- 29/4/2025
Michael Hird y Lindsay Harwood construyen una casa de vidrio y acero en Doncaster.
Michael Hird and Lindsay Harwood build a glass and steel home in Doncaster.
#architecture #art #desing
Michael Hird and Lindsay Harwood build a glass and steel home in Doncaster.
#architecture #art #desing
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TVTranscripción
00:00When we think of modern architecture, we don't usually think of domestic dwellings.
00:07The most innovative designs and contemporary materials are usually reserved for the commercial sector and for big buildings.
00:15Now, a building like this might seem a trifle strange in your average row of suburban semis,
00:23but some people are taking the design of their homes that little bit further, although maybe not quite on this scale.
00:34In Doncaster, the great market town of South Yorkshire, blessed with a famous racecourse,
00:40a local couple are going to build a striking modern new home.
00:44Michael Hurd runs his own business in Doncaster but lives in a village 45 minutes away
00:50with his wife, Lindsay, and their children, Lyndon and Max.
00:53Now, they want to move back to live in town.
00:57They found the land in a typical 1930s residential part of the town.
01:02The site lies on half an acre of old council land.
01:07On one side of the site, there's a park.
01:09On the other is a busy main road and a rather bleak-looking petrol station.
01:20Michael and Lindsay started life together in a small cottage in central Doncaster.
01:25But for the past nine years, they've been living in a converted chapel in a small village 25 miles south of Doncaster.
01:33The chapel was designed and converted by Lindsay's brother, Colin Harwood.
01:38They've been trying to sell the chapel for the last two years.
01:41I couldn't see why they've had so much trouble selling it.
01:44In fact, I couldn't understand why they would want to move from here at all.
01:50It's beautiful. I mean, you know, I wouldn't probably want to move from here.
01:55Well, moving because of Michael's work, we'll be a lot closer to where he works
02:00and therefore he'll have a lot more time to spend with the children.
02:02So that was a major factor.
02:04And also the children will have all the benefits of having town centre facilities,
02:09which aren't many exciting things for them to do round here when they're a little bit older.
02:14We're saying that if we could physically lift this house up
02:17and move it nearer to where I'm based, we would do.
02:21That's one point.
02:22But then the other side have always said we wanted to build our own house.
02:25Having built this place and lived in it,
02:27are there things, for example, in the new house that you consider to be development?
02:31I mean, things that are improvements on this place?
02:34I would say the space aspect.
02:38There's going to be more light in the new property.
02:42I really like light buildings,
02:44so we've got lots of glass in it and what have you.
02:46And with this building, we were very constrained with the actual existing shell.
02:50So we built a house within a house,
02:53but we had to keep to the four walls that were here already.
02:56But on the new one, we could, you know, think of what shape,
02:59you know, what shape can you come up with?
03:01So it's not a radical progression, then, Mindy, from an ordinary house to...
03:05This is a sort of halfway house, this building you're living in now.
03:08I'd say so, yes.
03:09It's not what it's called an ordinary house, necessarily.
03:13The new house is far from ordinary.
03:16It's a striking lozen shape, with walls rendered with concrete, which will be painted white.
03:22Glass is essential to the main design.
03:25Large glass panels run along the top of the building.
03:29The walls of the fin-shaped ends will have huge glass sheets reaching from top to bottom.
03:42Inside, an extraordinary glass staircase will stand proudly as part of the futuristic vision of the design.
03:50Modernism is all, with clean lines giving a light and airy aspect to the home.
03:58The house will also have a large basement with a Hollywood-style underground parking area.
04:04It's a totally 20th century building, whose sleek appearance looks to the future.
04:12The inspiration for the design was the Gioponte building in Milan, now over 30 years old.
04:18Colin, the architect, dissected the building, taking one section of it, and used this as the basis for his design.
04:27Now, Colin, the architect, is your brother.
04:31So, how does that affect your relationship with him as an architect?
04:36Well, I can envisage that we might have quite a few fights over the coming period,
04:42but I just feel that it's better to have someone so close to you,
04:46so that you can actually say what you're feeling, rather than being restrained,
04:51if you were using somebody who you didn't quite know as well.
04:54So, I feel it's a good thing to know your architect very well, and then you can get exactly what you want.
04:59Colin's previous work has been confined to designing interiors like this shop.
05:05He's never built a house before, and I was to discover that Colin isn't your average architect.
05:11So, what do you call yourself? Are you an architect? Are you an architectural designer? What are you?
05:16I can't call myself an architect anymore. I used to be an architect, but I haven't renewed my subs to the relevant bodies.
05:23What's the RIBA?
05:24Well, I've not been in that for a long time. I got fed up with them years ago.
05:28But, I'm not even in the ARB now, because I haven't got PI insurance at the moment.
05:33So, I can't call myself an architect. I'll have to be a former architect.
05:37This is former architect, former childhood architect.
05:39The house you're building now, for Michael and Lindsay, is your first major new build?
05:44It is my first new build, never mind the major.
05:46So, all the work before has been conversion and that kind of stuff?
05:49Yeah, stuff like where we're standing now.
05:50So, is the whole thing fully designed? Is it all on paper, all ready to go?
05:53No, of course not.
05:54Why not? It's supposed to be, isn't it? That's your job.
05:57Quite, there's a lot of it on paper. But, yeah, there's still part of the rule of the game,
06:02allows you to adapt as you go on. And, I mean, certain things like a lot of the thing about the interior feels
06:08and the surfaces and the textures, what have you, that's going to be worked out when we've got the basic stuff up.
06:13The builders have enough to go on?
06:14Yeah, sure. They might complain that they don't, but I'm sure they do.
06:18This is a fairly major house. I mean, it's a very interesting design. It's also your first new build.
06:22So, you're not worried or concerned about some of the elements?
