Ugly House To Lovely House With George Clarke: S1E2 | Only Human

I feel a little bit embarrassed. It's pretty ugly, isn't it? It generally looks a bit dreary. It's definitely not a looker. Across the country, there are people stuck with an embarrassing problem. You certainly want to ride past and go, I want to live in that house. It's a very tired house. It feels like it's gone. And these aren't just the unlucky few. Thousands of us feel burdened with houses that are dated and dreary. But a fresh eye can transform even the ugliest house into a dream home. I need to make this space exciting to create fantastic drama. I'm giving the owners of some of Britain's ugliest houses the services of some of our most talented architects. What I strive for, find the heart of the home, and it's just getting that back, getting the life and soul back. With money tight... I'm not. We're hopeful about what we can get for that £50,000. And ambitions high, delivering a vision that everyone will be happy with won't be easy. I do have reservations about this. For clients, chips away too much of a design starts to look very ordinary again. But if they get it right, it'll prove that great architecture doesn't have to cost the earth. I actually can't believe that we live in a house like this. And has the power to transform not just buildings... It's fulfilled our dreams, really. ...but lives. It's gone from dark to something wonderful. It's so different. It's as if someone's lifted our house out and put a new one in its place. Lying on the edge of an area of outstanding natural beauty is this Sussex village. And like most places in Britain, the local housing stock is peppered with its fair share of bungalows. Bungalows are often derided as bland boring little boxes but personally I've always loved them. At their very best they can be light and spacious and because all of your living spaces are on one level the rooms can be beautifully connected to the garden. But sadly that's not always the case. Peace. This one is dark, dingy and forlorn. This house is really ugly. I hate the flat roof extensions. I feel a little bit embarrassed. It's definitely not a looker. Oh, a bit too close to the baby. Stuart and Tammy bought the bungalow shortly after the birth of their son, Teddy. At 285,000 pounds, it was the only house they could afford in the village. We bought it because it's in such a beautiful area. I mean, when you look at the other houses on the street that haven't had the ugly extensions put on the back, they're really lovely little bungalows. Whatever charm Stuart and Tammy's 1950s bungalow might once have had has been wiped out by a series of ill-conceived extensions and cosmetic updates. What's been done to this house has made it ugly so by putting two flat roof extensions on the back has sucked the light out of the original house. We come in and turn the lights on in the middle of the day in bright sunlight. The garden's completely obscured and you can only get to it through one door in the kitchen. I feel a bit deflated really that You're not necessarily getting the best out of the house that we've got. Morning, Tammy, so nice to meet you. Hello, Mer, how are you? Good, thank you. So you've got yourself a humble little bungalow. We have. Did you ever think that you'd buy a bungalow? Well, we wanted more space, we wanted a garden, and we wanted village life, really. I'm not sure about the fake leaded windows. Yeah, no, it's not our choice either, and it seems to kind of suck the light out of the windows. Especially with the plastic mahogany effect. And there's more of that to come inside. Can we go inside, have a look? Go on, lead the way. Go on, after you, mate. We've only just met, I can't just barge in like that. So, your entrance hallway. Yeah. Which, the first thing... You notice there's no windows, apart from the nice leaded window at the front, obviously, and not much natural light. When you walk into a house, even if you're in a narrow hallway, you want to feel like there's a sense of space beyond or some light coming in from somewhere. Yeah. But I bet that light's on a lot of the time. Yeah, well, but that and the lamp all the time. All the time. Or we have our bedroom door open. Do you mind if I have that? No, go for it. But you'll see we don't get a lot of light through that either. Oh look at that, you've got a design classic, Artex. Sex with us. So bad, I actually quite like it. I get it. With this being a big addition on the back of the house, really plugs the end of the building in, doesn't it? You come in through that front door, bang. By building the bedroom's extension and a cheap conservatory at the back of the house, the living room and kitchen are starved of light and cut off from the garden. So this is the original Back of the house? Yes. And then you've got your extension beyond, which looks like it's just a storeroom. Well, it's just so leaky. Oh, yeah, look. Little ponds of water. Yeah. But sadly, this is the lightest room in the house. Yeah. I mean, this is someone who's just put on the simplest, cheapest extension. It's just a completely unusable room. But if you think about it, we've got this lovely south-facing garden. All of that light that we just don't get in the lounge. It's a classic case of where you've got a decent-sized bungalow and people have just added on, added on, added on, and there's never been a master plan for the house. I mean, it's a proper, clear plan. Yeah, definitely. Well, the garden's a great