# Grand Designs

Grand Designs is a British television series that has broadcast on Channel 4 since 29 April 1999 and is presented by Kevin McCloud.

## Format

Episodes generally follow a regular format, with small variations depending on the progress of the build. At the beginning of an episode, McCloud meets the clients embarking on the project; he visits the site with them, and discusses the plans for the building. A computer visualisation or computer-aided design view of the intended project is shown. Once ground work commences, he visits the site periodically, following the build progress, noting any changes, hitches or delays; the build frequently runs over budget and completes later than scheduled. McCloud will often do a piece to camera concentrating on any unique materials or features in the house. He visits again once the building is made watertight, and the first and second fixes have commenced. He makes a final visit to the site in its finished or near-finished state, once the occupants have moved in. A tour of the house is then given; McCloud brings the episode to a close summarising the house, its construction, and his opinions.
If a house is not completed before filming finishes, it will sometimes be revisited in a later episode. In more recent series, McCloud revisits past unfinished builds once they have been completed and may stay overnight.
The properties featured in Grand Designs are hugely varied in style and design, from underground homes to converted water towers to buildings constructed in methods of sustainable architecture; the only common factor is that they are all unusual or extravagant. The most popular episode of the series for both Kevin McCloud and viewers was Series 3, Episode 3 with Ben Law's home and a sweet chestnut frame made from his own woodland costing very little.

## Transmissions

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally aired | Originally aired |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
| 1 | 8 | 8 | 29 April 1999 (1999-04-29) | 24 June 1999 (1999-06-24) |
| 2 | 8 | 8 | 17 July 2001 (2001-07-17) | 4 September 2001 (2001-09-04) |
| 3 | 8 | 8 | 12 February 2003 (2003-02-12) | 1 October 2003 (2003-10-01) |
| 4 | 7 | 7 | 21 January 2004 (2004-01-21) | 10 March 2004 (2004-03-10) |
| 5 | 20 | 20 | 6 April 2005 (2005-04-06) | 16 May 2007 (2007-05-16) |
| 6 | 7 | 7 | 16 January 2008 (2008-01-16) | 2 April 2008 (2008-04-02) |
| 7 | 8 | 8 | 28 January 2009 (2009-01-28) | 8 April 2009 (2009-04-08) |
| 8 | 8 | 8 | 15 September 2010 (2010-09-15) | 3 November 2010 (2010-11-03) |
| 9 | 7 | 7 | 14 September 2011 (2011-09-14) | 26 October 2011 (2011-10-26) |
| 10 | 8 | 8 | 12 September 2012 (2012-09-12) | 7 November 2012 (2012-11-07) |
| 11 | 9 | 9 | 4 September 2013 (2013-09-04) | 30 October 2013 (2013-10-30) |
| 12 | 7 | 7 | 3 September 2014 (2014-09-03) | 15 October 2014 (2014-10-15) |
| 13 | 7 | 7 | 9 September 2015 (2015-09-09) | 21 October 2015 (2015-10-21) |
| 14 | 8 | 8 | 21 September 2016 (2016-09-21) | 17 November 2016 (2016-11-17) |
| 15 | 8 | 8 | 6 September 2017 (2017-09-06) | 25 October 2017 (2017-10-25) |
| 16 | 6 | 6 | 19 September 2018 (2018-09-19) | 24 October 2018 (2018-10-24) |
| 17 | 6 | 6 | 4 September 2019 (2019-09-04) | 9 October 2019 (2019-10-09) |
| 18 | 5 | 5 | 6 January 2021 (2021-01-06) | 3 February 2021 (2021-02-03) |
| 19 | 7 | 7 | 1 September 2021 (2021-09-01) | 13 October 2021 (2021-10-13) |
| 20 | 7 | 7 | 31 August 2022 (2022-08-31) | 12 October 2022 (2022-10-12) |
| 21 | 5 | 5 | 27 September 2023 (2023-09-27) | TBA |
| 22 | 8 | 8 | September 2024 (2024-09) | TBA |

## International versions

* Grand Designs Australia premiered on 21 October 2010 in Australia on The LifeStyle Channel.
* Grand Designs New Zealand
       hosted by Chris Moller for its first six seasons, premiered on 4 October 2015 in New Zealand on TV3. The first season consisted of 8 x 60 minutes episodes. The second season premiered on 25 September 2016 and also consisted of 8 x 60 minutes episodes. A third season of eight episodes aired in 2017.
* Grand Designs Sweden (2020)
* Grand Designs Finland (2022)

## DVDs

| DVD Title | Discs | Year | Episodes | Release date |
| The Complete Series One | 2 | 1999 | 8 | 25 October 2004 |
| The Complete Series Two | 2 | 2001 | 8 | 5 January 2009 |
| Series Three | 2 | 2003 | 7 | 17 July 2006 |
| Series Four | 2 | 2004 | 7 | 5 May 2008 |
| Series Five - Volume One | 2 | 2005-2006 | 8 | 16 March 2009 |
| Series Five - Volume Two | 2 | 2006-2007 | 8 | 27 April 2009 |
| Series Five - Volume Three | 1 | 2007 | 4 | 5 October 2009 |
| Series Six | 2 | 2008 | 6 | 26 April 2010 |
| Series Seven | 2 | 2009 | 7 | 27 September 2010 |
| Series Eight | 2 | 2010 | 8 | 5 September 2011 |
| Series Nine | 2 | 2011 | 8 | 15 October 2012 |
| Series Ten | 2 | 2012 | 8 | 30 September 2013 |
| Series Eleven | 2 | 2013 | 9 | 29 September 2014 |

## Exhibition

Grand Designs Live takes place biannually, in London in the spring and in Birmingham in the autumn. The exhibitions display contemporary design and technology for the home and garden, with stands for suppliers and manufacturers to promote their goods and services. Design and media personalities McCloud, George Clarke and Jo Hamilton are show ambassadors.
The nine-day Grand Designs Live 2008 event, held at London's ExCeL, attracted over 100,000 visitors. To accompany the event Channel 4 broadcast two live daily programmes directly from the show, Grand Designs Live: Today and Grand Designs Live.
Grand Designs Live launched in Australia in Sydney on 21–23 October 2011. It launched in Melbourne on 21–23 September 2012 and returned to Sydney on 5–7 October 2012.

## Awards and nominations

The programme has been nominated a number of times in the BAFTA Features category and won in 2015.
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Results |
| 2000 | BAFTA TV Awards | Features | Daisy Goodwin, John Silver | Nominated |
| 2004 | BAFTA TV Awards | Features | John Silver, Daisy Goodwin, Kevin McCloud | Nominated |
| 2008 | BAFTA TV Craft Awards | Director – Factual | Livia Russell | Nominated |
| 2013 | BAFTA TV Awards | Features | Production Team | Nominated |
| 2014 | BAFTA TV Awards | Features | Kevin McCloud, Fiona Caldwell, Rob Gill, John Lonsdale | Nominated |
| 2015 | BAFTA TV Awards | Features | Production Team | Won |