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00:06My, my, this amazing confection conceived by the Portuguese artist Joana Vachoncelos is a temple
00:16to love. But as well as being a piece of art, it's also a functioning building. And despite
00:24the candy colored sugariness, it is so joyous and uplifting. So what if we built houses like
00:34this room and let our imaginations run riots? It might not just color the world around us,
00:45it might even make us more colorful. I'm tickled pink by that idea.
01:18I really like how the bits pop up along there.
01:22Peter is an architect in London, and his wife Emily, a TV producer. They share a love
01:28of art, style and color.
01:30If you go anywhere with this lovely man dressed like this, people smile. You know?
01:37Laugh.
01:37Sometimes they laugh. They met eight years ago on Guardian Soulmates.
01:43It was love at first sight. And we had a little snog at the end.
01:51A third beret lover is Asta, Peter's daughter from a previous relationship. She completes the family.
01:57Living with my dad and Emily, it's like living in a cartoon. It's bright and colorful and always amazing.
02:07And it's about to get wilder if they pull off Peter's masterpiece.
02:12So you said, it's got to be the best building you've ever designed.
02:18And it is.
02:20It'll be a seismic departure from his current portfolio of work, refurbishments and extensions that wear the hushed elegance.
02:28My style is the complete opposite to this house. Clients usually want something calmer.
02:36So, Peter's unleashing his imagination in North London, replacing their old home that's been stripped out in preparation.
02:46I just can't believe how damp it is.
02:49But the spider's still there.
02:51Oh, yeah. Geoff.
02:57Their eccentric design took four years to push through planning.
03:01Even here, where the architecture is eclectic.
03:05Hello.
03:06Hi. Nice to meet you.
03:07Peter. Emily, how are you?
03:09Hi. All right. How are you?
03:10Yeah, very well. I suddenly feel underdressed.
03:14I've come to the right place. Where are you building?
03:17Here.
03:18Yeah.
03:19Here.
03:19This house is coming down.
03:21Yeah.
03:21And then it's this plot here next to it.
03:24Okay.
03:24Which has been our garden.
03:25So, two plots here.
03:26Yes, two plots.
03:27You haven't really gardened this much then.
03:30This is going to be where our house sits.
03:33And then this comes down and we're building another house there.
03:36One is helping fund the other.
03:37And we've called it the Cloud House because it's a beautiful, cloudy-shaped building with lots of arches.
03:45Pink.
03:46Pink.
03:47We went on honeymoon to Miami and fell in love with these art deco buildings.
03:54The art deco, cascading...
03:56Right.
03:56And we've got turquoise green window frames.
04:00Of course you do.
04:01Yes.
04:02Wow.
04:03Is the world ready for this?
04:06This feat of daring do will be project managed by Emily.
04:11At its heart, the structure will be pretty straightforward, but one that needs precision.
04:17Once the new strip foundations are set, two semi-detached timber frames will rise together, having been accurately pre-manufactured
04:25off-site and both filled with eco-insulation.
04:29Emily and Peter's house will be set back and lower.
04:33Next door, the second house, pre-sold off plan to fund both projects, will be taller and bigger.
04:39And here comes the fun.
04:42Eleven circular holes will be cut into the walls to take large turquoise framed windows.
04:48Another thirty windows will be slim, tall and arched.
04:52A Miami marshmallow pink render forms the outer skin, dressed in a repeating pattern of postmodern arches, inspired partly by
05:01both the fairytale church over the road and the almost castle-like school next door.
05:07They're designed on a grid, a repeating 1.2-metre rhythm that's offset on each floor.
05:13And that exact repetition of these pre-formed curves will demand a very precisely made building.
05:19Scalloped roof terraces, patterned tiles and curved turquoise metalwork will add more postmodern joy.
05:27Interiors, at least on Peter and Emily's side, will tap along to that same decorative rhythm.
05:33A jazz symphony of curves and colourful vaulting, of powder pink and copper green stripes and checks.
05:41One ground floor, open living space, with a study for Peter at the front.
05:48Upstairs is Aster's bedroom and bathroom.
05:51And above it, on the second floor, the main bedroom and bathroom and a sky-lit staircase leading up to
05:59the roof terrace.
06:01Next door's interiors will be chosen by the new owners.
06:06Below its roof terrace and under another vaulted ceiling will be the main living space, with a balcony to the
06:13front.
06:14Below it are two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a dressing room.
06:19And at ground level, a third bedroom, a large office, bathroom and utility.
06:25Two houses, each alike in pinkness and delight.
06:28One development and a purchaser who's bought into it.
06:32Well, what have they bought?
06:33Essentially, they've bought this house to knock it down.
06:36So, really, they've bought the plot of land that it sits on.
06:39And we will now build it for them.
06:43They have to fund it.
