Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 5,559,185
  • Total Topics: 106,348
  • Online Today: 767
  • Online Ever: 3,311
  • (July 08, 2021, 03:14:41 AM)
Users Online
Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 29, 2024, 05:58:55 AM

Login with username, password and session length

'Grand Designs' and Architecture

Started by My Giddy Aunt, May 18, 2005, 10:12:49 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

My Giddy Aunt

I have recently been watching the C4 programme 'Grand Designs' and to my great great surprise really fascinated by it. Anyone else watch it?

I never had any real interest in architecture and i guess this is a real TV entrance to it partly because it is all about homes and i guess we can more easily associate ourselves with the settings. But i have been well interested in the designs, the light and colour techniques... the use of space etc..
Its interesting seeing how something very physical and mechanical can be applied from an artistic eye.

The one tonight had a couple in their 70s (albeit a lively 70s!) get built a Huss house and apply their artistic eye to the clean german vision and it was really cool. Not sure i'd want to own it but nevertheless it was great to see.

(of course in general you do have to be loaded to realise these visions but there you go)

I have just added a post to CC about Kevin McCloud.

Yep this is my favourite housey programme on TV. Every single one is astonishing. The best one for me was the Chesterfield couple who bought a disused water pumping station and did it up on there own. The front room ended up about 70 feet square and they did it all for 140 grand.

Kevin McCloud makes the show though. He speaks with authority and passion about the subject and portraits his disbelief about the achievements so well.

sam and janet evening

Grand designs is indeed a very watchable program and certainly a cut above the usual 'property porn' channel 4 output. Its been around for a few years I think. It does tend to be the same story each week though,
Couple buy property,
decide to renovate/build,
set ridiculous time limit ("we're opening a guest house/having a baby in two months),
set tiny budget ("well yes, we should get it done for about £300..."),
Decide to do everything themselves despite having no building experience whatsoever ("I'm a Web Designer so I can probably install a gutter...")
run into hassle,
Kevin McCloud does a token bit of work ("I'll just paint this brick then shall I ?")
Couple blow budget on obscure stone from Lithuania,
Kevin McCloud worries (but is "impressed by their determinism"),
Then - after the last ad-break - SING HOSANNA! They have a house! KMcC is impressed and 'admits' that he didn't think they'd make it (Despite the fact that every week they eventually do).
Still, Top Program, I missed today's however.
Edit - just read Mr Trousers' post in CC, Very good, should I ever need another username 'Deathwatch Bastard' might be an option

Ah... but they don't always make it.

I can think of at least 5  (with the help of Ch4 website) where they have failed.

The Surrey housewife who sacked her project manager half way through then took on the responsibility herself.

The accident prone entrepreneur who ordered a roof with the internal wooden finish all ready done, only for it to piss down while they were fitting it, resulting in a stains all over.

The Doncaster coffin shaped affair.

The Edinburgh town centre one.

The Waterloo violin factory.

Danorak

Quote from: "sam and janet evening"Kevin McCloud does a token bit of work ("I'll just paint this brick then shall I ?")

Just spat my tea out at that one.  

I really enjoy Grand Designs, but every other programme is a "revisited" edition this series isn't it?  I hope it's not because people have watched the programme, seen the stress and expense involved and though "That's that dream buggered then.  Might as well buy a trouble-free Barratt box instead".

sam and janet evening

OK, fair point Mr Trousers - but they usually do. It's also occasionally the case that they finish but KMac (as I shall now call him) obviously hates the result. There was one in Spain a while back where some awful British couple built an appalling thing that looked like a Holiday Inn/Multi-stiry car park. And at the end KMac just wandered round slagging it off. Hilarity ensued.

mothman

While a bit same-y sometimes, it's a good show. Property Ladder also stays quite same-y but with a far less engaging hostess. Christ, that Benny woman drives me up the fucking wall! Everything the developer does is "catering for his/her own tastes, is a mistake, and will alienate the targetted potential buyers." Everything!

Case in point: she wanted someone to knock through the kitchen into the dining room so that potential buyers could if they wanted have a super-long 20-seater dining table for parties! I mean, although not greatly outgoing we don't consider ourselves totally asocial, yet my wife and I would be hard pressed to find 20 people to have round to dinner, let alone actually manage to cater for all of them! Then it came to light that La Beeny has just such a feature. Can you imagine, dinner for twenty chez Beeny? "Clive has elected to have red wine with his fish. This is a mistake." And "Clarissa has elected to have a second helping pf pavlova. This is a mistake, as she can barely fit into those trousers at the moment. . ."

Imagine what she's like in bed. "He's decided to use the missionary position. This is a mistake, as I far prefer being rogered from behind up against my 20-seater dining table."



A Passing Turk Slipper

Aye, Grand Designs is pretty enjoyable isn't it. A lot better than all the other property shows that are constantly on, but as Cardinal Tit Storm says, it's pretty different. I saw that wood one, really lovely that was. I think you might be getting mixed up with another show though on the subject of it needing to be pulled down, there were a number of conditions they had to abide by but I don't remember that being one. It would be a bit strange if it was a rule.


thisissi

Quote from: "mothman"
Case in point: she wanted someone to knock through the kitchen into the dining room so that potential buyers could if they wanted have a super-long 20-seater dining table for parties! I mean, although not greatly outgoing we don't consider ourselves totally asocial, yet my wife and I would be hard pressed to find 20 people to have round to dinner, let alone actually manage to cater for all of them! Then it came to light that La Beeny has just such a feature. Can you imagine, dinner for twenty chez Beeny? "Clive has elected to have red wine with his fish. This is a mistake." And "Clarissa has elected to have a second helping pf pavlova. This is a mistake, as she can barely fit into those trousers at the moment. . ."

