Grand Designs
Encyclopedia
Grand Designs is a British television series
produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4
which features unusual and often elaborate architectural home-building projects.
The programme has been presented by Kevin McCloud
since it first aired in April 1999, and 124 episodes have been broadcast in eleven series.
view of the intended project is shown. Once ground work commences, he visits the site periodically, following the build progress, noting any changes, hitches or delays; the build frequently runs over budget and completes later than scheduled. McCloud will often do a piece to camera
concentrating on any unique materials or features in the house. He visits again once the building is then made watertight, and the first and second fixes have commenced. He makes a final visit to the site in its finished or near-finished state, once the occupants have moved in. A tour of the house is then given; McCloud brings the episode to a close summarising the house, its construction, and his opinions.
If a house is unlikely to be completed before filming finishes, it will often be revisited in a later episode. In more recent series, McCloud revisits past unfinished builds once they have been completed and may stay overnight.
The properties featured in Grand Designs are hugely varied in style and design, from underground homes to converted water tower
s to buildings constructed in methods of sustainable architecture
; the only common factor is that they are all unusual or extravagant.
The Australian release of the original Grand Designs series differs from the UK releases, in that they do not include any "revisited" footage at all. Also the Series 5 five-disc set, includes episodes from TV series 5, 6 and 7.
and Birmingham
. The exhibitions showcase contemporary design and technology for the home and garden, along with hundreds of stands for suppliers and manufacturers to promote their goods and services. The nine-day Grand Designs Live 2008 event, held at London's ExCeL, attracted over 100,000 visitors. To accompany the event Channel 4 broadcast two live daily programmes directly from the show, Grand Designs Live: Today and Grand Designs Live.
Grand Designs Australia Live launched in Sydney
in October 2011 and will in Melbourne
in September 2012.
(on The LifeStyle Channel
and ABC1
), New Zealand
(on TV3
), Canada
(on Viva), the Netherlands
(on Discovery Channel
and SBS 6 as De Grote Verbouwing), Germany
(on DMAX
as "Große Träume, Große Häuser"), South Africa
(on BBC Lifestyle
), Denmark
(on TV3 Puls
), India
(on BBC Entertainment
), Norway
(on FEM
), Sweden
(on Kanal 9
), Finland
(on MTV3
and AVA) and Romania
(on TLC
).
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
which features unusual and often elaborate architectural home-building projects.
The programme has been presented by Kevin McCloud
Kevin McCloud
Kevin McCloud is a British designer, writer and television presenter best known for his work on the Channel 4 series Grand Designs. He lives in a 15th-century farmhouse in Frome, Somerset, with his wife Suzanna "Zani" who runs an online interior decoration business, and their two children, Milo ...
since it first aired in April 1999, and 124 episodes have been broadcast in eleven series.
Format
All episodes generally follow a regular format, with small variations depending on the progress of the build. At the beginning of an episode, McCloud meets the clients embarking on the project; he visits the site with them, and discusses the plans for the building. A computer visualisation or computer-aided designComputer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
view of the intended project is shown. Once ground work commences, he visits the site periodically, following the build progress, noting any changes, hitches or delays; the build frequently runs over budget and completes later than scheduled. McCloud will often do a piece to camera
Piece to camera
A piece to camera is the television and film term used for when a presenter or a character speaks directly to the viewing audience through the camera....
concentrating on any unique materials or features in the house. He visits again once the building is then made watertight, and the first and second fixes have commenced. He makes a final visit to the site in its finished or near-finished state, once the occupants have moved in. A tour of the house is then given; McCloud brings the episode to a close summarising the house, its construction, and his opinions.
If a house is unlikely to be completed before filming finishes, it will often be revisited in a later episode. In more recent series, McCloud revisits past unfinished builds once they have been completed and may stay overnight.
The properties featured in Grand Designs are hugely varied in style and design, from underground homes to converted water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
s to buildings constructed in methods of sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture is a general term that describes environmentally conscious design techniques in the field of architecture. Sustainable architecture is framed by the larger discussion of sustainability and the pressing economic and political issues of our world...
; the only common factor is that they are all unusual or extravagant.
Episodes and spin-offs
The first episode of Grand Designs aired on 29 April 1999. Since then over one hundred episodes have been produced and broadcast in ten series. The Grand Designs brand has also grown in this time with a number of spin-off shows also being made:- Grand Designs Indoors is a lesser known spin-off, with the same format. As the name suggests the series concentrated on the interior transformation of these properties. Only containing six episodes, this series was broadcast in 2001.
- Grand Designs Abroad focused on properties outside the United Kingdom and was broadcast in 2004.
