Kevin McCloud : Hello everyone. I bet no one out there liked the project on tonight's show as much as I did.
Dazabrit : What role do you feel Self-Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Housing Developments will play within the future? Has your involvement in Grand Designs affected your opinion on the importance of these developments now and in the future?
Kevin McCloud : My involvement in Grand Designs has not affected my view but it has informed it. I sometimes use our filming days as an opportunity to nose around and research new build materials and techniques but what has helped me formulate my views is the work I've done with WWF on their One Planet Living campaign - I'm am ambassador for WWF and OPL, as it's called, is about trying to create a million sustainable homes in the UK.
Adam : What would be the most challenging "Grand Design" you would like to see in the future?
Kevin McCloud : I'd like to see houses, like the one in the programme tonight, which are even cheaper and affordable. Tonight's architect was a really gifted man - you know he seemed to be able to magic space out of nothing. Wouldn't it be great if a project that costs £350,000 only came in at £150,000?!
C : Do you ever have to lie and say you like a project when you don't or are you always completely honest?
Kevin McCloud : Yeah, I'm always pretty honest. I have been less than admiring of some of them though. I say what I think and the real point here is that I get a hand in choosing the projects in the first place. So the ones I don't like, we don't film! It's much easier that way. I have to spend 18 months of my life with these people, so that would be just miserable if I hated it. There's another point to make here actually, sometimes a design might not be quite to my taste but I'm not really interested in exercising my taste, I'd rather exercise my judgement. One thing I've learnt from all this is that we don't want the world to look the same - there's room for lots of different things, we need diversity.
Sarah! : Hello! I would like to know how much the entire project ended up costing – the one in tonight’s show.
Kevin McCloud : It came in a little over the £350,000 budget, but not much. They kept it reigned in by doing pretty well all the decorating themselves.
timjackson : Which house in all the series most closely resembles your own ideal home?
Kevin McCloud : I can't answer that, tim! There was a time when I'd come back from every shoot having changed my views and re-designed my ideal home in my head. I've now done so many projects that it's a bit like window shopping and I've sort of come to realise that every house is a response to where it is and who it's for, so I have sneaking suspicion that my own house will be something completely different. But, in a way, that's what keeps the show going - that we get such completely different projects. If you want to know what my ideal home would be like I'd probably sum it up in a few ideas like: a view of a sunset, a big deck or porch, quite a bit of glass and I have this hankering for separate pods to put my children in that you can close up and lock away heheh...
Mitch Derham : Hi Kevin. Just watching your show and it was great as usual. I was wondering.. You are obviously very knowledgeable, or at least show great enthusiasm for architecture and design... Before Grand Designs, were you an architect yourself? If not; how did you get into this line of work? Keep up the eye opening and thought provoking work. Mitch
Kevin McCloud : Thank you, Mitch. I am a Jack of all trades. I studied history and architecture then I re-trained as a designer and worked as a theatre designer before moving more towards product and lighting design. And I got into TV by banging on about lighting.
Ben : Kevin - How many days each year do you spend on site?
Kevin McCloud : Ha! I don't want to know the answer to that! I spend 3 days a week filming, every week, all year. Except when I'm on holiday, which isn't often enough!
des : It seems to me that the windows cause delays more than any other part of a project. Do you feel this is true?
Kevin McCloud : Funny that, isn't it? I know it to be true and it's to do with the fact that most building materials like wood steel and even concrete can be added to or reduced in size on site, whereas toughened glass, once toughened, can't be cut. As a result, the opening needs to be finished and measured in order for the glass to then be ordered which usually takes 8-12 weeks (which is actually a fairly standard delivery time in the construction industry, for anything).
Robin Balance : Hi Kevin, it's nice to see you back on television - I particularly liked the house on tonight's programme, how much do you feel the Bauhaus influence affected their design?
Kevin McCloud : Well, that's a clever question Robin. There are a couple of houses that pre-date the Bauhaus in Germany and Holland, by Adolph Loos and Gerrit Rietveld and they do look quite similar, although not covered in cedar shakes. When I saw tonight's project finished, it really reminded me of those early Dutch modernist houses. Probably more than a coincidence that Theo is himself Dutch.
AB : Hello Kevin, I am interested in following in the footsteps of the couple who built the Huf-Haus. My first requirement is to source land for my project, a four bedroom house. The problem is that I live in the outskirts of London and need to remain in this area, how can I source land?
Kevin McCloud : What am I supposed to say?! A huf haus will occupy quite a large footprint and they are also not very flexible in adapting to their context. So chances are, even if you did get a plot, you might have a battle on your hands with the planners. It's always a danger - falling in love with a type of building before you have found a site, best to do it the other way around and then open the dialogue with your planners as to the kind of thing they'd like to see. As to finding a plot - get on your bike! It's the best way - you can look over hedges, go through tiny alleys and see all kinds of places that you couldn't access in a car.
Jasonpandre : Kevin, the houses on the show are often built by people with lots of money and a taste for excess. Tonight’s seemed like a genuine couple, with a genuine need. Are these ones generally more enjoyable places to visit?
Kevin McCloud : I always like it when people have to try harder, yes. Money can often be the enemy of good taste and allow a lazy approach. But even tonight's project wasn't cheap at £350,000. Funnily enough, I always have to be reminded of how much things cost because I'm so hopeless with money and I'm not really interested in the value of the houses; what interests me is the passion and the risk and vision. Having said all that, it's so important that we try and get the cost of all our housing down, but I'm afraid that won't happen with land prices as they are.
Aaron McGrath : The big question in our practice is.... what ever happened to the guy whose house had the wing shaped roof and are you planning to do another update show?
Kevin McCloud : Heh, Tom is a very lovely man, with a very long-suffering and devoted wife and as far as I know he is still working on his house. We're already done one re-visit and the project was pretty well complete so I doubt we will go back, although personally, I'd be fascinated to see it.
Ben : Many of the Grand Designs in the series so far have been in rural locations. Are there any Grand Designs planned to inspire us urbanites?
Kevin McCloud : We've had quite a few urban projects, in Clapham and north London for example, and quite a few suburban ones too. Coming up in the next 18 months we've got a timber-framed project on a site in south London, a bit of urban infill in Southampton and a possible rooftop extension project. Personally, I'd love to do more urban stuff and we keep looking for it.
kylie : Have any of the grand designs ever not been finished and thus not shown on TV?
Kevin McCloud : Hehehe, yes Kylie! They're the ones you don't see and they're the ones that really hack me off because we spend months filming them! Mercifully there aren't too many of them.
Robert S : Hey Kevin , I love the show it’s amazing some times , what grand design of this series so far do you consider your favourite?
Kevin McCloud : Well thank you Robert, if you couldn't tell, it was tonight's project. Although the water tower project that's coming up, runs a close second.
Chat Ed : We have now come to the end of our live chat with Kevin McCloud. Thank you all for coming and a huge thanks to Kevin for answering as many questions as he could in our half hour, sorry to those of you who didn't get a chance to see your question submitted.
Kevin McCloud : I'm sorry we haven't got time for any more questions guys and girls. Thanks to so many of you who have logged on to chat tonight and sorry if I didn't get to your questions. Keep watching and keep the faith! :)
Kevin McCloud leaves the room.