size, isn't it? Yeah. You've got so much space out here. But, you know, when you think that you're south-facing, that place should be flooded with natural light and feel spacious and bright and have a real connection with the garden. There's just so much space here. Yes. And we don't get to see any of it, thanks to the extensions. Tell me, what do you want from this? I suppose, on a big scale, it's about flow and light. But on a smaller scale, it's making sure we've still got three bedrooms, potentially an en-suite for us. Loads of space, loads of light, three bedrooms, and a little suite, please. What is the budget, by the way? It's £50,000, isn't it? Yeah. To be honest, I'm not hopeful about what we can get for that £50,000. I think, for me, if we can end up with a nice, watertight, lit, electrified space... You're so much more cautious than me. Well, a pessimist is never disappointed, is he? That's... That's a fair point. A pessimist is never disappointed. Tammy and Stuart's bungalow has lost its sense of purpose. The ugly extensions at the back means they don't have the space that they really need, but much worse than that, they block out the light and any connection between the inside space and their huge back garden. Now, they could knock down the extensions and build something very simple and ordinary, but with the right architect, they've got a chance to create something that will truly change their lives. Stirling Prize winner Will Alsop is one of the most controversial architects in the country. Famous for his unconventional, often audacious approach. Still at my great age, I'm called an enfant terrible. I do quite like being naughty. Will's known for creating buildings that stand out and command attention. Startlingly bold shapes and strong colours are his trademarks. The response to many of the buildings that I build usually falls into complete and utter hatred or complete and utter love. There's not much in between. I'm happy with that. At least it gets a response. A lot of people think buildings shouldn't be colourful, but you can use it quite successfully. I use it because I also paint and always have done. I like about the paintings that it's imprecise. The vision lies within that imprecision. I think play and having fun and enjoying the process It's part of it. To prove that even the ugliest of houses can be transformed into a space that has a joy to live in, Will is volunteering to take on Tammy and Stuart's home. It is a truly ugly house. Dull brick, dark, miserable spaces. Couldn't be worse actually. Could you dance in it? We should all be able to dance at home. So what can we do? I'd like to give them as much space to enjoy their back garden as possible. And I think it's always important on any house to have a contrast of spaces. And if we could achieve that, it would transform their lives. But how radical Will can be with his ideas in a village like Tammy and Stuart's remains to be seen. Because it's a small environment, everyone knows a little bit more about what's going on, they're a bit more interested, they're very concerned about any changes. It'd be nice to think that we could do something modern here and that people wouldn't feel offended by what we were trying to do. It's going to be really interesting to see what Will is going to deliver today. He's such a bold and unorthodox architect and he used to work on a huge canvas. I'm wondering how he's going to scale down his vision for a £50,000 budget on a 1950s bungalow in the middle of sleepy Sussex. Not to big Will up too much but you do realise he's probably in the top five or six architects in Britain. It's quite a big deal and he's going to redesign your bungalow for you. That's crazy. Yeah, I just better like it. That's it. Hi, Stuart. Hi, Will. Come on in. Whether or not Tammy and Stuart are ready for Will, he's certainly ready for them. My concern is to make your very limited budget go as far as it can and to give you sort of instant joy, really. So I thought the front door should be one huge front door. Oh, fabulous. You mean you want to get rid of that fake mahogany front door that they've got there? I thought we could sell it on eBay. I'll be back. I think all of that extension is badly built. Just get rid of it all. The important thing is to actually put most of your living... On the south side, to open up in some way onto the garden. You'll need your gin and tonic table. Will has suggested they phase the renovation and spend their £50,000 budget on his design for phase one. His idea is to tear down the badly built extension that houses the bedrooms and replace it with one large kitchen living room that connects to the garden. To make this space a joyful one, Will's big idea is to bring height and drama into it by keeping it open to a huge barrel vaulted roof with exposed curved beams. On the outside, Will plans to cover the enormous curved roof in shiny aluminium. To bring in even more light and give the exterior a sense of fun, his next idea is to add four large porthole style windows. Moving the living area into the new extension will free up the existing kitchen and living room to be made into good-sized bedrooms at a later stage. Will's idea for the front of the bungalow is inexpensive. To update the fake mahogany-leaded windows with simpler ones, adding a wide front door. In terms of the layout of the plan and the reconfiguring of all spaces, what do you think? I think it's amazing. I think it's really exciting. Just something