- Grand Designs Trade Secrets was a spin-off broadcast for two seasons immediately after the main Channel 4 show each week for series seven and eight of Grand Designs respectively. Acting as a companion piece, it gave hints and tips about building and showed some "behind the scenes" material from that week's show.
- Grand Designs Live and Grand Designs Live: Today were one-hour daily programmes broadcast for nine days during the Grand Designs Live 2008 event in London.
- Grand Designs Australia premiered on 21 October 2010 in AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on The LifeStyle Channel.
DVDs
The original Grand Designs series has been released on DVD in the United Kingdom, however the DVD series numbers do not match the television series as some houses are excluded, and the DVDs do not include "revisited" episodes, where there is only a few minutes of new footage. Instead, the new footage from these episodes is included as an extra on the older DVDs.- Grand Designs: The Complete Series 1 (two-disc set, released 2 September 2009)
- Grand Designs: The Complete Series 2 (two-disc set, released 30 September 2009)
- Grand Designs: The Complete Series 3 (two-disc set, released 5 November 2009)
- Grand Designs: Series 4 (two-disc set, released 19 March 2009)
- Grand Designs: Series 5 (five-disc set, released 6 August 2009, corresponds to TV series 7)
- Grand Designs: Series 6 (two-disc set, released 1 April 2010, corresponds to TV series 8)
- Grand Designs: Series 7 (two-disc set, released 7 August 2010, corresponds to TV series 9)
- Grand Designs: Series 8 (two-disc set, released 5 September 2011, corresponds to TV series 10)
The Australian release of the original Grand Designs series differs from the UK releases, in that they do not include any "revisited" footage at all. Also the Series 5 five-disc set, includes episodes from TV series 5, 6 and 7.
- Grand Designs Australia: Series 1 (three-disc set, released 4 August 2011, corresponds to TV series 1)
Exhibition
Exhibitions take place annually in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. The exhibitions showcase contemporary design and technology for the home and garden, along with hundreds of stands for suppliers and manufacturers to promote their goods and services. The nine-day Grand Designs Live 2008 event, held at London's ExCeL, attracted over 100,000 visitors. To accompany the event Channel 4 broadcast two live daily programmes directly from the show, Grand Designs Live: Today and Grand Designs Live.
Grand Designs Australia Live launched in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in October 2011 and will in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in September 2012.
International broadcasts
Grand Designs is also broadcast in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(on The LifeStyle Channel
The LifeStyle Channel
LifeStyle is an Australian television channel. The channel launched on 1 September 1997. The channel has an emphasis on contemporary lifestyle interests...
and ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
), New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(on TV3
TV3 (New Zealand)
TV3 is a New Zealand commercial television network, owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. Launched on 26 November 1989, the first private television network in New Zealand...
), Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(on Viva), the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(on Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
and SBS 6 as De Grote Verbouwing), Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(on DMAX
DMAX (TV channel)
DMAX is a men's lifestyle channel operated by Discovery Networks Deutschland free-to-air in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Though the channel is widely available throughout the rest of Europe...
as "Große Träume, Große Häuser"), South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(on BBC Lifestyle
BBC Lifestyle
BBC Lifestyle is an international television channel. The channel provides six key programming strands: Food, Home & Design, Fashion & Style, Health, Parenting, and Personal Development.-Launch dates:...
), Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(on TV3 Puls
TV3 Puls
TV3 Puls is television channel broadcasting to Denmark. It started broadcasting March 23, 2009.Among the programmes broadcast on the channel from its launch are series such as Mad Men and Pushing Daisies, lifestyle programmes and sports events such as Formula One.-Programming:Recurring elements in...
), India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(on BBC Entertainment
BBC Entertainment
BBC Entertainment is an international television channel showcasing comedy, drama, light entertainment and children's programming from the BBC and other UK production houses...
), Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(on FEM
FEM
FEM refers to a number of things, either as an acronym or otherwise:*Field emission microscopy*Finite element method*FEM *[Front End Module ]*Far East Movement*fem - alternative spelling of femme...
), Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(on Kanal 9
Kanal 9
Kanal 9 is a commercial television channel owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG broadcasting to Sweden. It targets the 30-59 age group, which is a slightly older age group than the sister channel Kanal 5. The channel launched on 25 February 2007. Its opening night featured the 79th Academy Awards...
), Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
(on MTV3
MTV3
MTV3 is a Finnish commercial television station owned by Bonnier. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Finnish Broadcasting Company’s YLE1 took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV , due to the channel getting its revenue from running commercials...
and AVA) and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(on TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
).