First-run episodes of Grand Designs Australia used to screen on Foxtel. But Lifestyle Channel host Peter Maddison presented his final season early in 2023.
Now 18 months later, the format is back with a new host and a new channel. What has not changed is the formula or the production house – Fremantle Australia.
See also: “Going out on a high” – Peter Maddison on farewelling Foxtel’s Grand Designs Australia
The new channel is ABC, and the host is no stranger to lovers of property programming.
In season 11 of Grand Designs Australia, host Anthony Burke (who also fronts Restoration Australia and Grand Designs Transformations for ABC) charts the journeys of some of our most imaginative and ambitious architectural trailblazers as they push their finances and their families to the limit in their quest to create spectacular homes.
Production notes
Grand Designs Australia is produced by Fremantle Australia for ABC
Head of Unscripted: Josie Mason Campbell
Supervising Executive Producer: Brooke Bayvel
Executive Producer: Michael Collett
ABC Commissioning Editor Factual: Jo Chichester
ABC Head of Factual: Susie Jones
ABC Head of Screen Content: Jennifer Collins
International Distribution: Fremantle Distribution
Grand Designs: Take the professor’s advice
Earlier this year, Mediaweek spoke to Anthony Burke about the importance of listening to his advice:
Burke gives a lot of advice to people working on their properties across the various series. They don’t always listen. He thinks they should.
“People often ignore the advice to their peril. Does that pattern keep repeating this year? Yes. Yes.
“There’s right advice at the right time. If a big mistake, like a floor plan type error has occurred, I kind of figure it’s not much point me walking on site when it’s already happened.
“It’s best to try and keep ahead of the homeowners and give them something they can work on. Half the time, they do. They’ll listen to the advice and they’ll really try hard to action it or respond to it in some way.”
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Grand Designs Australia: Episode Guide
Episode 1 Anthony Burke and Kevin McCloud, Road Trip
Thursday, 10 October, 8pm and iview
To celebrate Grand Designs Australia’s return, new host – Professor of Architecture Anthony Burke is joined on an architectural road trip by Grand Designs icon Kevin McCloud. Together they pack up a Kombi and go in search of award winning contemporary Australian design that helps solve the problems of liveability, affordability and sustainability.
Along the way, Kevin shares hosting insights with Anthony, gained from decades making Grand Designs in the UK.
On Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, they visit a modern take on the traditional farmhouse. Despite its enormous size, it almost disappears into the lush landscape.
On Queensland’s Gold Coast there’s a multi-million-dollar beach “shack”, complete with 12 car garage, surfboard room, wine cellar, and guest pavilion.
At Koonya in Tasmania, art meets architecture in a home with glass walls.
In Melbourne’s inner-city Fitzroy, a tiny Victorian terrace has been transformed from narrow, dark and pokey, to a light filled haven by moving its backyard to the centre of the house.
In Brunswick, a group of architects has joined forces to design and build a village of six apartment blocks that provide sustainable, affordable housing, in a way that brings residents together in a single shared community.
In Sydney, there’s the house judged best of the year; built on just thirty square metres of land, this ingenious tiny home is a shining example of how little space we really need.
Kevin McLoud with Anthony Burke
Episode 2 Fish Creek, Victoria
Thursday, 17 October, 8pm and iview
Ross and Cathy, along with their three children Grace, Abbie and James, are wild about the outdoors. In fact, the more rugged and isolated the conditions, the happier they are. As nature lovers, hikers and camping enthusiasts it makes total sense that their family-run business sells all-weather, all-terrain outdoor gear. But after three decades living in the busy inner-city suburbs of Melbourne, only escaping the grind occasionally, the family needs to create a permanent retreat “out bush”.
Ross and Cathy have settled on the idyllic natural wonderland of Fish Creek in East Gippsland, Victoria. With its abundance of Australian native wildlife, ancient forest growth and impressive rolling hills, the location is picture perfect, aside from the fact it’s in an extremely high wind and bushfire zone.