slightly different to what you normally would expect in a house like this. I love the idea of kind of creating that height. It's completely blown away my expectations. How affordable do you think it is? I've done a quick check. As you see, you're getting quite a lot of extra area. It's tight, but achievable. I think Will has produced a really bold design. He's not only reconnected Stuart and Tammy's house to the garden, but by using materials you'd normally associate with an industrial, even an agricultural building, he's created a unique and dramatic space. I just hope that the village is as ready as they are to embrace this radical piece of architecture. In a sleepy village in West Sussex, Tammy and Stuart are desperate to update their dingy bungalow. I think what has been done to the house has made it very ugly. It's in need of work, to put it nicely. To solve the problem, architect Will Alsop has designed a radical new extension. It'll be like parking a big caravan behind the house. There we go. Well done. But several months later, there's no sign of Will's caravan. We both feel really frustrated. It seems so far away from actually getting people on site and starting to build something. The extension will have a striking vaulted aluminium roof, very different from the local architecture. So has had to go through the lengthy process of planning. It's also proved difficult to get the details of the design absolutely right and their budget has had to increase significantly. When you look at the design, I guess it's not a surprise, you know, is a bespoke roof the sort of thing that you would put on a budget extension? I'm not necessarily sure those two things go When we finish, if we ever get what Will's designed then you know 100% that's going to be worth it. Yeah difficult, trying. When you load the skip put the doors up on the edge to get maximum into the skip mate. A month later with money and planning in place they're finally ready to start. I'm ready for the hammer. The first task is to tear down the existing extension which houses two double bedrooms. It's fantastic seeing it coming down. It just comes down so quickly. They've been stripping off the layers. It's sort of made us realise how horrible it is really. So it's really nice that this is no longer going to be our bedroom. Have you eaten all the cheese? Stuart, Tammy and their son Teddy will be living on site for the entire three months of the build. Having lost two of our biggest rooms that are usually full of all our stuff, we've moved everything into... what's left of the house so the living room is now our bedroom stroke living room. Here's very convenient for watching telly but yeah we've jammed a lot of stuff in. We're going to get to know this room very well over the next three months. It's not just living in a building site that's going to turn their lives upside down. Embracing wholeheartedly Will's bold design is a brave step to have taken. To give Tammy some idea of what she's let herself in for I'm taking her to one of Will's most famous buildings. Look Tammy, this is it. Peckham Library. A very iconic Will Olsen building. Oh, it's absolutely amazing. It's really different to its surroundings though. Peckham Library won Will the Sterling Prize, architecture's equivalent to the Oscars in 2000. Inside, it gives a perfect demonstration of his unconventional architectural style. Look at this. What do you think? Oh my god. You've got the architectural box, if you like. And then inside it, these really dynamic UFO-style pods. This one's a kind of meeting room. And then you've got another reading level. I just love the curves. That's good, because you're going to have a few curves on the roof. I'm noticing a real connection here between our roof and a really unusual material to clad that pod with. It's just that outer skin of a sheet of plywood, stapled, I mean, it's literally stapled. It looks like leather or it looks really luxurious. With the inside of this library, Will seems to have torn up the architectural rulebook. Any other ordinary architect would have just put in very straight, straightforward vertical columns, but not Will. They're all off at lots of different angles. It's just all about making you. Look at things differently, isn't it? Like, the purpose of the library is about learning and development. Even though your building's going to be considerably smaller than this, I think it just gives you a hint of Will's personality. Yeah. And how much he wants things to be fun and enjoyable. It probably makes me a bit more nervous for the finished product, actually. I think this is phenomenal, but it is about how that sits in the landscape and whether it It blends in over time or whether it, you know, always looks. Well the thing is you're going to have to be as brave as Will is. It's your home. It's your house. Whatever Tammy's fears may be, back in Sussex the brickwork for the walls of the big bald extension are shooting up. It's very weird because kind of suddenly the walls have gone up really quickly so it does make it seem slightly more real and it does seem a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. Hello Will. Now we've got the walls, you can imagine what's going to be where. Over here is going to be the kitchen. We can have a run of kitchen along there and then a breakfast bar here. Then over here, we're going to have some sort of sofa-y chair configuration. Then we're going to have two big bi-fold doors. Going out into the mud