06:26Yeah, I think we've probably put it in the wrong place on the site, but, you know, it's too late for that now, isn't it?
06:31You're joking.
06:34On the face of it, this brownfield site isn't the most prepossessing place.
06:38It's not the location where most people would want to build their dream home.
06:42But that's exactly what Michael and Lizzie are going to do.
06:46In the middle of this half acre site, there's this strange old garage where the council used to service their tractors for the park next door.
06:53Today, work starts. That's coming down.
06:56It takes less than four hours for the hut to be demolished.
07:07The digger then sets about flattening the rest of the land.
07:11For Lindsay and Michael, after two years planning and designing their home, it's an exciting moment.
07:18It's late August, and although the land is being made ready, this house is so unusual and contentious in its design
07:26that issues like its exterior concrete finish still need to be resolved with the local council.
07:31Michael and Lindsay have got a project where they want to finish the outside of the building in white render.
07:37It's very stark, very, very beautiful.
07:39But the local authority want them to finish the houses like this, in red brick, like these local semi-detached houses,
07:44which are bang next door to the site.
07:46So today, Michael's going to the planning authority to argue the case for white render.
07:51I can only hope he makes a good job of it.
07:54The most important thing for me is the white render on the outside of the building, because it's like the old cliché
08:06you don't judge a book by its cover, but you do judge a house by what it looks like on the outside.
08:11But as far as I'm concerned, there is no alternative, and it's render or nothing.
08:16The other alternative is very messy, and that's sort of after the event, which I don't want to get involved with.
08:23It's a tense meeting in the council offices. All I can do is wait to find out the outcome.
08:30How come you're 25 minutes late then?
08:33Well, I've just come from a meeting about the planning application that we put in for changing the outside texture of the building and everything,
08:42and they've gone and rejected it.
08:44What, you mean the white render?
08:45Yeah.
08:46Rejected it?
08:47Totally.
08:48Outright?
08:49So it's not in keeping with the buildings in the locality.
08:54So we've got a building over there, there's one over there, over there, the enormous hotel.
09:00So what are you going to do?
09:02Well, we've got to appeal.
09:04That's the only way, because people might think that it's, well, so what brick or render, but to us it's such an integral part of the design.
09:14We've got to go bananas.
09:15Did she know?
09:16No, not yet.
09:17No, I've just come straight from the, from the meeting.
09:20So I'm a bit...
09:21So you, you, you, you, so what's it going to be if it's not going to be render?
09:25Red brick?
09:26It's got to be brick.
09:27Yeah.
09:28That's ghastly, isn't it?
09:29Totally.
09:30But we're not going to stop, we're just going to keep going, put the appeal in, and then even if the building's finished, we'll probably just leave it as breeze block, paint it white, because we haven't actually finished.
09:43And if they say it's going to be brick, what we'll do is we'll put brick tiles on.
09:48And within so many months, we'll render it.
09:51It's not exactly a 30s semi, is it?
09:53I mean, it's not going to fit in with these other 30s semis.
09:56No.
09:57Regardless of what you face it with.
09:58They've accepted something that's very unique for its area, for anywhere, and yet I think they're just wanting their little pound of flesh.
10:05Michael's not going to let the matter rest here.
10:10He's convinced that Doncaster Council are wrong about the render.
10:15So, he's decided to employ a planning consultant to help him fight his case.
10:20We went for planning permission a couple of years ago on the side.
10:26I think we got it through on the skin of our teeth, really, because of the design and so on and so forth.
10:32I think the main reason why we got the planning permission through is that they insisted on this dirty, great big sort of Berlin Wall-type situation,
10:40so you can't even see the building from the road at all, so that, I think, is 4.8 metres high.
10:474.8?
10:48Yeah.
10:49So we just want to ditch that, really.
10:51All I'm after is changing the outside of the building from brick to white render and ditching the wall, so how do we go about it?
11:01Employing a planning consultant means you get expert help, which you may well need if you want a house as unusual as Michael and Lindsay's.
11:09It's now January.
11:11The battle with the local council isn't over, but work has started on the site anyway.
11:16Michael really doesn't want to wait any longer.
11:19This build was supposed to begin in November.
11:22Colin has had problems of his own finding structural engineers to work on the project.
11:29Oh, thank you.
11:30We had a scheme that could have been built, but the flanking walls were deemed not to support themselves, basically,
11:38by our engineers who we had at the time.
11:40And for wind loading, we had a steel frame inside the walls to put the walls out.
11:47Yeah.
11:48And I always felt I was a little bit over the top.
11:50And I got really quite upset about it.
11:53I didn't shout at anyone, apart from myself.
11:56So I contacted some more engineers.
11:58So you've got another set of engineers.
11:59They said it could be built, yeah?
12:00Yeah, exactly, yeah.
12:01I thought we could do it in a much cleverer way than we had done before.
12:05So you're happier with the decision, though?
12:06Yeah, definitely.
12:07And you're confident that it's not going to fall over in the wind?
12:09I'm not confident, but hopefully the engineer will be.
12:11Well, at least I'm one of us to be confident.
12:13You've said that now, haven't you?
12:15He carries the cap.
12:18Another factor adding to the delays is finding suitable builders.
12:23The original builders that we had in mind were just far too expensive.
12:28They were double what I'd actually budgeted for
12:32and way above what Faircliffe's have come in.
12:36So it was just crazy.
12:38I said, you know, we can't do any more work if you're going to put prices like this in.
12:43Yeah.
12:44So luckily, Glenn came along.
12:45Is he flexible?
12:46Is he as flexible as Colin?
12:47Is he prepared to work around Colin?
12:49No, definitely not.
12:50Really?
12:51Well, Colin likes things to evolve.
12:54Yes.
12:55Glenn likes things to be there.