Imagine what she's like in bed. "He's decided to use the missionary position. This is a mistake, as I far prefer being rogered from behind up against my 20-seater dining table."


Very funny, splitting crumbs at  screen etc....fill in the cyber-idiom of your choice.

However it's even more infuriating when the people renovating don't listen to even the most simple advice, e.g.

Beeny to couple: "I think buyers will prefer a third bedroom to a purpose built Kabbadi arena."

Couple to camera: "But we've spoken to Mr Paramjit Toor and he says he would like a purpose built Kabaddi arena, and extrapolating those results across the average family...."

A few weeks ago there was one couple that absolutely refused to do anything sensible.  She pleaded with them to go to an estate agents, and the estate agent told them what would sell.  They came straight out and said to the camera that they thought the estate agent was wrong.  In the end they got 100 days of free labour of mates and they only reason they sold the house at all was becuase the neighbours son wanted it so he could be near his family so made an offer before they tried to sell it.  She said to them "you had a lot of luck didn't you?" to which the woman replied "we made our own luck".  Eh?!?

Some people have an automatic disagreement response to everything.

sam and janet evening

Quote from: "thisissi"
Some people have an automatic disagreement response to everything.

No they don't


(sorry)

mothman

Is this the 5-minute argument, or the full half hour?


Frinky

Kablammump.

New series on in an hour. Will be very glad to see this again, I love this show. I'm glad that it's an hour, too.

slim

My good lady is already wriggling on the sofa with anticipation.

Peking O

Is she looking forward to watching the TV show as well?

Al Tha Funkee Homosapien

Quote from: "slim"My good lady is already wriggling on the sofa with anticipation.

Is she epileptic? Are you sure she isn't fitting?

fanny splendid

Quote from: "slim"My good lady is already wriggling on the sofa with anticipation.

I thought you had got rid of your television?

slim

Quote from: "Al Tha Funkee Homosapien"Is she epileptic? Are you sure she isn't fitting?
AHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Quote from: "fanny splendid"I thought you had got rid of your television?
I disconnected the television (I did say I'd physically keep it for DVDs, consoles and such) but she made me reconnect it.

fanny splendid

Ah, I see. We just got rid of our television this afternoon, and I thought of you, although I wish I'd thought about Grand Designs starting again.

slim

Well, you can't win in a battle of "I don't want to watch it" vs. "I do", so, although she only watches it a bit, I reconnected it. I thought it a bit unfair to punish someone else with my TV abstinence.

Why did you get rid, out of interest? Anything to do with the recent(ish) addition to your household? Or just simply fed up with it? Or something else?

fanny splendid

Quote from: "slim"Or just simply fed up with it?

The television was always on, but nobody was actually watching it. Even on the odd occasion there was something I wanted to watch, I still found myself reaching for the laptop, or a book, and I invariably had my iPod on.

My Giddy Aunt

I think they might be in trouble here...

Frinky

You know, I don't think I'd invite Kevin into my house. He's a bit of a wanker, he is.

So far, this series has been a bit of a letdown. Is it my imagination, or have there been much more exciting/interesting/ambitious projects in the previous series? Everthing here has been a bit meh - the lakeside place was ok, there were some interesting internal concepts but it still wasn't amazing. The giant barn/farmhouse was totally underwhelming, too.

Just seems like the Battle Of The Budget at the moment, as opposed to interesting architecture/challenges.

slim

I didn't watch last night but I half-watched the previous ones with 'er indowahs and I concur with the Frunkster. Most if not all have been decidedly meh, and look much like the work of people with too many glossy house magazines and not enough imagination.

All of them have been on what I consider ridiculous budgets too and not one of them, particularly the lochside house, have been worth the money spent on them (I know that he didn't reveal the actual amount but it's got to be at least half a million I would say). Unimaginative works, oddly defined and examined by the presenter and, as you say, really hyping up the "tense" budget aspect of it.

I do think though, in Kevin's defence, that he's fully aware of the ridiculous overdramatisation he puts on for the show, you can see it in his facial expressions. A classic example was the window fiasco on the "eco"house (like fuck it was) which was played out again and again, with the viewer reminded every 3 minutes or so, accompanied by faux pained grimaces. I would imagine he's probably told to ham it up even more after a survey of 8 viewers found that the most loved aspect of the show were his interludes.

Anyway, yes, as you say, a bit of a letdown. All it's made me do is feel even more like my own father as I stare openmouthed at the amount of money people will pour into mediocre pet projects.

Grand Designs is one of only as few "must-see" programmes in my house.  I would also happily let Kevin McCloud sexually abuse me if he wanted to, though he's clearly too nice for that.

I even went to the Grand Designs exhibition last year at the ExCel centre.  I wouldn't recommend it, though - it's just like the Ideal Homes Exhibition really - lots of expensive companies trying to sell you their wares, although there was one thingy which we had to queue up for about half an hour to get into which was a great big inflatible tenty thing which showed you how colours work in different lights and whatnot.  That was ace.  Standing in line in the pouring rain to see the Huff Haus wasn't worth it, though.  Most of the day was spent legging it from one end of the place to the other in a vain attempt to meet Kevin Kitten at one of several book signings, only to find that he'd just left moments before hand.  Walking past Jenny Eclair was hardly a substitute.

I bet his handshake is firm but welcoming.  Enough to give you an erection.

Edit:

Quote from: "Frinky"You know, I don't think I'd invite Kevin into my house. He's a bit of a wanker, he is.

I'm going to murder you.  Then rebuild you using slate from China.

Frinky

You don't have the time to do that; you really need to be finished by Autumn, and your budget is stretched as far as it can go. I don't want to be an alarmist, but I'm starting to think your ambitious plans might not reach fruition.

It's alright, the weather just improved during the commercial break.