06:44OK, as if it weren't complicated enough, eh, building.
06:47I know, I know.
06:49So, how much is the entire project costing to build out?
06:52We're thinking it'll be around 700 each.
06:56Who's bringing what in terms of cash money now to pay for this?
07:00So, we sold that for a million, but obviously we had an enormous mortgage on it.
07:04So, we don't have a million.
07:05How much do you have left?
07:07We've got about 250.
07:08OK.
07:09So, they've spent a million on the plot and they've got £700,000 to build with, yeah?
07:15Yeah.
07:16They're home and dry.
07:17I know.
07:19You need more money.
07:20We do.
07:21So, we've got an application in at the moment for self-billed mortgage.
07:24Yeah.
07:24And, yeah, we just...
07:27Hope that you get that.
07:27Keeping our fingers crossed.
07:29Well, it surprises me that another pair are also committing to this wild and maybe wobbly
07:34pink adventure.
07:36They live in East London.
07:38So, I've decided we're going to have a jungle theme.
07:41I bought these and I thought we could just, like, lay them as a train.
07:44Thuza is a business consultant who also runs supper clubs.
07:48Her Belgian partner, Philippe, lectures in law.
07:51All this effort that I do just for it to look pretty.
07:54Remarkably, these two Esthetes found Emily and Peter on a traditional property website.
07:59As soon as we met Emily and Peter, we just hit it off, you know?
08:04Our first reaction was, these two people are completely crazy.
08:09I was just drawn by the bright colours of the house.
08:13And I think the other thing that's really important to me is to live somewhere unique.
08:17But for Thuza, the purchase has a bittersweetness.
08:22She lost her beloved father during Covid and came into an inheritance.
08:27I'd rather have a father than a house, to be honest.
08:30My dad was extraordinary as well.
08:33So, I think I need to buy an extraordinary house.
08:39Property deals often carry a high degree of risk.
08:43So, the two parties have drawn up a complicated collaboration agreement.
08:48Rather them than me.
08:50What happens to their house if you can't get a self-built mortgage?
08:54We've got enough to be able to fulfil our side of the bargain,
08:59which is to make sure they don't end up with half a house.
09:03I do have a bit of a fear of how much a perfectionist Peter is.
09:09And I had this dream that the archers come back
09:12and there's one which is one millimetre out.
09:15And Peter goes, no, that's not good enough.
09:17Yeah.
09:17And he sends it back.
09:18And then we have another three months to the project.
09:21So, yeah.
09:23Delivered.
09:23Yeah, delivered.
09:24OK.
09:27Forget the finish line.
09:29Issues with their wooden frame manufacturer push them back four months.
09:35Demolition starts, but with a new main contractor, Bart.
09:39So far, no problem whatsoever.
09:41And radically new plans.
09:44We've changed the construction method.
09:46Timber prices have gone sky high.
09:48So now the cheapest way of building is just traditional block work.
09:55Bart, given a fixed quote, 700 for our side
10:00and 800,000 for Thuzer and Philippe's side.
10:05Their side is bigger and so is more expensive.
10:10At least they can keep going
10:13because Peter and Emily's mortgage has at last come through.
10:19That's good news, isn't it?
10:21The bad news is it's £70,000 less than they need.
10:25They'll have to try to remortgage later.
10:30The old house has been demolished
10:32and the foundations have been poured without drama.
10:35They're almost finished when Asta and Emily come to site.
10:39It feels smaller than we thought.
10:45Oh, well.
10:49Shall we just not bother then?
10:52I'm over it.
10:56Today, Peter is sitting at the party wall
10:59that'll divide the two houses.
11:02This is 5.9 metres.
11:04Yes, but we can work it out more accurately than that.
11:09Conventionally, dimensions aren't always crucial.
11:12Not here.
11:14Because we've got these arches which all have to be regular,
11:17they all have to be exactly the same size.
11:20Yeah, if this bit is wrong
11:23and then you end up with sort of half an arch
11:25then that's a big booboo.
11:29And perfection is hard work.
11:32So we measure it from this point?
11:35No, my dimension was to the face of the block work.
11:38So hold the horse for a second.
11:40We did...
11:41Is that string to the edge of the arch?
11:44Yes.
11:45Yes.
11:45So we need to add...
11:48I think it's 51 millimetres.
11:50OK.
11:56It's looking about the right sort of...
11:57It is looking about the right.
11:58Yeah, it is, isn't it?
12:00Whew!
12:01And it is bang in the middle of the foundation,
12:02so that's great.
12:07That is our home.
12:10Well, it isn't yet.
12:12Bear in mind that both Peter and Emily are freelancers.
12:15They're both struggling to find work at the moment
12:17and they don't have enough cash to finish this project.
12:21We currently don't know where our next paychecks are coming from.