12:57Right.
12:58Black and white, which is understandable because...
12:59On a schedule.
13:00Yeah, Glenn's got people on site.
13:02He has got a schedule to keep to that I've put him on.
13:06And it's quite difficult, well, if Colin comes along and says,
13:09oh, well, let's just change it a little bit and can we just wait for...
13:12That costs money.
13:13Yeah.
13:14Yeah.
13:15And Glenn knows...
13:16So Bill will be putting pressure on you.
13:17He'll be putting pressure on Colin.
13:18You'll be putting pressure on Colin.
13:20Well, it'll be...
13:21There'll be fallouts.
13:22You know, there's bound to be fallouts.
13:24There's people talking behind people's backs.
13:26It's just life.
13:27It's a relationship.
13:29But I can see that there is potential.
13:32Oh, look, I look forward to all of that.
13:34Well, it's something I knew that would happen.
13:37So it's...
13:38You're prepared.
13:39I'm used to it, yeah.
13:40So hopefully.
13:41Hopefully.
13:45The build is already six weeks late.
13:48Michael and Lindsay are on their second set of builders.
13:51They're on their second set of structural engineers.
13:54And on top of that, we've got an architect who likes to work
13:57in such an evolving and flexible way that I'm not sure
14:01that the builders are going to get on with him.
14:03This building may be a beautiful design,
14:06but the build is not going to be easy.
14:09And even if it does get finished,
14:11I'm not sure it's going to stand up.
14:20February.
14:21With the site resembling a vast archeological dig,
14:24construction of the basement in breeze blocks is now well underway.
14:28The builders are already finding the design rather
14:32unusual.
14:35It's not a sort of house I would have myself now.
14:38I think it's trying to be modern.
14:40It's going to be like a modern design.
14:43Firstly, I'd prefer something old fashioned
14:46or in keeping with what's already around here.
14:49It's just not my cup of tea, really.
14:52It will stand out like a sort of thumb, yeah.
14:55Or should I not say that?
14:57But again...
14:58For small children, it's often quite difficult
15:01to understand what's going on.
15:03But Lindsay tries to involve Max and Lyndon
15:05with the build as often as she can.
15:07Lindsay plans to have a very minimalist interior,
15:10but the twins seem to be thinking along different lines.
15:14Is there anything you particularly like in your bedroom?
15:16I like a big fat butterfly.
15:19Oh!
15:20Well, we're really twin sex at the moment, aren't we?
15:23Yeah.
15:24That sounds like fun.
15:25I think I'd like a big fat slug in my bedroom.
15:28Oh no, we've got Daddy after all, haven't we?
15:31We don't need a big fat slug.
15:33The foundations go in, so the main walls can start to go up.
15:40But this is a building with lots of angles.
15:43And the moment you have angles, you have complications.
15:46I'm not surprised that relations between Colin and Glenn,
15:49the head building contractor here,
15:51aren't flowing as smoothly as the rivers of cement.
15:54So, you're coming to terms with this, how shall I say, this...
15:59What's the word? Evolutionary, evolving.
16:02It is an evolving build.
16:04Yes, long build.
16:05Long build.
16:06You don't know when it's going to be over then?
16:08As soon as I can possibly get it over, yeah.
16:11You'll be off on to the next one.
16:13Yes.
16:14But presumably you're more used to working...
16:16Quickly.
16:17Yes.
16:18With a big spec...
16:20And details.
16:21And detailed drawings.
16:22Yes, with things on them.
16:23Me and Glenn, rather than hitting it off nearly at each other last week,
16:30it got quite brutal.
16:32You know, it's all just talk.
16:35Or as they say in football parlours, handbags.
16:38But, yeah, it's all right.
16:41I mean, it's just the usual friction that you get when you're dealing with something like this.
16:48I think, to be fair to Glenn, there's a few unknowns there.
16:52That he'd rather know about.
16:54Glenn, you're not responsible for the purchasing on this side, are you?
16:58Technically we are.
16:59But, erm, Colin is involved with the purchasing.
17:04Colin is organising the purchasing effectively.
17:06Right.
17:07So, are the goods coming here on time?
17:09No.
17:10No they're not.
17:11No they're not.
17:12No they're not.
17:13No they're not.
17:18Glenn and Colin are now getting on with each other quite well because they're not seeing each other much.
17:22So, er, they just got into a situation where they were just spiralling into total disaster.
17:29Yeah.
17:30Because they just were at each other like knives.
17:32So I had to write them a letter each.
17:34Erm, just saying just calm down, relax, look, concentrate on what we're doing.
17:40Don't panic, Mr Mannering.
17:41And just get on with it.
17:43I do think that it's just part of, part of the process.
17:46Erm, and, er, for me, maybe, alright, maybe I'm, I'm unthinking and uncaring.
17:52But I just, it's like water offers ducks back having an argument with a few builders on a building site.
17:59Every job's different.
18:00This job is more different than most.
18:02So therefore you've got more problems than most.
18:04When you wake up in the morning?
18:07Well, do you think you wish you'd been an accountant or?
18:10No, I just wish we'd have built a square house.
18:14But it's not a square house.
18:16Its shape is unique with strange pointing angles and varied levels.
18:21The measurements have to be exact so that everything fits.
18:25It's late February, the day before the slabs for the first floor arrive.
18:30Colin is having doubts about his measurements.
18:38I just hope he's got them right.
18:40It's a bit too late to change them now.
18:44Terry, the top man on site, is on hand to offer reassurance.
18:48Well, if you've got this dimension and that dimension, right, there's no problem, is there?
18:52Well, if you look at the drill, you see, they've actually set out each individual plank to see how it ought to fit in.
18:58And that one's the only one that looks to have planned.
19:01Yeah, yeah.
19:02It's what we planned for anyway, so.
