Kevin McCloud on Grand Designs Live and the new Green Living Live section - "it’s quite timely"

Virgin Radio

4 Apr 2022, 10:50

Telly legend Kevin McCloud joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky to talk about the upcoming Grand Designs Live. He also chatted about low-energy housing, and supply chain issues.

Grand Designs Live, which takes place in London in April and May, is the first Grand Designs show in the capital since 2019, and features a whole new section called Green Living Live. Kevin told Chris: “Basically, we’ve just taken all of the best of the green stuff, and put it all in one place and then added, in the middle of it, a house, so we’ve got a low-carbon house that we’ve built.” 

He added: “I suppose it’s quite timely at the moment, given the cost of heating and energy. This is a house that exports energy rather than consumes it.”

When Chris asked which countries are leading the charge with regard to energy-saving housing, he replied: “Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Norway, Holland… I mean all these north European countries, which have got their act together in terms of - not just really, really low-energy housing that’s super insulated - but also on things like district heating systems, where people share resources. The whole cost of life is cheaper as a result.” 

Chris asked what it is about these north European countries that makes them excel when it comes to what’s good for the community, to which the designer, writer, and television presenter responded: “I’m going to be contentious here and say, without getting too serious, that the British model is the open market model. The moment someone says, ‘I’m going to sell you some apples,’ immediately there are 55 separate companies trying to sell you apples, all in competition with each other, and it’s the same with energy and housing, we love a competitive market. And I think so many countries that are politically driven with these strong agendas - and they are really important now, aren’t they? - they tend to be a bit more top-down; the Government is slightly more in control. And I’m not suggesting that we should be renationalising everything, but actually, I think when it comes to things like housing, we don’t just need policies, we also need leadership.” 

Kevin told Chris about a house that he visited in Finland a few years ago, which was built in the 1600s. “It was insulated with moss, sheep’s wool and felt in the walls. It was brilliant,” he said. “The whole house was built with stuff within about 50 metres, and yet it was one of the warmest, snuggest buildings I’ve ever been to.”

When Chris asked the Grand Designs presenter his thoughts on supply chain issues, he told him: “I think the price of timber has doubled, the price of steel has tripled in two years. I can’t keep up. And you can’t get some stuff, you know? So, even if you want to buy it and you’ve got the money, you still can’t get hold of things.”

Talking about what that means for Grand Designs, the presenter admitted: “I remember in the last recession, people said: “Oh it’s going to be so difficult and hard for people to finish’, but on the other hand, when people just spend their way out of a hole, that’s not good design, you know? When they think their way out of a hole, creatively, it’s more fun.”

When Chris asked Kevin if he was seeing any current trends in housing, the expert said that he didn’t see “any change at all” and added: “The market seems to be busy, and every single house that’s for sale is going up in value. What’s happening in the market is completely contradictory to what’s happening elsewhere in the economy, and it’s sort of been like that through Covid.” 

Grand Designs Live takes place between 30th April and 8th May and, before that, Grand Designs: The Street is also returning to our TV screens. “We’ve got a new series coming out this week of The Street, back at Graven Hill where we feel almost embedded in the community, as do the residents, in Oxfordshire, but we’re also branching out a bit, Scotland, and York, seeing other self-build wonderful things happening around the country.”

Talking further about Grand Designs: The Street, Kevin added: “We inch towards the series. I think we’re still finishing it off, so on Wednesday I’m going back to do some more filming for this current series, so it’s up to the wire, as always. But I think that’s what gives it a fresh vim, you know?

Grand Designs Live takes place between 30th April and 8th May 2022 at London’s Excel. It will then visit Birmingham in October. For tickets visit granddesignslive.com.

For more great interviews listen to  The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky, weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or  catch up on-demand here.