MovieChat Forums > Grand Designs (1999) Discussion > The ugliest house ever built

The ugliest house ever built

posted 12 years ago by martin_66
6 replies | jump to latest

Did anybody else see that horror show that masquerades as the normally excellent Grand Designs - specifically episode 7, Series 8 (Wednesday 26th September 2012)? The one with the big set of glass building blocks, unsympathetically plonked in an otherwise lovely Victorian street in Brixton.

My wife and I love Grand Designs, but had to restrain ourselves from vomiting wildly after seeing that monstrosity. How the subjects of the programme got planning permission to build something which was not only incredibly hideous but also unbelievably soulless is a mystery.

If I had the misfortune of having to live in a place like that I have no doubt that I would go completely insane in just a couple of days. I am just grateful that the vast majority of people who design and build houses want something a bit more traditional, a bit more "easy on the eyes".

Listen to what Kevin McCloud says in his closing comments. Despite his admiration for the building techniques I got the distinct impression that even he didn't like it.

I genuinely worry about the mental state of people who actually want to live in a place like that.

[–] EsmeW 11 years ago

The houses so far this season have been remarkably unattractive overall! (Aside from the Irish castle.) The Oxford house was remarkably ill-fitting in it's environment, but at least it seemed to fade into the background from the river thanks to the coating tiles.

[–] martin_66 11 years ago

You are indeed right. They seem to have confused "Grand Designs" with "Hideous eyesores that no normal person would actually want to live in" this season.

In a way I quite liked the house on the Thames at Henley but it didn't really fit in with its neighbours, and the owners of it seemed to be the sort of people who couldn't give a toss about anynody else as long as they got what they wanted.

I do love an innovative, radical, modern design, but when it is plonked in between a load of houses which look a lot more traditional it just doesn't look right.

The Irish castle you mentioned was fantastic, such a shame that he had so many financial problems. It did look like a money pit right from the start though!

The latest episode, showing the conversion of the huge basement rooms was truly amazing and must have cost/be worth millions. Couldn't quite see myself living somewhere with so little natural light, though. (Not really a problem with my budget!!!)

[–] rockmail 11 years ago

Holy crap, you both liked the IRISH CASTLE?

That was the most unplanned, chaotic, ugly, unfinished piece of crap in the entire series!

Even if finished, it would simply have been a renaissance fair attraction constructed of horrid replica pieces. Even the host pointed out the poor space planning, the crudely designed windows and the ultimate folly of the whole thing.

Wow, my point of most people having no design taste holds true.

[–] willywonkasrevenge 10 years ago

That was the most unplanned, chaotic, ugly, unfinished piece of crap in the entire series!

Even if finished, it would simply have been a renaissance fair attraction constructed of horrid replica pieces.

See if you can find the Gothic Castle episode. That one was even worse and looked like it was decorated out of a campy Halloween catalog.

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[–] willywonkasrevenge 10 years ago

That was the most unplanned, chaotic, ugly, unfinished piece of crap in the entire series!

I just watched the Irish castle episode and have to agree. I would love to have seen what a different owner could have done with that property. That guy was a total nut. In the same breath, he blames all of his woes on "the banks" and then curses them for not approving is 140,000 euro "furniture budget" loan. Does he realize that he's the definition of what went wrong in the mortgage crisis?

If he hadn't wasted a portion of his budget putting up walls and tearing them down in the middle of the night, he might have had enough left to finish. I don't blame the banks for pulling the plug on his financing. He was pouring through money, had no formal plans, fired his contractors, wasn't following building regulations, snubbed the planning board's decisions, and had little to show for the amount he spent.

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[–] willywonkasrevenge 10 years ago

Wow. I just watched that episode. It looked like 3 giant shipping containers crookedly stacked. How did that get planning permission?

And that big rolling desk was just stupid.

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