Grand Designs New Zealand

Architect Chris Moller meets Southland farmer Lachlan McDonald, who's building a modernist concrete home with a controversial roof in one of the most remote parts of NZ.

Chris meets Gus and Sarah whose solution to spiraling house prices is to make their first home an Earthship - an off-the-grid house made of recycled rubbish, earthen bricks and clay. An Earthship is a non-traditional home built using recycled materials such as bottles and tyres, and even mussel shells for insulation. Young Coromandel couple Gus and Sarah Anning decided to step outside the norm with their Grand Design when they realized they couldn't afford a traditional home. Enlisting the help of community volunteers, both here and overseas and using unique building techniques originally designed for the desert in California, it's not certain how this Grand Design will fare in Coromandel's temperamental climate.

Chris meets Scottish migrant and urbanite, Scott Lawrie, who has a dream for a new life and a radical new stainless steel home in the remote hills behind Pakiri. Sydney-based writer Scott Lawrie's plans for his new life in New Zealand are encapsulated in a sculptural steel house he is building on a remote rural hillside behind Pakiri beach. Scott has an unrelenting refusal to compromise on his "legacy", but a budget can only be stretched so far. Will Scott realize his extraordinary dream?

Ross plans to create a towering home for his family on the cliffs of Point Chevalier. But after living on site for nearly 10 years, his family is now wondering if he'll ever get their home finished.

New Plymouth couple Greg and Gayle build one of the first hemp homes in NZ, and spend thousands shielding themselves against what they believe are the ill effects of electromagnetic radiation.

Steve Wilson and Wendy Grell move from Auckland to the Northland beachside where they plan to build an architectural marvel of corten steel in an unassuming seaside community.

Kelly wants to recreate an ornate historic homestead in Helensville - just like one she fell in love with as a child. And she's not letting her six kids hold her back.

Ski enthusiast Ash dreams of building a traditional European Log Cabin at the base of Mount Ruapehu. But will his daughter's input compromise his dream?

Sky wants to build a remote, off-grid island sanctuary, where he and his family can escape the demands of mainland life.

The daughter of world famous motorbike inventor, John Britten, takes on the multi-million dollar task of restoring the eclectic earthquake damaged family home.

Antiques lover Patty scours the country for historic materials to build a contemporary home. Her journey throws up weighty challenges like what to do with a hundred year old wharf?

Ric and Boio turn a tree house childhood dream into reality. But building in a pine forest where trees frequently blow over in winter storms complicates things.

Shane and Tina Nicholls design a unique family home using Japanese burnt timber and Scandinavian brick, a special memorial garden, views over the gulf, a wine cellar, a pool, and much more – it’s a truly international affair.

A site with a river running through it would put most people off. But not Harlem and Nicola who attempt to build a glass-house on a bridge over the water.

Musicians Justine Cormack and Marc Taddei swap their Auckland home for the mountains of Central Otago. They risk all by adapting an American design for the Southern Hemisphere.

Auckland couple Bridget and Steve Varney take on the challenge of converting Farmers' grand tea rooms built in 1930 into a New York style loft.

Joseph and Susannah battle storms and complex topography as they attempt to build a coastal paradise on a steep site with stunning view of Piha.

Normally, you'd think twice about building extreme beachfront in Paekākāriki... but it's a challenge top industrial designer Mark Pennington is ready to take on! Will Mark and Pip's dream home come to life or get washed away?

After renting the local schoolhouse for 20 years, Chatham Islanders John and Bridget Preece are finally embarking on their own dream build. But will the challenges of building on a remote island prove to be their undoing?

In Kerikeri, local weekend market and café owners Warrick and Judy Hyland are building the biggest house they can on a budget.

On the shores of Lake Tarawera, kiwi fruit farmers Stew and Gill Moss are building a final family home in time for Gill's 60th birthday party.

Mark Ahearn and his Australian restaurateur wife Liz are taking time out from their hectic lives in Perth to build a legacy family holiday home in Abel Tasman.

Matthew and Rosemarie Dunning are put down roots in Mangawhai and have decided to throw convention out the window by embracing their son's intriguing concept of a brick house in a sand dune.

Eternal globetrotter Tessa Kingsbury's dream is to convert an old Dunedin Sunday school into her forever home, but it comes with a twist - she's incorporating a glasshouse into the heart of it.

Plans for an elegant “empty nest” home on Waiheke Island are swamped by a sea of mud and a tsunami of rising construction costs.

A cherished family holiday home at Lake Ōhau is rebuilt after destruction and near-death experience.

A concrete, steel and glass citadel above a popular Auckland beach combines austere functionality with luxury living.

A well-resourced couple who fall in love with a rundown Central Otago “castle” find restoring a heritage building is anything but romantic.

In the Western Bay of Plenty, a Modernist-inspired house with its own art gallery is the brainchild of a cement industry veteran who came to architecture later in life.

An environmentally-committed young couple in Christchurch buck convention by going back to the future with a centuries-old building material.