19:03Well, it's the lap of the gods now.
19:05I mean, tomorrow morning we should be away.
19:07Lunchtime, I'm starting to get some blocks in here.
19:08We're away again.
19:09But I do say within about a week I can have this up to the next beam level.
19:15It's taken over four weeks to prefabricate the 30 concrete slabs that'll make up the first floor.
19:22Each one has been tailor-made for its individual position.
19:25But this doesn't guarantee they'll fit.
19:28The house is really coming together now.
19:48You can begin to see its great modern shape.
19:51This morning they're layering on these great concrete lintels, which are pre-stressed.
19:57They weigh two and a half tons each, the longest for about eight meters long.
20:00And they're forming the ground floor resting on top of what is the cellar and the garage beneath.
20:07It's not the easiest thing to get right.
20:09And I have to say, Colin has been praying that his measurements are correct.
20:14Personally, I'm surprised that each piece does fit comfortably in place, given that they were being fabricated while the walls went up.
20:33Colin may be relieved, but there are more serious mathematical headaches to come.
20:38The building is relatively, although we're using fairly basic construction methods,
21:02it's still even things like the shapes, etc.
21:04And the amount of glass for a domestic building have made certain elements of it, like obviously the glass,
21:09but the steel that supports the glass, have meant that that's got to be to a higher level than most domestic buildings ever need, most houses ever need.
21:17It's not a square building, is it? That can't help.
21:19Correct.
21:20You've got odd shapes, odd joints, odd angles, you know, and that must really make it complicated.
21:25I don't suppose there are many people my age who know what the cosine, the tangent and the sign of 13 degrees are still.
21:34But I know them all, because everything's 13 degrees in here, and I'm not very good at maths and never was,
21:39so it's been a bit difficult for me.
21:41That's just so reassuring.
21:42Hence my panicky bringing out a tape measure yesterday and measuring the length of the slabs, etc.
21:46Just to make sure they were going to fit?
21:48Absolutely, I don't like maths, you know.
21:51But what...
21:52Is an architect saying he doesn't like maths?
21:54Sadly, my dad was a maths teacher, and that's certainly against him, I'm afraid, but...
21:58Although the build is taking longer than anticipated, Michael and Lindy still haven't sold their current home.
22:05This at least means they've still got somewhere to live.
22:08Michael runs a successful family business recycling railway sleepers and tracks.
22:14To fund the build, he's having to draw on private resources.
22:18Who's looking after the budget?
22:19Oh, that's all Michael's side of things, so I try not to get involved in that.
22:23So do you think there's a chance that the budget could go the way of the schedule?
22:26It could all kind of just go freelance and kind of go through the roof?
22:29Oh, well, I'm trusting Michael in that I'm trusting that he knows how much he's got in the bank,
22:34and therefore how much we can spend on these things.
22:37Right.
22:38It keeps assuring me that it's the best time ever to borrow at the moment, borrow money from banks,
22:44and I'm just hoping he won't go absolutely mad.
22:49A building like this is more complicated than your average semi.
22:53It's incorporating some pretty cutting-edge materials and styles,
22:57and Colin is still making adjustments to the design.
23:00One of its most contemporary aspects is its use of glass.
23:05This will make up a third of the house.
23:08It comes in huge sheets and is an important structural element in the design.
23:14To get what they want, Colin, Michael and Lindsay are going to Austria to visit Echelt,
23:27a company who specialise in high-performance glazing and design.
23:33To get a full understanding of what this type of glazing is capable of,
23:36they're also going to visit buildings in Austria that have been designed using glass from the same company.
23:42Well, glass constitutes about 35% of the total surface of our building,
23:49so it's quite important that we get the glass right.
23:53And it's nice to see examples like this where the glass is being used,
23:57probably in a relatively similar manner to the way we're going to use it.
24:01Very useful for me, because I've not seen that many projects with it in,
24:05but primarily for my clients, Lindsay and Michael, to have a look at things,
24:10and then they can come to terms with the building they're going to get.
24:14Obviously, I often try and keep what the building's going to look like a secret
24:18until something appears on site in case they object to it,
24:20but just this time, you know, we're showing them it, so...
24:25In Vienna, they visit a state school which has recently been designed
24:29with the same type of glazing they're hoping to use.
24:32But seeing all this glass starts Lindsay thinking about one particular drawback.
24:38Well, I suppose, you know, this amount of glass is going to get really dirty,
24:41and how do you clean right up the glass?
24:43This is filthy just here.
24:44So how are we going to clean our glass, then?
24:46There's loads of window cleaners living in our area of Doncaster.
24:49I don't know if you ever know what it's that.
24:51There are just tons of them.
24:52We haven't got this in the caustic.
24:53Mum's got a very good window cleaner.
24:54That's in the window cleaning bill, it's going to be unbelievable.
24:57Rubbish.
24:58Depends how clean you want to keep it, doesn't it?
25:00Ultra.
25:01Well, you can always do something with a long pole and a mop, can't you?
25:04I mean, we haven't worried about it in the chapel,
25:06because if you notice in the chapel, in the music room,
25:09we haven't even watched the labels of the windows.
25:12You know what I mean?
25:13Well, exactly.
25:14That's the least of my worries anyway.
25:15Well, it's one of my big problems,
25:16that my clients never take care of the buildings,
25:18because I've finished with them.
25:22The new St Poulton Concert Hall is built almost entirely in glass.
25:27Here, they can see what the glass is capable of,
25:30both externally and internally.
25:35The panes fit together in such a way
25:37that you don't need conventional window frames,
25:39each piece of glass fitting flush against the other.
25:42This glass is so strong,
25:44it can be used in unusual and sometimes breathtaking ways.
25:52Back at the factory,
25:54they're briefed on how the glazing system works.
