By Natalia Gameson
Everyone deserves a grand design - but for those without the budget or guts for self-build, finding a well-designed property with a sense of soul and place can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, says TV presenter Kevin McCloud. So, how can housebuilders up their game to compete in the market, and what can buyers do to influence the new homes of the future?
Before I can begin quizzing Kevin McCloud – Britain’s much-lauded champion of decent housebuilding design - he immediately puts me at ease by talking me through making a pink gin, “the greatest drink known to man”, and interrogates me about my favourite tipple.
But make no mistake, Kevin has serious issues on his mind, which he tackles with the passion and intelligence for which he has become renowned through Channel 4’s hit TV programme, Grand Designs .
Crusade against bad design
The bearer of what some might term an unhealthy obsession with buildings, Kevin studied them at Cambridge and has worked in and around them ever since, and makes no secret of his desire to propagate Britain with “f**k-off nice houses. That’s all I’m interested in promoting.” But modern housebuilding, the focus of Kevin’s crusade against bad design, often falls short of this benchmark.
He says: “The question facing all housebuilders who want to keep up in the market should be ‘how can we make these places more exciting?’ Unfortunately, most new developments either look weird or badly planned and constructed - mainly because housebuilders spend as little as £200 on house design per project, a very sorry and paltry figure.”
Unfortunately, housing shortages, tight planning regulations and low land bank supplies have given too much power to too few, Kevin ruminates. “Run by an oligarchy of a few housebuilders, who enjoy too big a monopoly in the marketplace, buyers have had little choice other than to buy their mediocre products. The car industry used to be like this too, but people can now choose from thousands of products, which has really upped the design stakes for manufacturers.
"Housebuilders should beware that, as awareness of bad design grows and if the planning laws ease up, buyers won’t be satisfied with hobbit houses for much longer.”
Admittedly, Kevin doesn’t find all modern house design depressing. “Urban Splash has done some fantastic stuff recently, especially their Chimney Pot Park scheme in Salford, which moves the bedrooms downstairs to create more space. But most great new design is at the bottom of the market - the Housing Corporation has got some great stuff planned for the Thames Gateway.”
Eco-town mythology
So, what does he think of Gordon Brown’s eco-town plans? Curling his lip slightly, Kevin answers: “Norman Foster [an architect] recently said that it takes 200 years to build a town, while Gordon Brown is expecting to put up five of these in a few years.
"I don’t actually know what an eco town is and I very much doubt our future prime minister does either.”
A carbon-zero panic drive may not be the best way forward for sustainable development either, Kevin observes wryly: “Even the most environmentally unfriendly project will be more sustainable if built and designed properly, as it will be less wasteful than other schemes in putting all the materials to the best possible use. I’m unconvinced of the value of carbon-zero developments.”
So, are times for design finally changing? Kevin’s latest venture, HAB Housing (Happiness, Architecture and Beauty), the TV presenter, interior designer and writer is adding property developer to his list of trades as part of his drive to give British housebuilding a facelift it will never forget.
Working with former Architects’ Journal editor Isabel Allan, the pair are keeping a blog on HAB’s website detailing their future plans and criteria for development, and to drum up support for the project, which aims to bring good design to provincial and suburban housing projects where creativity may be lacking.
“We’re inviting people on to the website to talk about what kind of housing they’d like, and where," explains Kevin. "So far, the feedback we’ve had has been excellent.”
Undeniably, the new-homes industry is turning a corner, and many buyers are ready to embrace new ideas. As Kevin says himself, “The age of hobbit house tolerance is fast drawing to a close.”
For more information on HAB Housing, visit the website .
This article was published on 18th June 2007.