12:25To pay for our rent, to pay for our living expenses.
12:28If we don't both get work for a year,
12:31it would leave us 120k short.
12:36Yeah.
12:36And that could be a massive spanner in the works.
12:50Kentish Town, three months in.
12:54The two cloud houses are almost at the point of rising into the sky.
12:59The builders and Peter are striving for the precision
13:02his postmodern Pink Palace demands.
13:04Peter and Emily's house needs some steel work,
13:07given its closeness to some existing neighbours.
13:10Philippe and Souza's walls are growing.
13:13It's really shooting up.
13:15But the timber frame has gone.
13:17The walls are ordinary block work.
13:21Oh, yeah.
13:23Well, they've made some good progress here.
13:25I know block work is frowned upon these days
13:29because it's not considered 21st century.
13:32It's not considered even green.
13:34But the advantage of stuff like this is that actually
13:37the cement content is relatively low.
13:39They are aerated.
13:41And it's quick.
13:43It's really quick.
13:44I think it's actually quite a reasonable choice.
13:47The decision to ditch the more sustainable timber frame
13:50has been a financial one.
13:52How are you both?
13:53We're good.
13:54Pretty exciting to see this, isn't it?
13:56It's very exciting to see.
13:57Of course it is.
13:57Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:59So, how are the numbers?
14:00Well, we are still on track for it to cost 700.
14:04We don't currently have access to 700.
14:07So, we're just hoping to borrow some more
14:09before we get to the end.
14:11Without all the funding in place,
14:13I'm wondering if these two can finish the building.
14:16I'm expecting great beauty here, aren't I?
14:18So, I think what's funny about this house is really
14:21it's a very traditional, boring little house
14:24with a pitched roof on this bit
14:26and a flat roof on this bit
14:28and then we're dressing it up.
14:30I'd maybe set it slightly differently, but...
14:32Yeah.
14:33It doesn't have to cost a huge amount.
14:37There will be a lot done with paint.
14:39You just bring the cost down
14:40because it is just that much more straightforward.
14:43Yeah.
14:45One budget option might come from this Rotherham factory,
14:49who've quoted £60,000 for the stuck-on arches.
14:53We did get one quote
14:56to have it made out of glass fibre reinforced concrete.
14:59It was quite a lot.
14:59Was it £100,000?
15:01No, it was like £350,000.
15:05We were like, oh, let's build it out of polystyrene.
15:11High-density, super-strong, expanded polystyrene, in fact.
15:16Ooh, look at that smoke coming off.
15:18Cut by a computer-guided heated wire.
15:21They've come to see a sample.
15:23It's amazing, actually, to see that arch, isn't it?
15:26Mm.
15:26That our windows are that size, our doors are that size.
15:30Can you just pop it?
15:35Oh, I can't believe it's like getting the Christmas present.
15:38It's interesting because modernists believe
15:41that there's an honesty in the material
15:44and we'll want the arches to be structural,
15:48but our house is postmodern
15:50because our arches will be purely decorative.
15:56The arches are then sprayed with a weatherproofing layer
16:00and finished with a flexible textured topcoat.
16:04Brilliant. Thank you.
16:05We want this to look the same as the render that it's stuck on.
16:10See you soon.
16:11Seamless, like a wedding cake.
16:13You nitwit.
16:14So that's why we've got to make sure that really works
16:19before we buy 160 pieces of this.
16:24They are, however, yonks away from icing this cake.
16:28It does rise fast, though.
16:31And as winter approaches,
16:32Thuzer and Philippe's ground floor walls and timber ceilings are nearly dark.
16:40They've escaped their busy jobs to make a site visit.
16:45Hello.
16:47Hi.
16:49If they don't like what they see,
16:51there's no plan B here.
17:04This is going to be the back bedroom.
17:06Oh, and this is our garden.
17:09Thuzer, I'm not sure this is going to be a back garden.
17:15Maybe a mini backyard.
17:17I didn't realize it was going to be that close to the school window.
17:20That was on the floor plan.
17:23Yes, I know, I know, but this is the whole thing.
17:25It's like you don't have a concept of size until you actually come here.
17:28The pokey garden aside, their overall verdict is...
17:33I know this is going to be great.
17:34It's so exciting.
17:36Oh, good.
17:42Eight months in, both structures are rising inside a weatherproof cocoon.
17:47They're at third floor level and the steel work for the roof is going in.
17:53It's a bit faster, faster, faster.
17:54Bart, however, is six weeks behind on his 15-month schedule.
17:58We need to go a touch that way, yeah?
18:01About...
18:01What makes me slower is...
18:04Is my architect.
18:06If I know how picky it's going to be, I would try probably 20 grand more.
18:10That should be bigger.
18:12We always try to be precise, and we always are.