25:57The glass will be manufactured to precise specifications
26:00here in Austria,
26:02before making the long journey to Doncaster.
26:04Michael and Lindsay are beginning to realise
26:07the complexity of using this material.
26:10You're already looking through three bits of glass.
26:12Crikey, yeah.
26:13That's why it gets so heavy.
26:16What sort of weight is this per...?
26:18I think you've got...
26:19It's probably 55 kilograms.
26:21Yeah.
26:22It's something like two and a half kilograms
26:24for every millimetre thickness of glass per square meter.
26:26Have we obviously taken this into account on the...?
26:28The roof.
26:29Well, not the roof.
26:30It's ground-supported.
26:33Yeah.
26:34It's only the fin that's hung from the roof.
26:38Most of the buildings we've seen so far
26:40that have used the glass have been commercial properties.
26:44Does it often get used in houses?
26:46Not as often as it ought to.
26:48We've had to cope with the disbelief
26:51at the areas of glazing that we're having,
26:53not believing actually that you could do yield value
26:55to perform to that level.
26:56And it's so much easier for builders
26:58to whack up a load of brick walls
26:59and put tiny little windows in it.
27:02Dealing with this sort of glass will be a real challenge.
27:05The trip has made Michael realise how crucial it is
27:08that the measurements for the glass are absolutely correct.
27:12So, he's decided to employ a surveyor
27:15just to make sure the maths really are right.
27:18What we were finding is that the builder
27:21was doing one set of draw...
27:23Not drawings, but doing one set of calculations,
27:25and Colin was doing another.
27:27They were both right,
27:29but they came to totally different angles, shall we say.
27:33So, I decided to bring somebody in,
27:35totally independent, who I've known,
27:37who is a surveyor, who is answerable to me.
27:40Mike decided that it might be prudent
27:42to have somebody else just checking the more precise things.
27:46I think particularly the glass is going to be...
27:48Right, because there's great sheets of shit glass
27:50which are batting against each other.
27:51That's right.
27:52Which have to become tight against the wall.
27:54There's really no room for movement there.
27:58Right.
27:59You know, you've not got a frame
28:00where you can adjust the glass within the frame.
28:02So, everything's got to be level, vertical,
28:06and then hopefully, it'll all fit together nicely.
28:12One of the critical items for the stability of the structure
28:15is the steel work.
28:17What a driver!
28:18It arrives only one day
28:19before the first floor slabs are due to go on.
28:22This is cutting it pretty fine.
28:24But I guess it's all part of Colin's evolving design.
28:28The steel is needed to give the walls extra strength
28:34so they can take the weight of the slabs for the first floor
28:37and the windows.
28:44With the steel fitting nicely,
28:46the concrete staircase down to the basement
28:48is slotted into place.
28:49It's now May.
28:53Michael has decided to go ahead
28:55with the concrete render for the exterior walls.
28:58So, has he finally won his battle with the council?
29:01Now, the render!
29:04That is render, is it?
29:05It's like some kind of layer of render
29:07that's going to be then bricked over.
29:08Luckily not now.
29:09What did you do?
29:10You have to go to the Secretary of State?
29:11Yes.
29:12You didn't?
29:13Did you really?
29:14You went to the DOE?
29:15Yeah.
29:16We went to his department and the centre came out
29:19and did an inspection, the full report
29:21and they sent a wonderful statement back to us
29:24saying that the quality of the building is superb.
29:27It would be devastating to compromise the design
29:32and proceed.
29:34Michael and Lindsay have, perhaps eccentrically,
29:37lined the driveway with enormous blocks of stone.
29:40They're not concrete, are they?
29:41No.
29:42No, it's granite.
29:43Pink granite.
29:44They're huge.
29:45Were they from a railway bridge or something?
29:46I think they must have been from, you know,
29:48one that was taken down
29:49because it's all sort of keyed in
29:50with all the markings for an old bridge.
29:53It's like driving into Batman's cave,
29:55driving the car into here.
29:56Well, that's the kind of effect we wanted.
29:58You are going underground.
29:59Yes.
30:00You know, from the surface.
30:01You've conceived of this building
30:02quite filmic ways, haven't you?
30:03It's kind of James Bond, Batman.
30:04Well, we're thinking of another life, you see.
30:06We're thinking of what we can move it onto.
30:08Glamour in Doncaster.
30:09Available for hire, that's the thing.
30:11Yes.
30:12Right.
30:13Walk this way.
30:15Take a weapon of your choice.
30:16All right, yeah.
30:22So this is the sitting room.
30:24Yes.
30:25Lounge.
30:26Lounge.
30:27That lounge.
30:28As we say, up here.
30:29Up north.
30:30Big space, isn't it?
30:31It is.
30:32Big.
30:33Astounded by.
30:34Oh, yes.
30:35Big fireplace.
30:36Another great chunk of granite.
30:38Well, we had a few left over, so we thought.
30:40That is great.
30:41Now, how are you doing in terms of schedule?
30:44You've got how many weeks to go before you're supposed to move in?
30:47Three to four weeks that we've got to be out.
30:51We've got to be out of our house in three or four weeks.
30:53Three or four weeks.
30:54You've got to be out.
30:55Because why?
30:56Have you sold it?
30:57Yeah.
30:58We expected to be in, if everything had gone according to plan, within 12 weeks of starting.
31:02And it will be.
31:03And we're probably now, er, four to six weeks behind schedule.
31:09How long did you intend that it should take?
31:1112 weeks.
31:12And how long is it going to take?
31:13I've no idea.
31:15Seriously?
31:16No idea?
31:17No.
31:18No idea.
31:1930 weeks.
31:20No.
31:21Seriously, yeah.
31:22I reckon.
31:23For four later.
31:24Another 12 weeks, probably.
