Ep 3. South Cornwall: Wavy Wooden House

South Cornwall: Wavy Wooden House is a captivating episode of the long-running British television series, Grand Designs. In this episode, host Kevin McCloud travels to a remote location in southern Cornwall to meet a couple who have commissioned one of the most unusual houses ever featured on the show.

The house is designed by the architects Laurence and Pauline Biddulph, who have created a structure that is entirely unique in its use of materials and aesthetic design. The house is clad entirely in wood, with undulating walls that create a strange, wavy effect. The windows are custom-designed and fitted with special soundproofing glass to help block out the noise from a nearby road.

One of the main challenges faced by the builders of the wavy wooden house is the site itself. The plot is located on the side of a steep hill, with difficult access and a gradient that made construction extremely challenging. To overcome these obstacles, the team had to use innovative techniques, including constructing a bespoke crane system to build the house piece by piece.

The interior of the wavy wooden house is open-plan, with a large living space that opens out onto a decked terrace with a stunning view of the sea. The house has an eco-friendly, sustainable design, with features including a rainwater harvesting system and a biomass boiler.

The couple who commissioned the house, Andy and Jeanette, are both artists and have used the unique design of their home to create a stunning interior. The walls and ceilings are painted in vivid colours, and the couple has used their art and sculptures to add character and personality to the space.

As with all episodes of Grand Designs, the focus is on the challenges and triumphs of the building process. We see the couple experiencing both highs and lows as they watch their vision come to life, from setbacks like delays in construction to joyful moments like seeing the completed interior for the first time.

One of the most memorable aspects of South Cornwall: Wavy Wooden House is the way that the design of the house seems to blend seamlessly with the natural environment. The curved, wave-like appearance of the structure is almost organic, and the use of wood and other natural materials help the house to feel like part of the landscape rather than something that has been imposed upon it.

Overall, this episode of Grand Designs is a fascinating exploration of the creative potential of architecture and the ways in which human beings can use design to live more harmoniously with the natural world. The wavy wooden house is a truly unique example of this kind of thinking, and fans of the show are sure to find it inspiring and thought-provoking.