18:16But there is a, I guess, like, kind of sensible limit on preciseness.
18:22We've got arches that are precise, and those windows need to fit between that arch.
18:30Peter's commitment to his pink design is purposeful, but as the first circular window is cut out,
18:36the future of this design is looking dicey.
18:39A crisis has hit the TV industry, leaving thousands of people like Emily unemployed,
18:45while the two houses remain in complete shells.
18:50So, how are you both?
18:51I'm all right, but I'm coming up for my six months of unemployment.
18:56I'm sorry to hear that.
18:56This could sink us.
18:58The worst-case scenario, we will sell it.
19:01And...
19:01Very pragmatic.
19:03Yeah.
19:03I mean, it would be an absolute dagger to the heart, but we'll do it.
19:09So, our latest plan is...
19:12I'm glad you've got a plan.
19:13Just to prioritise the spending on the inside of the house, for now.
19:17I mean, just a very rudimentary kitchen, only one bathroom, whatever, for us to be able to move in here.
19:23Then we can stop paying rent.
19:25Externally?
19:26Externally, no arches.
19:28On your house.
19:29But on Thusa and Philippe's, it'll all be done.
19:31Fully arched.
19:31Yeah.
19:31This is a little poor relative.
19:33So, there are some serious ramifications.
19:35They're very cool about it all.
19:37Yeah?
19:38Yeah.
19:39Are they?
19:40Parking this house in a state of undress...
19:43Bit of a squeeze.
19:46Oh, wow.
19:47While Thusa and Philippe's 800 grand project steams on, seems messy.
19:52I haven't been to the top floor, so this is the first time.
19:55It's very exciting.
19:56Wow.
19:57You've got this issue now of the two buildings going in at two speeds.
20:01How happy are you about that?
20:03I think it's quite certainly a negative.
20:04We really would like to have the two houses completed at the same time.
20:08I don't want to put pressure on them because they simply don't have the money.
20:11My biggest fear is that they're forced to sell.
20:14You know, that introduces a whole source of risk.
20:17You just hope and pray that it's going to work out, don't you?
20:20Fingers crossed.
20:20Yes.
20:25So, clearly, there is a great deal of good neighbourliness and generosity of spirit.
20:32This does not want to be half-finished.
20:36Because one thing this beautiful cake does not want to taste of.
20:42is bitterness.
20:45A few days later, there is one moment of sweetness when the first delivery of windows arrives.
20:52First time I've seen them.
20:55Amazing.
20:56I love the colour.
21:00They're going to be blue or what?
21:02Yeah, yeah.
21:03That's the final colour.
21:05No, you're joking.
21:06No, no.
21:06Don't scare me.
21:08The final colour, yeah, yeah.
21:10Turquoise.
21:14I was slightly shocked.
21:15I thought they were actually going to be pink at the elevation.
21:18Well, we'll just find out they are not.
21:21That little bit of turquoise today has been really exciting.
21:25It's a little glimmer of what it's going to be in the future.
21:30If only the first two windows were in the right place.
21:34They need to be moved three and a half centimetres to the left.
21:39So now it's FARC's responsibility to make it correct.
21:46I don't feel like this is our fault.
21:48We didn't get the clear details from Peter.
21:51For the sake of the good relationship, we just dropped the argument.
21:56The tension between architect and builder is increasing at a critical time, when they should be getting the place glazed
22:01and watertight.
22:04Not so good for Thuzer and Philippe, who are already aware of Peter and Emily's financial predicament.
22:11We are stressed. Everyone is stressed.
22:14I think, for me, the worst thing that can happen is Bart walks.
22:17We'd have to go through a whole process of finding a builder and then you've got escalating costs at that
22:21point.
22:22If Bart walks, that's a disaster.
22:34In Kentish Town in North London, the roofs of both houses are being boarded out together.
22:40This was Peter's dream project as an architect.
22:43A perfect pair of conjoined pink cloud houses.
22:47The weather forecast is less rosy.
22:51Peter and Emily are 100 grand short of their 700,000-pound budget.
22:56And Peter and his builder, Bart, don't quite see eye to eye.
23:01I'm getting really upset.
23:04There is a missing vibe and a bit of trust.
23:07And I don't know how to convince him.
23:10It's going to be a ride, because it's going to be a ride.
23:13A critical moment has arrived. The window installation.
23:17There are 41 to go in.
23:19Glazing is costing a hefty 167 grand between the two houses.
23:25This is the first one in.
23:27This bathroom window for Aster. Very exciting.
23:31All of it fitted under the exacting glare of Peter.
23:3615-mile remnant there.
23:38The reason why I worry about the little details is here's a window and here's the arch.
23:44And they perfectly align.
23:45It's going to look like a dog's dinner if we don't get the setting out right.
23:49Peter's design may be fluffy, but he's very serious about its artifice.