pit that is the garden, we're probably going to have a couple of meters of decking and then a step down, enough space to that Will the architect can come around once we've lifted our dining table out onto the deck and he can have a gin and tonic on our gin and tonic terrace. Stuart, Tammy and their son Teddy have spent a month camping in the old living room but now their once safe haven is being invaded too. Living here is an ideal because now we're breaking in to their living area. Get the scrub towel mate, we'll get the fur fix up and then it's lunchtime. Will's design requires the patio doors in the living room to be bricked up. We're going to be fully locked in to the old part of the house while we finish building, so it'll be interesting in a kind of claustrophobic way. So far, this build looks pretty conventional, but that's all about to change now the extension is ready for its new roof. The obvious thing to do is just put a pitched roof on. That would be the least expensive and not necessarily the best. Should the roof be special? Should it have a form? Should it be distinctive? I think the answer to all those questions is yes, and I think it's important to create a contrast to the feeling of the existing bungalow to this new bit. So you're not trying to blend it in, you're trying to make it completely different. Will's barrel vaulted roof will be covered in aluminium, a striking contrast to the concrete tiles of the bungalow. The roof will soar to a height of four metres, supported by three large curved beams made from engineered timber. Using large spans of wood or steel allows architects to create high voluminous spaces that feel uplifting and bring a sense of drama and excitement to a building. Let's have a little lift on three one two three. After two weeks being manufactured the timber frame for Tammy and Stuart's roof has arrived on site. Fingers you're in first guys. Bill Bradley is a specialist contractor who's been entrusted with the job of putting together the pieces of this giant jigsaw. So far so good. Today we shall see if we can get the big curved trusses up. All of that's very optimistic, the forecast is for lightning this afternoon. Good morning. Nice and easy, kind of organised chaos. Always is when you're unloading a lorry, but as you can see they're rather large. Let's go, a bit further forward, up you go. Keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going. Drop it down and we shut her into position, yeah? It's really exciting actually, just the sheer size of that piece of wood. There you go, job's a good one. Even though you can look at the scale plans, we've had no real sense of what it's going to look like. So now, you can start to think about how high that's actually going to be. It's quite scary. A little bit more this way. Once the two supporting beams are in place... Beautiful. ...it's time to winch up the first of Will's hefty wooden arches. It's old Roman principles, fulcrums and levers. So straight up, all of a sudden it's a big wooden rainbow. The roof is a complex network of 47 different wooden pieces, so there's no room for error. The complication has already been looked at. It's already been put together in a 3D model and cut to suit, so we're just following instructions, although we haven't looked at the manual yet. The engineered wood that Bill is using is called glulam. It's constructed in factories from strips of wood glued together. By engineering timber in this way, it's possible to create vast beams that can be accurately shaped into precise curves, capable of supporting huge weights. So this is the last main big timber to go up is that right? That's it we've put this one up swing it around into place here we go there it is beautiful hey Now you can get an idea of the space. Yeah. So I can ask you, do you like it? I love it. It's just, in our heads I think we thought it might be sort of that much bigger than kind of a normal room height, but this is huge. When the finishes go on the wall, and the floors and the doors are there, it will feel bigger. Do you think? Oh, no, absolutely. It's always that way around. I think it's great. I'm very pleased with it. I mean, this is a radical change on the back of these bungalows. For an area of outstanding natural beauty, this is radical. That's incredible, really. Yeah, but the street is not an area of outstanding beauty, is it? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Well, that's purely your opinion, of course. What the hell was that? I think Will's roof is looking magical. Internally, the building will give Tammy and Stuart the space they crave. The whole idea was to give them as much space as possible because space is luxury really. But I think it was important as they will spend more time in this space than anywhere else in the existing bungalow. I think it's a place where if you're the last one up you can sit and you can just dream about better things perhaps you know or transport yourself to somewhere else and or to really consider what you're going to do tomorrow. Nice spiritual Space of reflection. I think it's important for this room, and I know I'm a man that likes a lot of colour, but I think I see this room as being very white or just off-white though. Do you? I do. That's very different for you. Maybe I'm just a bit older, you know? But I mean, I just think that the light should be very beautiful in here, and therefore you don't want to distort it with colour. My biggest worry is that Tammy's going