31:25Plus that 12 weeks is always a joke.
31:28It was never an achievable aim anyway.
31:32I don't think the costs have been affected.
31:34Now, if it affected the costs, if my suppliers thought that, oh my god, they're in a rush,
31:40therefore let's rip them off, I would be straight on to it.
31:43And that's one thing that, even though I've stepped back, I'm keeping a very close watch
31:47on all the costs.
31:49So, as long as they're okay, I'm fine.
31:51You're clearly quite worried by all of this.
31:54Well, the job is actually supposed to be already finished, handed over.
31:58Yeah.
31:59I mean, you can see what it's like.
32:01So, that's putting a lot of pressure on you.
32:03But the client, Michael, seems rather relaxed about all of this.
32:07Well, he hasn't had the bill yet, has he?
32:10You seem really quite unstressed about it now.
32:14Very kind of relaxed.
32:15Very kind of, you know, it'll be fine.
32:18It'll come in more or less on budget.
32:20It'll be a little bit labour.
32:21That's a layer about five millimetres thick.
32:24Inside it.
32:25Oh my god!
32:27I always think that a building with a strong contemporary design like this one demands equally modern furnishings.
32:35So, I've got Lindsay and Michael to come down to London to visit a contemporary furniture exhibition to see what they like.
32:41This is nice stuff.
32:42Here, look.
32:43Wow, yeah.
32:44I really like that, Michael.
32:45What about for the lounge?
32:46Two of those?
32:47A bit bigger.
32:48We'd have to have one a bit bigger.
32:49I'm sure they could make you one.
32:50Isn't there a bigger one?
32:51It's too complicated.
32:52I'd prefer it plain glass.
32:54Even, even sleeker.
32:55Yes.
32:56That's how we don't want our glass.
32:58More minimal.
32:59That's very retro, isn't it?
33:00Ah!
33:01Even the fabric is very retro.
33:02Yeah.
33:03Reminds me of curling up when I was three and going to sleep.
33:05It's lovely.
33:06You know what this does?
33:07Go on, show me.
33:08Oh, fab!
33:11That is brilliant, isn't it?
33:13This is the best bit.
33:15It's really smooth, isn't it?
33:17This, I love.
33:19Do you?
33:20The wood's very pale, isn't it?
33:22I don't know.
33:23Yeah, don't you like that?
33:24I think this is so comfortable.
33:25It's not really for my taste, I'm afraid.
33:27So comfy.
33:28And it's got a flecks in it.
33:30Don't go for it at all.
33:32Sorry.
33:33Sorry, Kevin.
33:34Do you want to tell me?
33:35Just there, please.
33:37Now, look, this may not be your thing, but I have to bring you here.
33:40This, for me, epitomizes the idea that you can have comfort and minimalism.
33:46You know, it's so squishy, it's so soft, it's so, you know, everything that your house isn't,
33:52because your house is all hard-lined, you know, very sleek.
33:55And this is just, by comparison, indulgent.
33:58It's not very elegant.
33:59Elegant, though.
34:00You're in fantasy land, aren't you?
34:01Totally.
34:02I can feel the testosterone oozing out of you.
34:04Oh.
34:05The feeler, feeler.
34:06It's so, so sexy.
34:07It is beautiful.
34:08Welcome to the Barbarella Orgasmatron.
34:09Isn't it great?
34:10Beautiful.
34:11Straight out of space, 1999, this.
34:12So where can we fit it in the house?
34:13Where can you fit it in the house?
34:14In the bedroom?
34:15In the bedroom.
34:16Where else?
34:17In the bedroom.
34:18Where else?
34:19It's early June.
34:21The glass has arrived from Austria, but it can't go in until the world.
34:24The glass has arrived from Austria, but it can't go in until the world.
34:41The glass has arrived from Austria, but it can't go in until the roof is finished.
34:48But with so much to do, the build is far from a hive of activity.
34:54It's ground to a halt.
34:58We're doing absolutely nothing at the moment.
35:01It's...
35:03It's fallow, isn't it?
35:05I suppose fallow is when there's no activity, but you know something deep down useful is happening,
35:10but you don't quite know what it is.
35:11I think we're in our research and development phase.
35:14Oh, we've just joined it, haven't we?
35:19Yeah, well, this is a lull before the storm.
35:22Well, today we're getting started on putting the glass in, but before that we need to get
35:26the steel work finished off.
35:28That's why we've got this monster crane here, and then get the roof sorted out.
35:33But it's happened where all three trades are going to end up on the site at the same time.
35:37Well, we haven't been able to put this glass in, because we've got to wait for the steel work to be, obviously, fitted.
35:44We have to come off of the steel work.
35:47All the steel work was wrong.
35:49Everything's wrong.
35:51It's a big, it's a big job.
35:54All the men must go off.
35:58It was supposed to be a sort of, er, Bruegel-esque, er, scene with just like 50 people, erm, all over the site doing what they do, but er...
36:08It's more like a sort of, er...
36:10No. Salvador Dali.
36:12Dutch still life. What's that famous Salvador Dali one? Is it called Wasting Time or something?
36:19The one with the floppy watches.
36:22But the neighbours see a different picture.
36:25People think the thing around here was a car wash. Well, we couldn't make it out what it was.
36:30Or going to be until we saw it in the local paper. But, I mean, it's nothing keeping with the houses around here, is it?
36:39Initially, we couldn't wake up our minds whether it was a crematorium or a battleship that was being slowly developed,
36:45because it certainly doesn't look like a house.
36:47Well, when they started doing the bunkers underneath, I thought Saddam Hussein was going to be living there.
36:51Then it moved on to Batman with one thing and another. But it grew and grew.
36:57I thought it was going to be a warehouse. But as we've got the roof on now, and I'm still waiting,
37:03with all the rain we're having at the moment, I'm waiting for the animals to come in two by two.