23:54He partly drew his inspiration from a post-modern interior in Holland Park, completed in 1983.
24:01The future is behind you.
24:07Oh, yeah.
24:11And in front of me is the past.
24:13The Cosmic House was home to the architectural critic and designer Charles Jenks and his wife Maggie Keswick Jenks, a
24:22renowned garden designer.
24:23Together, they transformed an ordinary Victorian villa into an immersive universe that communicates in words, signs and symbols.
24:34There is a vortex staircase encoded with planetary symbols.
24:40There are themed seasonal rooms for use around the year, like an Indian summer kitchen.
24:47Charles archly said, if you can't stand the kitch, get out of the kitchen.
24:52But actually, nothing about his work was kitch.
24:57Everything in this building ties together in a sort of universal history of architecture encompassing the entire planet.
25:06And it was also great fun.
25:10Much of it was faked.
25:13The marble spoons are not marble, of course.
25:17They're paint.
25:18But they are spoons.
25:21Artifice prevails.
25:23Mixed also with exquisite workmanship.
25:27It's beautiful.
25:28It's crafted.
25:30This is an inverted dome and it's really hard to make.
25:33And every inch of it is in terrazzo.
25:36What it tells you, of course, is that everything that is made that is any good has required huge amounts
25:41of effort.
25:43Like Charles, Peter knows that when you're trying to produce something original, there's a lot of risk attached to that.
25:50You worry that if it fails, it's going to look sham.
25:53Building?
25:54There's no laughing matter.
25:56The cosmic house's mission to promote critical experimentation rubbed off on Peter.
26:03The arches, which wrap around the building, matter deeply to him.
26:07On site, he's measuring the side elevation and there's an issue.
26:11So, Bart, I just checked this one and it seems to be like 30 mil out, which I think is
26:20probably too much.
26:21Basically, I know I did send you the width of the house and we have about 30 mil discrepancy on
26:27the width.
26:28If you take the dimension from the front, yeah, if you measure it, every arch, this window is bang on
26:35as should be.
26:36I don't think it is.
26:38From the front corner of the building.
26:40Everything works.
26:41All windows in the right position, heights, name it.
26:45It's just how simple it is, slightly too long.
26:48So, we can't fit this window?
26:50No, you can, because the most important to run with the arches from the beginning right to the end.
26:55Because if you have to place some with the arches on the back, that is a place where we can
27:00do it, not on the front.
27:01Obviously.
27:02So, what's the problem?
27:03Can I speak now?
27:04The problem is, in your email, you said it was within 10 mil tons.
27:08Yeah, yeah, if you measure from that side.
27:10If our building is slightly too wide, we can hold the one arch, which is slightly longer, to actually get
27:16to the point we want to be.
27:17So, tell me, what do you want to do with it?
27:19Well, we can't build it.
27:21Why are we just not going to do it?
27:24I don't know.
27:25Give me a solution.
27:26Yeah, yeah.
27:26I will check it again.
27:28Check it again and give me a shot.
27:29Yeah.
27:30Yeah.
27:30No problem.
27:34It's another tetchy issue to resolve.
27:37Other work advances quickly, if tentatively.
27:44A couple of mil that way.
27:45It points to a glorious transformation.
27:48This is the biggest piece of glass we've got in the building.
27:53Looking great.
27:54It's really exciting to see it starting to look like the cloud house.
27:59It's my baby.
28:01I'm very excited.
28:03But the next day, just as the project is promising architectural thrills, a storm breaks.
28:11Peter has made a difficult decision.
28:15So, we've just been asked by client to leave the site.
28:18He wants us to terminate the contract.
28:21Very disappointing.
28:23We really, truly did nothing wrong.
28:25Well, if we screw something up, we fix it.
28:28That's what we do.
28:28So, now I'm facing using my men.
28:31It really wasn't working out.
28:33It was making the job a horrible job.
28:37It was very stressful.
28:39I like Bart.
28:41I think he's a good builder.
28:42But I just don't think he's the right builder for our project.
28:48Thuza's worst nightmare has just arrived.
28:54Oh, my God.
28:55What do you think?
28:56It's our money, really, at the end of the day that's at risk.
29:00This is not the great situation.
29:03Peter has reassured me that he's talking to another builder that he's worked with before.
29:09My worry is that the new builder we get, his quote will be,
29:14it's just extortionate, because then we won't be able to finish the project.
29:17I don't know.
29:18So, yeah, I try to be positive.
29:24An unhappy hiatus follows, lasting nine long months.
29:31Until a new contractor, Chris, takes over.
29:35You can see that one.
29:37Starting with the insulation around the windows.
29:42We've got a new builder, Chris, our knight in shining armour.
29:47He has come to rescue us.
29:52So nice to be back up here again.