to put some colour on it. You know what clients are like. It takes Bill and his team just one more day to fit the remaining crossbeams. You know there's something really magical about seeing these beautifully crafted wooden beams all fit together to create this lovely soaring curved roof. But you won't get a real sense of the character of Will's design until it's clad in a shiny new metal armour. I wonder what Tammy and Stuart will feel about it then. In Sussex, Tammy and Stuart are halfway through building a radical new extension on the back of their tired post-war bungalow. Tammy and Stuart's extension Now has a small timber frame roof. The next stage is to clad it with aluminium sheeting. Sean and Scott are the team entrusted with doing it. Definitely haven't done anything like this before. Usually we're just doing industrial units, yellow storage, places like that. Architect Will Olser has opted to clad the extension in a material called CalZep, unusual in domestic buildings. Over 50 sheets of aluminium, each needing to be individually welded, will bring the entire roof cost up to £38,000. How intricate it is, it's going to take longer than about three times the size. Increasingly, architects are using industrial products as roof coverings. Flexible materials such as copper give them the opportunity not only to create more dynamic shapes, but also more interesting internal spaces. But Will's shiny aluminium roof is slap in the middle of a Sussex village. It does look out of place, doesn't it, a bit? Yeah, it does look a bit out of place at the moment. It looks like a frame of an old boat or something. I mean, it looks like some sort of spaceship's landed once we've finished, I think. Either that or he's got an American Dino on the back of his bungalow. There's a lot of fork gone into it, though, isn't there? Right, let's see if we've got a crack on. Straight up and over. No, stay there. Just tip it straight over. The calzap roof is comprised of two metal layers, with 20 centimetres of glass wall insulation in between. Right, now lift it up onto the top beam. Sean and Scott start by fitting the base panels to seal the building. Down again. They also have to incorporate one of Will Alsop's trademark features. I'll go with that. Worst part none. The rest should be easy enough. It's not Popeye's house is it? Rather than regular skylights, Will has opted for four round porthole windows that complement the curved shape of the roof. Each one will channel light through to the internal space. There's obviously a nautical reference, but I also like the fact that when the sun comes round you get these circular points of light on the floor or on the back wall, depending on the elevation of the sun, and that also adds interest to the overall space. Portal windows have become a recurring feature of Will's buildings. He's been using them since 1991, when he designed Tottenham Hill Station, another aluminium-clad construction. More recently, his love of circles has become a little warped. The public arts building in West Bromwich divided opinion amongst the locals, something Tammy and Stuart may have to contend with with their bungalow extension. Oh wow, we have portholes. They are quite dramatic, don't they? I think it completely transforms this side of the house. You're not going to be able to talk about this as a tired old 50s bungalow anymore, are you? Some people might not like it. I, for one, think it's potentially terrific. I think it's a little bit odd. This is a tiny village, a quiet sort of country-fied road. It's filled with old traditional buildings. Yeah, it seems very strange. And it's not only the neighbours who are worried about the impact of Will's design. We've not been in the village very long, so there is a worry about, are we going to upset people by doing this? And the logic says, Potentially, yes. Teddy, leave that. Let's put all of that back. It's not just concerns about upsetting the neighbours that Tammy's having to contend with. Having builders in the house all the time is just so difficult. Shall we put the fruit back in the tin? Far more stressful than I thought it would be. The actual space that we've got is so limited, it could be one of the stupidest things we've ever done. Thank you, Ted. With the roof beginning to take shape, I'm really keen to see what the interior of the extension feels like. So how's it looking, Stuart? It's looking good. Yeah? It's looking good. We made a lot of progress since you were last here. My word. It's very smart. It's good. Timbers look fantastic. Yeah. You've got this kind of waffle effect. At the moment. At the moment. What will that be finished in? We're gonna leave it. And that colour. And that colour. I think that looks okay. You seem like you've got a reservation there. When an artist says, I think that looks okay, it means he's not convinced. It's sort of a shock because in my head... I had the timbers showing and that's just smooth plaster because you get more reflected light but I think this will look good and it sort of saves money as well doesn't it? Do you think you could paint the walls the same colour? I don't think we've got down to that design detail I've got to be honest but it's we're looking at it. Just do as you're told. Ciao. How's it lining white it is then? I'm just checking are these tiny little power points for lights. Yeah, what we were thinking is having one or two single spots up at the rear. Can I say something? Don't do that. Okay. No, it's sort