Exclusive new TV series preview

A first look at some of the amazing houses from the new series of Grand Designs

By Alice Westgate | 31 August 2021

The new Grand Designs series starts on Wednesday 1 September 2021 at 9pm – so what amazing feats of architecture can you expect to see? Here’s a sneak peek at each of the exciting self-build projects you can expect Kevin McCloud to cast his critical gaze over in the coming months…

1. Scandi meets Art Deco in South Manchester

Scandinavian-style villa with 5 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms
Initial budget: £700,000
Plot cost: £900,000
Architect: Vasco Trigueiros

Adele and Colin Offland, aged 50 and 51, wanted a rounded wooden eco house to replace a 1980s property. Adele, a yoga teacher, and Colin, who is the CEO of a production company, were influenced by the simplicity of Scandinavian style and the curves of Art Deco buildings. So the couple, who have two grown-up children, appointed a respected Swedish architect to deliver a design within their budget, but they were unaware of the financial and practical hurdles ahead.

2. Bothy extension in Kinross, Scotland

Single-storey bothy extension with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms
Initial budget: £350,000
Plot cost: £225,000
Architect: Staran Architects

The starting point for this old-meets-new project was a hut, or bothy, once used by the gardeners of a private estate. Transforming it into a family home was the brainchild of Iain Shillady, 38, of Staran Architects and his wife Jenny, 37, a marketing manager. The couple, who have two children, restored the 150-year-old structure, along with its mature adjoining walled garden. They then linked it to a single-storey black timber-clad extension to create the living space they craved.

3. New build with large pond in Chichester, West Sussex

Three-storey house with 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms
Initial budget: £650,000
Plot cost: £810,000
Architectural designer: Daniel Rowland

Seeing potential in a plot that included a 1930s house and a huge pond, architectural designer Dan, 44, and interior designer Nina Rowland, 42, built a new home on the site. The couple, who have two children, envisaged a flint and larch-wrapped house with a glass corridor leading to a single-storey kitchen. The kitchen overhangs a natural pond, so the family can simply open the doors and enjoy the water.

4. Derelict mill in South Lakeland, Cumbria

House in a derelict mill with 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, workshop and office
Initial budget: £250,000
Plot cost: £110,000
Architect: Tape Design

Ruth Grimshaw, 31, and Robert Glass, 35, who run the architectural practice Tape Design, planned to convert a rundown 18th-century blacking mill into their home, creative space and office. The mill’s stone shell, which had been empty and deteriorating for 60 years and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, needed full restoration. So in a clever twist the couple dropped their new timber-framed house inside the footprint of the existing building.

5. The shard house in Huxham, Devon

Single-storey house with 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms
Initial budget: £835,000
Plot cost: Already owned
Director of design: Mick O’Connor, Squirrel Design

Joe Priday, 37, MD of a wealth management firm, and his wife Claire, 42, embarked on a complex sculptural house in rural Devon. The couple, who have three young children, commissioned a design made from 34 zinc-wrapped timber shards set in a jagged line hugging the contours of a hill. The building is carbon negative and has a hi-tech interior, but its sheer intricacy tested the engineers, the builders and the budget.

6. Flood-proofing on the Blackwater Estuary, Essex

Cantilevered house with 3 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms
Initial budget £700,000
Plot cost: £350,000
Original plans: Baca Architects

Building a new home on a 7.5-acre flood plain beside the Blackwater Estuary in Essex was a tall order for retiree Geoff Wood, 64, a first-time self-builder with finite funds. Its daring design required significant amounts of engineering to anchor it in place, and the house has a complicated industrial-strength steel frame so it can be dramatically raised 4.5m above the ground – high enough to protect it should sea levels rise.

7. The triangle house in Billingshurst, West Sussex

Triangular build with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms
Initial budget £190,000
Plot cost: £160,000
Planning architect: Valerie Hinde

A carpenter specialising in high-end bespoke interiors decided to turn his hand to construction. Olaf Mason, 45, working as architectural designer, and Fritha Vincent, 42, attempted to fit a clever triangular house into a small plot constricted by a busy main road, a railway line and a sewer. It was no mean feat, but the couple took this 3D geometrical puzzle in their stride, along with the arrival of their baby daughter during the build.

8. Malaysian pavilion in Ely, Cambridgeshire

Single-storey Malaysian-style house with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms
Initial budget: £300,000
Plot cost: £125,000
Designer: Carlos Gris

Teacher Gretta Funnell, 60, shared many happy years living and working in Malaysia with her late husband. Now back in the UK and wishing to honour his memory, she decided to build a home in the Malaysian style. This minimalist steel-framed box is open plan with a burnt wood exterior, an overhanging roof and a rooftop garden. The house was a true family affair as it was designed by Gretta’s nephew, project managed by her brother-in-law, and stands next to her sister and brother-in-law’s home.

For more on the new series, follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram

The new series of Grand Designs is screening on Channel 4 on Wednesdays at 9pm from 1 September 2021. Features on the TV houses will be published in Grand Designs magazine. All information correct at time of publishing.