29:54And thankfully, Chris has agreed to do it for the same price that Bart was doing it.
29:59So, phew.
30:01We can take that temporary stuff off now.
30:04Yes, yes.
30:04Peter is a very nice person to work with.
30:07He knows what he wants, and he's a colourful person.
30:11Looking forward to going full speed ahead.
30:14Yeah.
30:15It's a positive reboot, but it's cost time.
30:19And it takes another three months before the structure's ready and rendered.
30:23Then the hotly anticipated theatrics can begin.
30:27The first arches are here, and the installers too, in the form of father and daughter team, Peter and Astor.
30:34This is the first time we've ever done this, so we don't really know what we're doing.
30:39But, you know, we're going to give it a good go.
30:41It's so nice to see them as real things.
30:45They've always been like a figment of our imagination.
30:47Absolutely.
30:49Lean up on there.
30:51Very astutely, they're starting with the less visible walls.
30:55Yeah, this is two.
30:56These are the first 30 of a 300-piece, 62,000-pound super puzzle.
31:02Because some of the windows are in the wrong place, I had to change the radius of the arches.
31:09Oh, they're looking nice, aren't they?
31:11They vary only probably by 50 millimetres.
31:15Number five.
31:16Each arch has a number and position, so setting out should be easy.
31:22Hey.
31:23It'll fit.
31:24It's like the cartoon you wanted to live in.
31:27It is. It's bold.
31:28Bold.
31:29Yeah. I feel really proud of it.
31:31And my dad, mostly, just because I know how hard he's worked on this.
31:37It is turning into a demanding, blanc-shaped conundrum.
31:41We're just trying to line everything up now with the windows and make sure it all works.
31:45Peter?
31:46Yeah.
31:46Jeff, can you come up and show you something?
31:48Yeah.
31:51One row of arches in, there's a gap.
31:55I just can't believe it's that far out.
31:58Yeah.
32:0050 mill.
32:0150 mill.
32:01Yeah.
32:06I'm going to have to do a little bit of thinking and lining things up.
32:10What the hell's going on?
32:13That one's 290.
32:15I just need to check the drawings again and see why I've done that.
32:20I feel a bit frustrated.
32:21I can't quite remember why I've done them at different dimensions.
32:25They carry on perplexed, making temporary screw fixings.
32:30But things look worse.
32:33It's not looking right, is it?
32:37The gaps start appearing bigger and bigger.
32:40The mistake is unfathomable.
32:43Peter does not want to order more arches.
32:46That means delays and more cost.
32:48So?
32:49So we can wider this up.
32:51Right.
32:52And put 50 mill polystyrene there and just sort of try to render that.
32:56Cutting and infilling arches was the last thing that perfect Peter had wanted.
33:00But he's changing.
33:02Started the job as a perfectionist, but then ended the job as a realist.
33:09Peter had hoped his candy facade would be up in a month, but they're six weeks on and not even
33:15halfway.
33:17Chopping ill-fitting sections, carving out 30 complex corners is toilsome.
33:24Progress inside is also sluggish.
33:27Stairs are going in, but the shapes are challenging.
33:31So if we look at it from this...
33:33Fuso and Philippe, though, are ahead.
33:35They've chosen their interiors, they're finalising artwork from a friend, Nathaniel Racco.
33:41When do you need this thing?
33:42Well, as you can see, I'm pregnant.
33:46So...
33:48Me and Philippe are really happy.
33:49We wanted to move in before I gave birth, but lo and behold, our house is delayed again.
33:56When I started this project, I didn't realise that actually a lot of this stuff is still quite experimental.
34:01Like building the bow vaulted ceilings ended up more complicated than the builder thought,
34:06because a lot of the original material kept on breaking, so now they're using plywood.
34:11So, fingers crossed, we'll be moving in five months' time.
34:15Oh!
34:16I'm back and there's some exciting, tempting little glimpses of Pinky and Perky.
34:23Look at this!
34:24Inside, it's all a tad gloomier, but at last, two and a half years in...
34:30There are sprinkles of magic.
34:32Hello, pink people!
34:33Hello!
34:35Are you?
34:36It's good to see you in your natural habitat with all of these shapes!
34:39Yeah!
34:40What's this thing in the middle here?
34:41It's a little infield piece.
34:42I think at the start of the project, I had lots of expectations of it being millimetre perfect,
34:49but I've had to sort of open that up to about 30 millimetres.
34:54That's 50, come on!
34:56You know, at one stage you were worrying about the money and talking about reducing arches on your side?
35:01We've decided to do everything now on the outside.
35:05Take my glance off to this!
35:07Thank you!
35:08Thank you!
35:09It's the only thing that I've been worrying about is that, in a way, it's about the impact and the
35:14sort of carrying the idea through.
