During the Winter Break I got hooked on Grand Designs, a British TV show hosted by Kevin McCloud, now in it's 14th season on Channel 4. We were having work done on the house - lighting, landscaping, and some plumbing, and I somehow stumbled upon a bunch of "tiny house" videos, that then lead me to the video above - a house built in the Irish countryside made from shipping containers. The shows are addictive for anyone, but to someone who left architecture behind to work in tech, it's like re-discovering a lost dream or ambition.
The show is a great way to learn about the design process. Unlike This Old House or any show hosted by Bob Vila, shows that I've never really liked, Kevin McCloud encourages folks who want to build to talk to architects and planners: you could do it yourself, but you could do it better with professional help. He's also a great story-teller, and human drama amplifier.
I guess the really compelling part for me is the faith and total commitment of the people in the stories. They believe that these home projects will be life-changing - and they are of course, but not always for the reasons that the people expect. I'm re-connected to a conviction I once had that architecture is the ultimate human expression.
While watching a few of the shows on YouTube, I stumbled across a special he made called Slumming It, which documented his travels in the Mumbai slum of Dharavi. It is one of the most eye-opening looks at design that I've ever seen. The conditions in the slums are, of course, stunning and depressing, but when the cameras look at the community and the people, they are also amazingly re-affirming and hopeful (but, not for the feint of heart).
Hats off to Kevin McCloud. He is fearless.
