Grand Designs Australia debuts on ABC
Foxtel series hosted by Peter Maddison gets its Free to Air premiere.
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Another Foxtel series Grand Designs Australia begins next week on ABC.
Hosted by Peter Maddison it begins with “Bushfire House” which aired on Pay TV in 2010.
For the first time on free to air TV, the series based on the award-winning UK series. Hosted by leading Australian architect Peter Maddison, Grand Designs Australia charts the in- depth process of elaborate design projects undertaken by self-builders – from the initial details of blueprints, to the long and often arduous task of turning the designs into a practical living space.
No design is too ambitious when it comes to creating a dream home. But discovering the hard realities that complicate plans can often be too much to bear.
From rebuilding a labour of love in the Victorian bush after it was burnt to the ground in the Black Saturday bushfires; to transforming a tiny corner car park into a five-level home in the urban jungle; and a cyclone-proof, tropical tree house that is windowless and based on the shape of a 50-cent piece; Grand Designs Australia follows not only the growth of these homes, but the personal journeys of those building them.
Episode 1: Callignee
February 2009. Chris Clarke had just spent two years building his minimalist timber and steel dream home at Callignee in Victoria’s Gippsland region, when less than a week after completion, it was burnt to the ground in the devastating Black Saturday bushfires. With nothing remaining but a concrete slab and a burnt-out shell Chris was left shattered and numb.
After recovering from the initial grief, he was determined to re-build and re-use every salvageable element of the original house. What he creates in the year following is simply remarkable.
By adding sturdy recycled elements like Princes Pier timbers and rock blasted from a local quarry, and with the latest fire-resistant materials, Chris sets out to produce a tough, resilient version of the original home – now dubbed Callignee One.
Wearing its embattled past as a badge of honour, will Callignee Two not only face up to the Aussie bush, will it embrace it?
8pm Thursday May 31 on ABC.
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4 Responses
You sure its on this week? Nothing in the tv guide. Stargazing live is on all week
My mistake, May 31. Apologies.
Why, oh why has it taken 8 years to get this show to FTA?
Therein lies the problem … all of the houses were built years ago … ancient history so to speak.
However, GDA is as good as GD and GDNZ, so if you haven’t seen GDA already then IMHO it’s worth watching.
You would need to ask Foxtel. They always indicated they would not sell shows to FTA, but seems to be some wiggle room. I always said TEN should have snapped it up when Foxtel was part-owner, given they have no property show.