35:15Very fortuitously, my parents have downsized, so they are very sweetly lending us the money to get to the end.
35:24Bless them!
35:25Yes!
35:26Hallelujah!
35:27Emily and Peter can now spend up to their £700,000 budget and see where that gets them.
35:33So, in terms of delivery on the two buildings?
35:35We hope the summer.
35:37This year?
35:38This year!
35:39That's great!
35:40I'm flabbergasted by the optimism.
35:43And yet, they do go at it.
35:46Two months later, plaster is drying, second fixes are underway, and Peter is painting.
35:54Ooh!
35:55Yeah, I'm pleased with that.
35:57It's not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but it's what we like.
36:01I'm just kind of making it up as I go along.
36:05That's fine.
36:06After all, painting over mistakes is cheap, which is more than can be said for fixing the arches.
36:13They look terrible.
36:15We have to fix the arches.
36:19I can't leave them the way they are.
36:23So, a hefty £40,000 render rescue package is underway.
36:29The process has been really tough.
36:32I would think long and hard about doing this ever again.
36:37Everything is riding on Rescue Render.
36:51It's a gloomy day in London, and the streets seem dull and colourless.
36:57It should be a good time to visit a pink bubblegum fantasy, Peter and Emily's Cloud House, that's been three
37:04tricky years in the making.
37:06This project was supposed to be fun, yeah?
37:10A bunch of people happily getting together in the sunshine to build two houses.
37:16And what's happened instead is that the building has slowly ground everybody down.
37:20You have to ask then, don't you?
37:23Has that happened to the building?
37:24Has it too suffered?
37:26Is it a bit unhappy?
37:30Oh.
37:32Well that is one perfectly baked pink pudding.
37:39To misquote Beyonce, are you ready for this jelly?
37:44Because I am.
37:46Hell yes.
37:53Wow.
37:54That is...
37:55Dreaming.
37:56There's nothing bitter in this blancmange.
37:59It's wrapped in wave upon wave of seemingly perfect pink arches.
38:04The strawberry fondant render seems flawless.
38:08It's got so much of Miami about it.
38:12The metalwork, like the gates of an amusement park, seem to say, enter here and let the fun begin.
38:21It's beautiful.
38:22Hello Emily.
38:23Hi.
38:24How are you?
38:25I'm all right, how are you?
38:27All the better for seeing you at your beautiful gate.
38:28Isn't it gorgeous?
38:29Peter.
38:30Good to see you.
38:31Good to see you too.
38:32Congratulations.
38:32I mean you've built it, haven't you?
38:34Yeah.
38:34Is that right?
38:35Yeah, we're almost there, 99% done.
38:38It just looks totally correct.
38:41Thank you very much.
38:42Is it what you'd hoped for, Emily?
38:45Oh, yeah.
38:46I just think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
38:49And just in these last 10 days since we've been living here, we've had person after person
38:54after person walking by and saying, this is amazing.
38:58But do you feel, Peter, the same sense of joy?
39:02Because for you this was a very hard battle.
39:06Yeah, I mean, it's been a really emotional ride, really.
39:15Yeah.
39:15And to hear how much Emily loves it.
39:19Yeah.
39:20That brings me so much joy and it's totally been worth it.
39:29You've made me cry.
39:30Well done.
39:31How have you?
39:33Oh.
39:35Yeah.
39:37Yeah.
39:38Peter has put his soul into this building and the mind boggles how this Fantasia will translate
39:44inside.
39:45Will it?
39:45Can it be as well resolved?
39:49Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho.
39:52It's great.
39:54It's like going to the fair.
39:56It's a merry-go-round of painted candy cane.
40:01Do you like it then?
40:02I do.
40:04It's bonko and beautiful.
40:08I can't stop looking up because it's so enticing and unusual.
40:15Are these cupboards?
40:16Yes.
40:18Yes.
40:18Yes, they are.
40:19It's pretty and functional.
40:21And inside here is just the cheapest kitchen you can buy.
40:25Mm-hmm.
40:25Like 5k?
40:26Yeah.
40:27Something like that?
40:29However, it's detailed with proper bespoke plywood and beautiful fittings.
40:34You could look at this, the funky sitting area, Peter's exuberant study, and think all
40:40this is nuts.
40:41But it references music halls, Miami Art Deco, and the Cosmic House.
40:48Oh, ultramarine blue.
40:51It's sort of like one of those sensory deprivation chambers, you know?
40:54Amazing.
40:55So, through this door to the next floor.
40:59Yeah.
41:00The first floor is Astor's.
41:02Like the pink, what a surprising colour for the bathroom.
41:06In contrast, her bedroom's a welcome respite in white.
41:11Another bathroom.
41:13Top floor is Emily and Peter's.
41:16Is this your bedroom?
41:17It is.
