Grand Designs at 25: Six Modern House Homes That Started Life on the Much-loved Homebuilding TV Show

Grand Designs first aired in 1999 when television schedules were awash with dubious interiors programming. From the start, it was distinctly different. With just one project per episode, it allowed the viewer to become fully involved, immersed and invested. Thought-provoking and inspiring, it took viewers on a new journey each week, travelling alongside a tenacious, foolhardy homebuilder, from the buoyant optimism of their carefully made plans, via almost inevitable gut-wrenching failure along the way. Then ­­­­– in the majority of cases at least, but generally years later than anticipated – we were able to witness the triumph and palpable relief of the owners ensconced in their highly individual new home.

Central to the ongoing appeal of Grand Designs is the balance between inspiring design and the human story. Each project is ambitious, innovative and often experimental, frequently pushing the boundaries of design, construction and sustainability. But Grand Designs is as much about the push and pull of relationships as it is hempcrete and inexplicably vast panes of glass. There always seems to be a dejected family huddled in a caravan, a baby on the way or a marriage heading deeper into crisis.

And – at the heart of the show’s longevity – is consummate broadcaster Kevin McCloud. With his candour, wit and wisdom, he is able to switch deftly between thoughtful soliloquies about what it means to create one’s own home and, as required, the most plainly spoken home truths.

The majority of Grand Designs’ many enthralled viewers will never attempt a project on the scale of those on the show but, nevertheless, we all come away a little more prepared for our smaller-scale renovations. The show has encouraged us to think outside of the box, to prioritise sustainability, to factor in a hefty contingency fund – and to simply throw the schedule out of the window. To celebrate that legacy, we have riffled through our own archives to share five homes sold by (and one currently on the market with) The Modern House, each with the GD stamp of approval …

Words by Kate Jacobs. Watch the Channel 4 anniversary episode Grand Designs: 25 Years & Counting; read Grand Designs at 25. (White Lion Publishing).

Abbey Orchard, St Albans, Hertfordshire

This spectacular house, currently on sale through The Modern House, is grounded in the most unique of locations; alongside the Roman town of Verulamium, on the site a medieval monastery, with striking sightlines to the cathedral of St Albans. Architect, Rogan Gale-Brown referenced the owner’s Japanese heritage with a design with a glazed central atrium linking two single storey wings, while the whole interior is enveloped in warm, tactile maple. Kevin McCloud was transfixed by the finished house, “This design is rich in influences, it’s part Japanese transparency and lightness, part medieval cloister and part Roman villa in layout – and nowhere are you far from the natural, organic world.”

Sliding House, Huntingfield, Suffolk

Designed by Alex de Rijke of dRMM architects in response to the eager client’s brief for a bold, adventurous home. Sliding House, nestled in the East Anglian countryside, references the agriculture vernacular. Impressively, the larch-clad casing of the house simply slides away, allowing the house to dramatically adapt to the weather and whims of its owners. This radical and responsive house was pronounced Home of the Year at the 2009 Grand Designs Awards, with Kevin McCloud describing it is “one big stroke of genius, a crazy idea that isn’t gratuitous but a creative response to make the building highly responsive to its environment and an extraordinary place to live.”

The Workshop, Camden, London

The modest north London street frontage of this house gives no clue as to the scale of the building hidden within. In fact, the scale of the former furniture workshop, now transformed into a large, lofty and versatile live-work space, only becomes evident as you step inside. It was built as the home and practice HQ of architect Henning Stummel of Henning Stummel Architects. Kevin McCloud called it “an industrial space reinvented with light and a simple and brilliantly edited palette of materials,” with warm-toned plywood and cloud-patterned concrete bringing subtle textural interest to the space. At ground level the house is open plan while nest-like ‘sleeping boxes’ form the three bedrooms, tucked away at the top of the house.

Slip House, Brixton, London

On a quiet street in south west London, this low-energy house is constructed from translucent glass, steel and concrete, arranged over three floors, with a generously-sized roof garden at the top. Designed by its owner Carl Turner, of Turner.Works, it bagged the prestigious RIBA Manser Medal, awarded to the best house in the UK, while Kevin McCloud remarked, “What Carl has achieved here is pure and it’s powerful. Inside, the furniture delicately floats a few millimetres off the floor, every detail and junction is completely precise. But it’s the dramatic, uncompromising outside that screams loudest in this polite Victorian landscape.”

Oat Errish, Membury, Devon

This build began with a fossilised ammonite found on the site. Working with Sadler Brown Architecture, the homeowners set out to channel the fossil’s biomorphic form, referencing the Fibonacci sequence that recurs throughout nature – but doesn’t easily translate as a template for residential construction. This memorable grand design, perched in a meadow amongst Devon’s Blackdown Hills has a distinctive curving form and was constructed using locally sourced chert stone, with the shell-like roof crafted from timber. Kevin McCloud was suitably awed. “There is something about the Fibonacci sequence, the golden section, about the spiral which adds a spiritual dimension to this building, that it otherwise wouldn’t have.”

Skyline, Ambrosden, Oxfordshire

Devised by architect Chance de Silva to evoke a feeling of the owner’s native Spain, this larch-wrapped, light-washed house went on to win the prize for Architectural Single Residence at the UK Property Awards. Kevin McCloud said of it at the time, “Warm, welcoming and generous, expansive, lofty and beautiful. I want to spend time in its company and enjoy its energy and charm.” The thoughtful layout includes a half mezzanine sitting room retreat, tucked above the kitchen-dining room, as well as mezzanine level sleeping decks over the two guest bedrooms, and a secluded, top-floor bedroom with floor-to-ceiling bifold doors opening onto a private balcony with view across ancient woodland.