of like what footballers' wives do. Don't do that. I should have done that. What you want in here is to find a beautiful standard lamp. The quality of the light will feel much better. But we need something to cook by. No, you buy them and they're bits of furniture and you plug them in. Tell you what, I love a standard lamp. I love a side lamp. I'm all over the lamps. Good boy. But I don't want to chop a carrot by a standard lamp in the kitchen. You don't have staff. One of the trickiest parts of the build has been fitting Will's four port-all windows. At a cost of £1,200 each, they've added to the ever-increasing budget. So, Will, all architects have kind of design principles in what they do. One of yours... It seems to be big circular windows. I've done a few in my life, and I like them. Oh, my God. That's a good enough reason. I think in architecture, there are certain bad habits you pick up and they keep returning to haunt you. And certainly in this case. The great thing about architecture is trying to escape those things, but also to know when it's appropriate to use it. And I think it is appropriate to use it here. And apart from anything, they're just fun, aren't they? Of course they are. What I like about them is that they actually focus the light. It's a pity that they don't smoke, actually, because you get these shafts of light coming. It'd be like living in the Bible. I love that. No, I'm very happy with these. They've worked out well. On the outside, Sean and his team have started to fit the second shiny aluminium layer of the Calzip roof. Have you been up here before? No, this is the first time. So how do you feel about what it's going to look like? Good. I really like it. Yeah, I think... I think, granted, it's more of an industrial material. It's the kind of thing you normally see on the top of stadiums. What I find quite funny, look at the extensions. That is the sort of extension that goes on the majority of properties all over Britain. There's another one over there. And then yours has landed from outer space. How do you feel about what the neighbours feel about it? I don't mind that they think it's weird or spaceship-y. You know, I think generally there's been curiosity rather than anyone angry about it. So yeah, everything's okay. Okay. That's what I'm telling myself, everything's okay. But as more and more of the aluminium is fitted, the impact of this audacious structure gets bigger. It's modern, avant-garde. If the architect really wants to stir things up and get people talking, I think he will have done it. I've never felt that it has to tie in to the existing building. The original building was built whenever it was built. And then we're doing this now, so it should be different. And what about a fitting in to the other bungalows? Well, if there's any couple of words that really get on my nerves, it's fitting in. Why would you fit in to actually what is not any great architecture? It's all quite comfortable, some are not particularly well-built. So why would you do that? Why? I did use fitting in on purpose, just to get your back. Just to annoy me? Just to annoy you. And it worked. Keep going. Come on, keep going. Over the next two weeks the bi-fold doors are installed, work begins on the garden and attention turns to the interior. It's starting to come together a lot more it's like the last couple of weeks have been really really fast you know stuff's coming in the kitchen arrived and has taken two days to get to this stage but yeah it's really good just seeing everything coming in the decking starting and yeah exciting. Probably not for you that's a Stanley knife. Stuart is just as positive about the build as when he first saw the drawings. But as with many will also buildings, opinions are divided. In this case, even between the owners. I'm not sold on it. Got some reservations about whether we've done the right thing, if I'm honest, whether we should have just had a conventional roof. I don't like the colour. I thought it was going to be more of a lead colour and actually it's very, very shiny. I'm a bit worried about how the windows are going to look when they're finished. If they stay as they are they'll look like four massive polo mints on top of a building which I would never have agreed to. Throughout the discussions Will's had a really clear vision of having this roof and I think we've been really excited about it and I guess seeing a line drawing to seeing it in practices actually and seeing it on your house is quite a big jump I suppose. So, honestly, I'm worried. When I first came to West Sussex to see Tammy and Stuart's 1950s bungalow, it was a sad and tired house that had really lost sight of what it was meant to be. The front of the house was dark, dingy, and utterly uninviting. The back was even worse, strangled by terrible 1980s extensions that blocked access to the big garden. Architect Will Alsop came on board with a bold and unorthodox vision to transform Stuart and Tammy's house into something unique and exciting. Now I've always been a fan of Will's work and I can't wait to see what he's created. Will has created something very distinctive that transforms the 1950s bungalow into an extraordinary piece of architecture. Hello there, so good to see you. How are you? What a fantastic front door, eh? It doesn't get much smaller than that, the big giant front door. Yeah, it's pretty huge. Oh, I quite like it because it makes me look skinnier when I walk up to it. Do you know what I