Not that it worries Ross and Cathy; they plan to use what they know about protective clothing to build a house which can withstand even the harshest of elements, including a clever membrane to ward off the weather. However, the real secret weapon of this ambitious project appears to defy logic; panel after panel of a super compressed straw will be used to create impenetrable insulation.
Despite their insider knowledge, and a healthy budget of $1,000,000, the project’s remote location proves challenging for their merry band of tradies – all of whom are family friends – as the build drags on indefinitely due to overseas joinery delays. But with Ross on the tools, Cathy on interiors, daughter Abbie in charge of the fireplace design, and son James living and loving working on site, the project is more than a building, it’s an experience for all the family to treasure.
Anthony Burke at the Fish Creek build
About Anthony Burke
Anthony Burke is a Professor of Architecture in the Faculty of Design Architecture and Building at the University of Technology Sydney, and host of the series Restoration Australia, and Grand Designs Australia and co-host of Grand Designs Transformations all airing on the ABC.
A sought-after expert presenter, host and regular contributor to academic and popular discourse on architecture and the value of good design, Anthony holds a Master of Advanced Architecture from Columbia University in New York, and a Bachelor of Architecture from UNSW with first class Honors.
An assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley in the College of Environmental Design from 2002 working with Intel and the Berkeley Art Museum Anthony arrived back in Sydney in 2007 to lead a new advanced architecture degree at UTS, before taking on the role of Head of the School of Architecture and Associate Dean International and Engagement from 2010 – 2020. He has worked in architectural practices large and small, and held visiting professor positions at the Beijing Institute of Technology and Institute of Teknolgi Bandung from 2018-2020. Anthony is recognized as an advocate for the benefits of quality design, and for his work in architectural theory, curation and commentary.
In 2012 he was co-creative director for the Australian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale and was invited to curate the architecture and design symposium for the 40th Anniversary celebrations of the Sydney Opera House. He has presented at TEDx and is a regular keynote presenter in international academic and industry contexts. He has published three edited books and many articles, curating numerous exhibitions and symposia, completed commissioned research reports and contributed commentary on a range of contemporary architectural topics with a fascination for the changing nature of architecture and good design in Australia.
Chair of the board of the Australian Design Centre (ADC) from 2013-2016, Anthony has served on a range of industry, academic advisory and design excellence review committees, across architecture and the creative industries, most recently for the National Gallery of Australia, the Powerhouse design competition and Indigenous Residential College competition at UTS. Having spent time living in Hong Kong, Stockholm, New York and San Francisco, Anthony is now based in Sydney, his hometown, and regularly presents at local venues such as the Art Gallery of NSW and leads international architectural tours while continuing to work on public broadcasting projects.
Key Creatives Biographies
Brooke Bayvel | Supervising Executive Producer
AACTA and SPA award winning producer Brooke Bayvel has worked across multiple genres including current affairs, sport, reality, factual and entertainment. In her 30 years in the Australian television industry, she’s worked on numerous programs including 7.30 Report, Sportsworld, Farmer Wants a Wife and The Secret Millionaire. More recently she’s specialised in producing premium prime time lifestyle shows including Location, Location, Location, I Own Australia’s Best Home, Restoration Australia, Grand Designs Australia and this year, the high rating spin off series Grand Designs Transformations. Having joined Fremantle in 2015 to head up the company’s marquee property shows, she is a masterful storyteller with a love of inspired architecture and design.
Michael Collett | Executive Producer
Michael is an AACTA award-winning producer specialising in premium lifestyle formats, with over two decades of experience in the industry. Michael has worked on a diverse set of productions for every major network in the UK and Australia, from reality juggernauts MasterChef and The Bachelor to factual series RBT, Bondi Rescue and Star Gazing Live. Michael began his career as a journalist before moving into unscripted television in London, in 2010 he moved to Sydney and joined Fremantle in 2016. Michael’s passion is producing dynamic, remarkable and exciting stories that connect with audiences the world over. Michael is currently the Executive Producer of Grand Designs Australia and Restoration Australia.
[With ABC TV Publicity]