37:09The heavens have opened, and the building may yet turn into an ark.
37:14The site has been transformed into a quagmire, causing even more delays.
37:20With water on the glass, the dangerous job of fitting it will be even more treacherous.
37:30It's the middle of June, and I really can't see that this house is going to be finished in time for Michael and Lindsay to move in next week.
37:52Well, it really isn't finished at all. And they're supposed to be moving in today.
38:05Well, the end wall's in, isn't it? I can't see much other glass in.
38:23Let's call it four-fifths in.
38:25And you've got a roof on. Looks a bit like a shantytown roof, but it's a roof.
38:29Thanks. It's half on, yeah.
38:32Steel? Yeah.
38:33Is that it? No, there must be more.
38:35Yes, there's a bit of insulation on the top of it, and another layer of steel right at the top.
38:41Is that not going to cook in the summer heat?
38:44No, the insulation.
38:45Yeah?
38:46Don't worry about it.
38:47What happens to the ends? They're rough like that. They'll get trimmed into a straight line.
38:50Yeah, we're going to have a quick trim round it and straighten it up.
38:54Yeah.
38:55So are you enjoying yourself on this build? Is it still good fun?
38:59Never was. No, I'm not, no.
39:01Can't stand the agro. Can't stand the agro.
39:03What, with all the builders and contractors and all the rest of it?
39:06Yeah. Yeah, I don't like it, yeah.
39:08What is it that's made you design this kind of building as opposed to, I don't know,
39:11something that looks like all of the buildings around it? Why so different?
39:14Well, because for one thing, even if a building tries to look like it's elderly next door neighbour,
39:19it never does. It's always unconvincing all the way around.
39:23Modern buildings, they're bare to live in, you've got more sun, you get more view, you get more space.
39:30They're just the answer for, well, living at the end of the 20th century.
39:37That's not the easiest way in.
39:39Boy, it looks really unfinished.
39:44It's quite depressing. It sounds like a concrete bunker.
39:47So, my secret weapon is a dozen cloth dust sheets,
39:52which we're going to hang up all around this one room
39:55to give some idea of how beautiful it might look when it's finished.
39:59Such a modernist building cries out for radical interior design.
40:11Personally, I'd do it all in Barbarella orange and velvet.
40:15But after our London trip, I think Michael and Lindsay would go for a more restrained look.
40:24Do you like it?
40:29I do, yes.
40:30Incredible.
40:31Very simple. Serene.
40:32Yeah, it is. It is. Is it going to look like this when you live here?
40:35Well, I just envisaged a sofa, actually, and maybe the odd chair grouped around one of the windows
40:41to look out onto the garden.
40:43Yeah.
40:44And one coffee table.
40:45That's nice. Because when you sit down in the chairs, you look out.
40:47Yeah, so you're looking out.
40:48That's right.
40:49So you don't really get to appreciate the view until you've sat down.
40:51I see it because the windows are so low.
40:53Yeah, yeah.
40:54And that glass wall now really comes into its own.
40:57So come and tell me the bit that I haven't done, you know.
41:01But neither have we, I'm afraid.
41:02That's yours.
41:03I don't expect miracles.
41:04I don't.
41:05And a self-assembly staircase there.
41:07Yeah.
41:08Well, I've lost the instructions, so...
41:09Yeah, well, they'll be in German, won't they?
41:11It'll look nice when it's finished.
41:13I have to say, you know, it's almost as good as the glass staircase, isn't it?
41:16Well, it serves the same purpose, doesn't it?
41:18Gets you from one floor to another.
41:20Yeah, not quite so stylish.
41:22Oh, this looks great!
41:24Nice pile of rubble, yes.
41:26What's this going to be?
41:27The bathroom.
41:28The bath will be situated there.
41:29Composting toilet, grey water recycle system.
41:32Whole meal sandals.
41:33Sorry.
41:34No, no, it's going to be quite high-tech.
41:37All this sort of state-of-the-art equipment.
41:40And what about the wall that's missing?
41:43That's going to be glazed?
41:44Yes, it's going to be...
41:45With clear glass?
41:46Sheets of clear glass.
41:47Sheets of clear glass where the neighbours do...
41:49No.
41:50It's going to be sun-blasted.
41:51Either that or I have to go to the gym and firm up a bit.
41:54But British modesty, you know, you've got to cover up a bit.
41:57Through here?
41:58Yes, yes.
41:59The children's rooms are either side of the corridor.
42:01Two identical rooms.
42:02Lyndon's got the roadside.
42:04She had to have the roadside because she's a better sleeper.
42:06And Max had to have the garden side because it will be quieter.
42:09But she's going to sleep very well, isn't she, with the petrol tanker parked outside
42:12and the petrol fumes pouring in the window.
42:14What are you going to do about that?
42:15She doesn't go to bed until eight o'clock, so...
42:17Shut the window.
42:18Shut the window.
42:19By the petrol station, of course.
42:21Just call me Victor Kayam.
42:23What's through here?
42:24Yeah, well, this way.
42:25This is what?
42:28The guest room.
42:29All right.
42:30Yeah.
42:31More great views, very good views, and loads of glass here.
42:35It's really open, isn't it?
42:36But, I mean, I think you really notice that all the masonry stops there,
42:41and then you've got this glass top wall.
42:44It's like a bastide, or it's like being on a liner, isn't it?
42:47Yes.
42:48A ship with the deck above and the steel below and this, you know...
42:51Well, this is what we wanted, you know.
42:52I wanted a house sort of to mimic a ship, so we're very happy with it.
42:56Well, it does that wonderfully, doesn't it?
42:57Yeah.
42:58With great views.
42:59Lovely views of the park.
43:00Well, we've got the cricket club there and the parks.
