Grand Designs 6
2006-04-05 | Documentary | 8 episodes24 Seasons
Episode
The Loch House, Killearn (2006)
Jim Fairfull considers himself a very lucky guy. He was out fishing with a friend when he came across a beautiful, secluded loch. It’s a magical place with stunning views over the nearby hills. He got chatting to the farmer who owned it and discovered the site was for sale. Within a week, he’d done a deal and bought the land. The loch also gave them a fantastic opportunity to build a very unique house. They can control the water level of the loch which means they could actually build over the loch without worrying about flooding. So with the help of their architect, they designed an extravagant split level five bedroom house that actually hovers over the loch.
The Contemporary Barn Conversion, Ross-on-Wye (2006)
Hillcott Barn looked more like a Tuscan monastery than an English barn. When the farmer put it up for sale, most people who viewed it walked away. It was dark and isolated and could only be reached by a half mile farm track with a steep 1:8 gradient. But furniture designer Robert Ellis (58) had had his eye on it for some time. For years he’d been jogging past the barn and always thought one day he’d like to live there. Against all advice, Rob and his wife Jane, (58) a textile designer, went ahead and bought the barn for £210,000 and proposed to convert at £250,000.
Stirling: The Contemporary Cedar Clad Home (2006)
Theo and Elaine Leijser hoped to bring a bit of Dutch style to Scotland in the building of their first family home – a colourful, contemporary three storey house, with a striking cedar clad exterior. The couple stumbled across the perfect plot overlooking the beautiful Campsie Fells near Glasgow, bought it and began to plan their dream build.
Water Tower Conversion, Ashford (2006)
For six years Bruno and Denise Del Tufo stared at the large concrete water tower at the bottom of their garden trying to figure out what to do with it. It’s a very rare object – a square water tower on stilts designed by architect Edwin Lutyens, who built it to supply the manor house nearby. The planners were open to persuasion so they approached an architect who came up with a bold, uncompromising extension in metal, glass and concrete. Denise and Bruno were keen to keep the original structure visible so the new house is threaded between the legs of the water tower.
Revisited: 19th Century Manor House, Creuse (2006)
Christine Benjamin and her husband Peter currently live in an Edwardian manor house called Medland Manor. Both in their 60s, the manor is getting to be too large for them, so they’ve decided to build themselves something smaller. Despite the manor’s traditional style, Peter and Christine felt strongly that their new building should embrace modern design whilst remaining sensitive to its site. So they came up with a house that is part traditional timber frame cottage, part modern glass pavilion.