCloud should have been much harder on him.

 

[ringo]

If the building ends up interesting or even good, it won't be thanks to his ideas or imagination, it'll be the result of throwing piles of money at it and thanks to a load of other people who put up with his behaviour and probably didn't get paid properly for the time and effort they put in. People who built stuff, took it down, changed it and rebuilt it according to his whims.

I don't think people like this should be seen as loveable rogues - the impression I got was that he was selfish, exploitative and basically like a spoilt kid. Kevin McCloud should have been much harder on him.

I'd say if it ends up interesting that is entirely up to him, otherwise it would doubtless have continued to crumble into dust. Whether it's good or not is subjective, but good or bad it's still his 'vision'.

I don't see him as lovable at all, he's a twat. When we look at old buildings though we generally judge them for their lasting legacy and an interesting/foolish/ambitious/egotisical character adds colour to that history, little more. Nobody remembers the poor bloke who did the work and got badly treated and ripped off.

I think McCloud should have been harsher on him for the planning/listing misdemeanors because those levels of legislation are rightly there to protect our heritage from people like him, but the rest was just him being a twat and he demonstrated that without any further assistance. No doubt McCloud's producer wanted more made of it to make good telly.

 

[stavros]

He was a fecking nutjob. Don't C4 demand more thorough plans before they commit to following the build, or did they just go with it and wait for the inevitable fuck-ups?

 

[ringo]

He was a fecking nutjob. Don't C4 demand more thorough plans before they commit to following the build, or did they just go with it and wait for the inevitable fuck-ups?

In reality TV nutjob + fuck-up = drama = good ratings and therefore, sadly, = good TV, especially to C4.

 

[SpookyFrank]

What a nutcase. Can't believe you can get planning permission to work on a listed building without any drawings, or indeed that anyone would be stupid enough to try and build anything without them.

 

[stavros]

"We put an extension on the extension and the house ended up going round in a circle."

 

[teuchter]

Currently showing episode is in Brixton (or Clapham depending on your preference).

It's near the bottom of Lyham Rd and was open last weekend for Open House - I went to have a look at it.

 

[stuff_it]

"We put an extension on the extension and the house ended up going round in a circle."

 

[quimcunx]

Currently showing episode is in Brixton (or Clapham depending on your preference).

It's near the bottom of Lyham Rd and was open last weekend for Open House - I went to have a look at it.

I was intending on nipping in on Sunday morning but it started raining and lazyitis overtook me. Any good?

 

[teuchter]

I was intending on nipping in on Sunday morning but it started raining and lazyitis overtook me. Any good?

It was raining A LOT and I was completely soaked by the time I got there.

Worth seeing though.

It's very well detailed and as minimalism goes it's pretty good. As was pointed out in the programme achieving that look of simplicity is very difficult, both to design and build. Hard to fault it in terms of execution.

I wouldn't want to live in it though. Thing is that if the building is all about space and light then the building kind of fades away to some extent and you become much more aware of the surroundings. That's the point of course and if it was on Venice Beach (or even on a British seafront) it would be amazing but when you look out the windows (which is inevitable) you just see the slightly crappy houses and back gardens of Lyham Road which would just depress me especially on a rainy day like Sunday. So that was my main problem with it, setting issues of taste aside.

Not sure how I feel about it from the outside. I have no problem with the basic idea of it being a glass box type thing and like the inside the detailing is all pretty good but I thought it could be a bit... better somehow. Feels slightly top heavy perhaps. Maybe I will have a look again on a sunny day.

It's interesting seeing it next to the one alongside it, the "Tree House" which I've seen on an Open House weekend in the past. They are very different and I wonder if the owners speak, or just glare across at another from their castles.

I suspect the glass box is actually more energy efficient than the cheesy hippy house.

 

[quimcunx]

Is the tree house cheesy and hippy inside? How does it compare to the eco house we saw? I like tree house, never been in it.

How did icecube house compare to the poddy, lovely cakey, and bricky houses we saw?

 

[teuchter]

Is the tree house cheesy and hippy inside? How does it compare to the eco house we saw? I like tree house, never been in it.

How did icecube house compare to the poddy, lovely cakey, and bricky houses we saw?

The tree house (as far as I remember) is a little bit like the one next to the Cambria Pub but more finished and less shabby, and new build. It's nice enough really, just striving for different aesthetic ideals than the ice cube.

The icecube was most like the brick one we saw, except made of different materials.

The other thing about the icecube was that they claimed it was "modest" but I noted that they had very expensive kitchen appliances.

 

[ringo]

It's very well detailed and as minimalism goes it's pretty good. As was pointed out in the programme achieving that look of simplicity is very difficult, both to design and build. Hard to fault it in terms of execution.

I wouldn't want to live in it though.

We thought the same after watching the programme. I loved the idea of it, and the finish on the cabinetry was incredible and beautiful, but I wouldn't want to live in it. First thing that struck me was that our cat would hate it, nowhere soft to sit, so that would make it very uncomfortable for humans too.

And then there's the fact that they built it in the middle of some rubbish looking garages. For the amount they spent on it, why build it there? Better to spend slightly less on the building and put it somewhere nicer I'd have thought.

She was bloody annoying too

 

[stavros]

Nothing really went wrong last night. OK, they had to sell their old place, but other than that it all went fairly to plan.

 

[teuchter]

Depends to what extent you consider a £300,000 budget turning into a £550,000 budget as "going wrong".

But yes, other than that it seemed pretty successful.

 

[stavros]

That's two as-planned GDs in a row, after the two women last week. Obviously that's offset by the mad Irishman and his castle the previous week.

 

[stavros]

I really liked last night's one, especially the interior. It was different to its neighbours, but by no means looked like it totally fucked up the scenery.

 

[Libertad]

Vince Hill wasn't impressed though was he?

 

[Sweet FA]

I really liked last night's one

Complete opposite here; everything about it revolted me! The couple were arrogant, privileged cunts who wanted what they wanted regardless of everyone else and dressed it up in some 'it's a reflection of us as people' bullshit and the neighbours were horrible little Englander tosspots. The house exterior was dull while the interior had some good bits but wasn't all that.

I quite like GD but that episode was the epitome of all the reasons why people don't like it.

*breathes in 2, 3, 4 aaaand out 2, 3, 4*

Anyway, next week's should be good - we've got urban interest too