41:19It's beautiful.
41:20You have these shapes written into the structure as much as in paint.
41:25It's all one story.
41:26Yeah.
41:28Peter gets big office downstairs.
41:29I get this.
41:31Ta-da!
41:35Yes, but you see, I know which I'd prefer.
41:38Oh.
41:38Peter's office.
41:41Jolly here, isn't it?
41:42Is it these two?
41:44Or is it the house?
41:45Hard to say.
41:46This architecture, these arches, have sprung from the imagination of one man.
41:54At the top, both houses have roof terraces.
41:59Ah, ha, ha, ha!
42:01Or a view across London through pink clouds.
42:07It's been quite a ride.
42:09Yeah.
42:09What's been the worst thing?
42:11I'm going to tell you, actually, not enough money.
42:13You are correct.
42:16But we've done as much as cheaply as we possibly can.
42:20Peter has decorated the whole thing himself.
42:24But our overall figure is 735.
42:27So that's 5% over.
42:29Yeah, that's really respectable.
42:31And isn't it gorgeous?
42:33It is gorgeous.
42:34Emily's always my loudest champion.
42:38If you had told me 20 years ago that I was going to fall in love with somebody
42:43who was going to design me a house that was pink and curvy, I'd have said,
42:48I'll hang on for him because he sounds terrific.
42:53And I did.
42:56It's easy to forget this is two houses.
43:00Hello.
43:01Hi.
43:02Oh, hey.
43:03Hi, neighbours.
43:04Hello.
43:04Hi, Philippe.
43:05You want to come and look at our house?
43:06Wow, what an invitation.
43:07That'd be nice.
43:08Yeah.
43:08Yeah, thanks.
43:10I can't wait.
43:13Thuse and Philippe's house is chunkier with a side entrance.
43:17This is really nice.
43:20That is beautiful.
43:22What delights await us.
43:24Oh, not very much.
43:28It's unsurprising, really.
43:30Philippe and Thuse, I know, have had their hands full.
43:34Welcome.
43:35How are you?
43:36Yeah.
43:36Very good to see you.
43:38Hello.
43:38Hello, Philippe.
43:39And by the way, congratulations, you've had a baby daughter.
43:43Yes, Clementine.
43:44She's gorgeous.
43:46So you just parked things.
43:47Yeah.
43:48Our internals have taken a bit of a hit.
43:50You've done this.
43:51This is great.
43:53And these beautiful, vaulted curbs above our heads.
43:57This is a cooler, understated twin house.
44:01Illuminated by dichroic artwork made by Thuse's friend, Nathaniel.
44:06One of the challenges here, of course, is to try to develop our own vision.
44:11Because Peter's vision is so strong.
44:14Yeah.
44:14Yeah, yeah.
44:15Philippe is now a DIY expert, keeping their costs under $850,000.
44:20It's a larger and pricier house than next door.
44:24So, does the building deliver what you expected?
44:27I had up and down throughout the build.
44:29But now, I walk in and I'm, like, happy.
44:31And our daughter's gonna be brought up in this unique house.
44:34Yeah.
44:35Hope she likes it.
44:38Well, I know one daughter who's an unabashed fan, Asta.
44:41I think it's a masterpiece.
44:43I think it's a work of art, really.
44:46That we just happen to live in.
44:48That is a wonderful testimony.
44:51And I agree.
44:53The artist, David Batchelor, he wrote a book called Chromophobia, which means fear of colour.
45:02And in it, he argued that Western society has demonised colour.
45:07It's made it the object of extreme prejudice.
45:10We don't trust it now.
45:12We can't trust things that are colourful because they're infantile.
45:17We can't trust buildings because surely they can't be serious if they're playing with colour.
45:23Which is nuts, isn't it?
45:24When you think about it, I mean, we all see in colour, we dream in colour, we think in colour.
45:28To actually express ourselves in colour in what we eat and wear and where we live.
45:33All of that is to be human.
45:37It lies at our core.
45:41Oh, look.
45:42I'm sure that not every street could really tolerate a pink fondant fancy, okay?
45:51But more colour in our lives, in our architecture, absolutely.
46:03I don't know why design is such a complicated building.
46:04Have you built before?
46:05No.
46:06The thing with architects is that they focus on design and they're not too bothered how you're going to build
46:10it.
46:11It's very stressful.
46:13There's so much that could be wrong with it. There's so many angles to contend with.
46:16I thought I was quite decisive and then I realised that I'm not. I'm horrible at making decisions.
46:20There has been a lot of tweaking, yeah, 100%.
46:22This seems to me a bit bloody-minded.
46:24I don't know why design is such a complicated building.
46:27Things are gonna go wrong.
46:28I know it.
46:29I know it.
46:49Cheers.
46:51Cheers.
46:51Cheers.