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Airdate: Grand Designs Australia Revisited

GDA host Peter Maddison goes back to look at two building projects from the first season to ask 'was it all worth it?'

2013-03-28_1026Hit LifeStyle series Grand Designs Australia only has 3 seasons under its belt but it is already taking time to revisit some of its achievements in a two-part special Grand Designs Australia Revisited.

Host Peter Maddison goes back to look at two building projects from the first season and asks the question: was it all worth it? (I’m guessing the answer is ‘Yes.’)

The featured houses are the ‘Surry Hills Small House’ and the ‘Clovelly Modular.’

In 2009, Architect Domenic Alvaro and his partner, Sue, bought small and built big in Surry Hills, Sydney. A tiny corner car park measuring just 7 meters x 6 meters was transformed into 220 square metres of luxurious, light-filled living space. Their vertical concrete house with one large room per floor and no wasted space became an ingenious solution to the issue of urban sprawl. But with no lift and 4 floors, we hoped they’d like stairs.

Now, Peter catches up with Sue and Dom and their brand new baby girl, Alessia. The house has since gained global recognition and the grand title of ‘World House of the Year 2011’. But what’s it been like to live in? Has the novelty of over 47 steps worn off now they’ve extended the family?

In 2009, Julie and Patrick fast tracked the construction of their super slick, ultra-modern home in the Sydney beachside suburb, Clovelly, thanks to a firm of pre-fab builders in Victoria. Four top end modules built in a Melbourne warehouse were trucked to Sydney in a dramatic convoy, before being craned into place. The challenges (of which there were many) had less to do with the building and more to do with the site. And an ongoing water issue ensured their money was quite literally, going down the drain.

Peter re-visits the couple 3-years on to see how they’re enjoying their fabulous high-end house. We learn how they’ve settled in, whether it’s changed their lives and answer the key question: how is the water issue?

Monday, April 15 and April 22 at 8.30pm on The LifeStyle Channel.

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