Since the current season premiered, Grand Designs viewers have been tough to please, with the latest home project also causing controversy.
On this week’s episode, Duncan, an environmental expert, and his girlfriend, solicitor Liz, who was a member of Princess Diana’s legal team during her divorce, were hoping to build a bold green home in the Cotswolds.
They budgeted £1.2 million for their home on an 800-square-metre site, which included a library, wine cellar, yoga studio, and an innovative solar fabric for the roof.
Their ambitious construction also included ideas for their ideal home to consume very little energy while produce four times the energy it required.
Its magnitude worried host Kevin McCloud, who wondered whether it might be a “monster” and described it as “terrifying.”
There were several hurdles along the road, as with every project presented on the show.
Despite his lack of prior expertise, Duncan opted to supervise the home construction alone, while Liz remained at their London home as it all unfolded.
Kevin was concerned about the fact that it was completed when he went to meet them for a tour at the conclusion of the episode, but he was pleased once inside, calling it “lovely and different.”
Those viewing from home, however, were less complimentary about the massive structure.
‘I like the concept and general design of this house; It’s just way too big!’ one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
‘House much too big and looks like a conference centre inside and out. Beautiful setting though,’ someone else said.
Another added: ‘Would the energy maths still work if the house (roof) for two people wasn’t the size of a 70’s Woolworths?’
Meanwhile, another person said the idea of an airtight house and not being able to throw open a window was ‘depressing and like some dystopian future’.
The house, like the previous several episodes of the show, was incomplete, leaving many fans unhappy yet again.
‘STOP SHOWING US UNFINISHED HOUSES!!!!!! There have been three unfinished Grand Designs in a row now – the most unsatisfying thing ever!’ one person shared on social media.
When obtaining an update from the owners, Kevin noted that ‘half of it is undone’ and asked whether they wished they’d constructed a smaller home, to which they answered that they did.
Speaking with the pair, they disclosed that they had not’shared a life’ together in the three years it had taken the construction to reach this point, with Duncan predicting another 18 months to go.
He said that there had been a ‘cost to pay,’ with the project affecting their relationship.
Grand Designs continues Wednesdays at 9pm on Channel 4.