mean? It's amazing, isn't it? Well, it just makes an ordinary bungalow feel a little bit grander. It sort of gives a bit of a hint that something different might be... Absolutely. Thank you. Inside, Tammy and Stuart's bungalow used to be a mess. Badly designed extensions had blocked off light and the garden from the living space. It's very, very exciting. Do you know what? Even just walking into this hallway is an enormous difference, isn't it? Definitely. It's just so much lighter. Opening up the hallway to the new extension has allowed light to penetrate to the heart of the house. It feels like it's a lovely room. It kind of almost sort of funnels you through and expands out into that area. Because the door being a bit wider, then you come into this space, it goes a bit wider again. And then the ultimate really is to walk through the new extension. You know what, that is just incredible. Absolutely incredible. This light-filled generous room houses a cosy sitting area, a dining space and a kitchen. You would never expect to see something like this. On the back of your bungalow. Do you know what I mean? It's beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. I really like the curve of the glulam beams. You can almost see... The story of how it's put together and it kind of gives you almost like the skeleton as well as the roof. It's quite honest isn't it because even leaving the underside of the ceiling exposed and not plastering over it. And that felt quite important to us didn't it because it was such a different set of materials to use that actually we wanted to be quite bold about it and you know sort of make that the feature. Internally the roof has delivered a space that is uplifting to be in. But it's the outside that has always raised doubts. Look at that for a house extension. But it's fabulous, isn't it? What do you think of it? It's amazing. Yeah, no, I love it. I really wasn't sure about it, but you have to own the decision to be bold, you know, and you can't be apologetic about a design like this. You're either in or you're out. Yeah. And so we're in. We're in. I mean, what a great space for you to grow as a family. Will always wanted this building to look different from the existing bungalow and though it may prove controversial it will provide this family with an exciting space in which to live and thrive. How are you? I'm good, how are you? Hi Stuart. Hi Will. Wow, now this is quite a transformation isn't it? Yeah. That's unbelievable, it's looking really good. What I find really fascinating about this project and this build is I don't think you guys imagined your bungalow. as a piece of architecture. You just imagined it as a house. Yeah. Originally we thought, well, we've got plenty of room, we just kind of need to rearrange a bit, make some bits nicer, and it'd be all right. Which, I guess, explains why neither Tammy or I are architects. Yeah. This has been a bit like when you go to the hairdressers and you say, do whatever you like, in that... We've given permission to the architect to kind of look at what's there and see through completely different lens and that's what's unlocked the potential of the house. I've never known we'll also be referred to as an architectural hairdresser. You can see I'm not. Why not? Well, you're used to working on projects that are multi-multi-million pound projects and then you've been working on this little 50s bungalow. I like that. It is about the people, and as irritating as Tammy is, I really like them. You're making me cry. The aspiration was on what was after all a really tight budget, is to give them as much space as we could, and then work out a master plan for what was left of the bungalow. which you would pick up in smaller bits as they get substantially richer as they get older. You guys had a budget of £50,000. I cannot imagine that you've built this on £50,000. No, it's ended up costing almost £90,000. My word, when you look around at what you've got, it's worth every penny and more. Because your life will genuinely be transformed by this building and your sons. Yeah. And do you know what? Just at this point, the sun's just coming out of the clouds and little spots and pools are starting to appear on the wall there. That's the magic and the beauty of something that you would never have imagined or expected. It's just a lovely place to be. What would you say to other people out there who are living in ordinary, ugly houses? I would hope that this would encourage people to think they can be a bit braver and if they're a bit braver they get more out of it. For not a lot of money you can have a huge effect. This building is a striking addition to the street and now that it's finished the neighbours can see just what they'll be living with. I like the contrast, I like the idea that somebody's done something imaginative. That's lovely. I think if you're going to do something, you've either got to do it to fit with the property as it is or you do something astounding and they've done something astounding. Tammy and Stuart wanted to transform their old ugly house into something beautiful and unique but it took a huge leap of faith and trust to go ahead with Will's design which I have to say is an absolute master stroke. Now a radical solution like this isn't necessarily to everyone's taste but good architecture will always push us beyond our comfort zone. I'm convinced that people will grow to love this building just as Tammy and Stuart will love living in it.