43:02Where do you sleep there?
43:03We're at the far end of the house.
43:04Oh, right, okay.
43:05Just call me.
43:06Yeah.
43:11Oh, my goodness.
43:13You can just sleep in here.
43:15I'm sure it's very comfortable.
43:16They say the, you know, beds on the floor are.
43:19It's a little bit makeshift, but it's good for the back.
43:21It's all open to the elements.
43:22You've got no glass in the end wall.
43:24It's good, healthy living.
43:26Summertime.
43:27Exactly.
43:28I'm glad it is.
43:29Up here, all of a sudden, you see all this Georgian, Victorian thirties architecture around you.
43:35And it's very, very different.
43:37I mean, I can imagine this house being absolutely stunning set by the sea on the Pacific coast.
43:42Yes.
43:43It would be nice to have it on a cliff top, but unfortunately, Donkis is not by the sea.
43:48And?
43:49And there's no way you would get planning for this house on a, on a sea frontage.
43:54Do you not think?
43:55I definitely don't think so.
43:56No.
43:57Of course.
43:58Move it, couldn't you?
43:59We've got plenty for it here.
44:00Yeah.
44:01Move it.
44:02And we also.
44:03It just makes them swell up.
44:04The house may be a long way from being finished, but that's not going to spoil Michael's birthday
44:10picnic.
44:11Yeah.
44:12So I'd like to propose a toast to finish projects.
44:16Where?
44:17Half finished.
44:18Half.
44:19Nearly there.
44:20Yeah.
44:21How long is it going to be before it's finished?
44:23About a month?
44:24Yeah.
44:25Six weeks.
44:26Well, it depends whether that includes the interior or just the sort of structural things.
44:31Plumbing, electric, all that kind of stuff.
44:32Yes.
44:33When are you going to move in?
44:34Tonight?
44:35Yes.
44:36Hopefully, yes.
44:37We've got to.
44:38We haven't got anywhere else to go.
44:39No.
44:40How is the security going to be camping here?
44:42Well, there are a few holes, aren't there?
44:44You won't be bringing your jewellery.
44:45No.
44:46It's on the removal lorry.
44:48There are a lot of very, very big holes.
44:50A lot of large points of entry and exit.
44:52So is it still the dream?
44:55Is it still as pure and as exciting as it was when you started?
44:59It certainly is.
45:00I think it gets even more exciting every time something else is added, yes.
45:04Well, I think it's because the end product is going to be so outstanding, so different,
45:09that all the grief and all the turmoil and sleepless nights, this, that and the other, is worth it.
45:16It really is worth it.
45:17And I would only do this kind of thing if you were doing something totally different and totally unique.
45:22You've got to let go.
45:23You've got to let go on the design.
45:25But it's pointless using an architect unless you're going to let go and sort of go for it.
45:30Well, I don't think you ought to compromise the architect in any way because he has ideas.
45:35And also he has trained for, what, seven, eight, nine years to be in the position that he's in.
45:41And therefore he knows what he's doing.
45:43You've got to trust the architect.
45:44Is this always going to be Colin's house in a small way?
45:48Will he always own part of it, as it were, spiritually?
45:52I like to think so.
45:54I mean, it's a good thing, I think, that he has been so passionate about the build,
45:58because otherwise we wouldn't have got exactly what we've got, which is an absolutely fantastic house, really.
46:05So you're going to be happy?
46:06Yeah.
46:07Very happy.
46:08Despite the fact it isn't yet finished.
46:10Hey.
46:11Yes.
46:12Doesn't matter.
46:13What's six weeks in a lifetime?
46:14Now, you haven't told me how much this all costs.
46:15So how much was the land that you bought?
46:17Erm, no comment.
46:19Well, I guess it was about 40 grand.
46:22Yeah.
46:23Nearly there.
46:24All right.
46:25Nearly.
46:26OK.
46:27So we accept that.
46:28And how much did the build cost?
46:29Erm, not available to tell you that.
46:30It's like asking a lady her age.
46:33I guess it's going to have costs.
46:36Two hundred and fifty, three hundred to build.
46:41I'm not saying anything.
46:42More.
46:43I'm not saying anything.
46:44Goodness me.
46:45Four hundred.
46:46No.
46:47Can't say.
46:48In Doncaster, how much is it going to be worth?
46:50I just don't know.
46:51I have not got a clue.
46:52I wouldn't sell this house as a house.
46:54I know it sounds very silly, but I wouldn't.
46:56I would sell it as an office.
46:58A unique office.
46:59But I don't want to sell it.
47:01You know, we're here, I want to be here for at least 20 years,
47:03and it was never built as a speculative venture.
47:06So, at the end of the day, as I've said to you all along,
47:10I didn't want to compromise quality.
47:12Well, at least one of the windows is in, in the dining room.
47:16So Michael and Lindsay are able to have the first of many rather drafty meals
47:20in their new home, while the children remain safely tucked up down the road at their grannies.
47:25I just wish the house were as finished as the birthday cake.
47:29What I hope this series has shown is that building your own home is all about taking risks.
47:36And perhaps the biggest risk for Michael and Lindsay is the act of putting their faith in modern architecture,
47:43something which most people are still afraid of.
47:46They're that very rare thing, true patrons.
47:49But they've also taken a risk in employing Colin, a true maverick architect.
47:54His fluid approach to designing this suits them down to the ground.
48:00But it's an approach which many people, many clients, and many builders for that matter, just aren't yet ready for.
48:08The result, however, looks as though it's going to be worth it.
48:12This is a bold, uncompromising design.
48:15And I'm pretty sure that this is also going to be an elegant, beautiful house.
48:21Perhaps even a landmark building for Doncaster.
48:24I can't wait to come back and see it finished.
48:31Good night.
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