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FIX: Many great NZ Designs builds are about privileges, but also about syncing.
Certainly, there is a privilege here, on the latest show: A wealthy Welsh family comes to Godzone on vacation, falls in love with the scenery, and wants to own a slice of it.
And so John and Sarah O’Brien do it. And here’s how it happened: “We went out to New Zealand, and the scenery and the water blew us away, and when we got to Picton we all got out of the car and drove to an agent estate to take a look at house prices.”
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This is the reveal of this week’s Grand Designs NZ show at Marlborough Sounds, but where are the owners? Host Chris Moller (left), architect Jarrod Midgley and builder David Kepes reflect on the relevance of building a vacation home 12,000 miles away.
So they can afford to buy magical waterfront land in the Marlborough Sounds, with access only for boats or helicopters. They can also afford to come here half a year every year (well, that’s the plan), and they can afford a budget of almost $ 2 million for construction.
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But this is the question. They may have complied with the Office of Foreign Investment’s requirements, but they missed the right time. While it was not their fault that Covid-19 happened, it would always be a challenge to manage a construction from 19,000 km away.
SCREENSHOT
John and Sarah O’Brien photographed at their home in Wales. The couple visited New Zealand and fell in love with the Marlborough Sounds.
So what happened? Well, to begin with, this was too ambitious a build.
His massive 70m long house (yes, that measurement is correct) was designed by local architect Jarrod Midgley to meander around the ridge, sitting gently on the landscape. Few trees would be sacrificed (not true; it turns out that there is “environmental devastation”, but nothing that does not grow back).
While the site is charming, with its 100-year-old black beech trees and stunning views of St Omer’s Bay in Kenepuru Sound, access is difficult. There is no beach at high tide for builder David Kepes to unload a barge and stack materials. That means they need to involve a helicopter, which is a lot of money. Ka-ching.
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And this is the view of Kenepuru Sound that the O’Briens dream of in Wales.
At one point, Moller even says, “Insulation comes with a large and ever-expanding price tag. Talk about flying down the seat of your pants. “
Skype with the couple, who languish at -5 degrees in Wales. They watch as two huge trees fall somewhere else to provide wood for the house.
Then they come back and Sarah is “surprised” by the size of the modules lined up for the house, well it’s 70 m. Didn’t you check that? “It’s just ridiculous,” he says, and we couldn’t agree more. It is enormously long and the ceilings will be very high. These will be very large rooms.
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Moller poses in front of one end of the 70-meter-long house, the family room that points toward the water.
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And this is all you can see inside – this house is far from finished.
On a quiet morning, 60 tons of concrete in two trucks are moved to the site; They have two hours at high tide to remove the concrete.
They hire an Iroquois helicopter, originally used in the Vietnam War, for many thousands of dollars to transport the heavy sub-assembly modules one at a time, heavier with each lift. That costs $ 10k plus another $ 3.5k per hour. It is a dangerous job and a stressful clock.
The lighter modules are carried by a smaller helicopter. Also very risky. The architect describes it as “hairy, sure.”
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The house snakes around the ridge, capturing ocean views through the bush.
There is a scene filmed in Wales where the O’Briens invite some friends for a drink. One of them says that it could not bear the stress of its structure, but would instead opt for a caravan in the south of France.
But the soldiers keep going. The couple order large chunks of slate from a quarry in Wales, to take some “home” with them to New Zealand.
The window glass reaches the place and is almost broken. The stress of “hang and turn” with the helicopter has taken its toll.
SCREENSHOT
The family was filmed on site before work began, full of enthusiasm, despite problems with distance and access to the site.
DOES THIS HOUSE REPRESENT THE MAXIMUM GLOBALIZATION?
But the worst is yet to come: New Zealand closes the borders due to Covid-19, leaving Sarah, John and their children out.
Builder David, a wise man, asks: “From an objective point of view, does this house represent the peak of globalization? Is this a time of change and will there be a new world in which the concept of a vacation home on the other side of the planet is no longer relevant? “
And Moller: “Possibly a monument to a time that has passed?”
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The size of the living room is immense. Builders were concerned that homeowners might find it too dark in some areas.
“We’re both heartbroken, really,” Sarah says, from a great distance. “Having it on hiatus when we were on such a streak is just devastating.”
“Like all great things, if they’re worth having, they’re worth waiting for,” says John.
Grand Designs NZ Host Chris Moller shows up for what would normally be the big reveal, and no one is there, but the builder and architect are up for a chat. The house is clad, but it is not finished; the owners have pressed pause. And Moller has to do another Skype interview with them, in a half-finished empty room with the rain outside. (I’m not sure when it did because it was sunny when it arrived, a “perfect day”).
We see the beautiful view and get a little familiar with the house, but it is not enough.
Wouldn’t it have been better to put this project on hold for TV too? Perhaps the crew are concerned that years may pass before it is completed. That is often the case with these builds – one of them ran for eight years.
Is there a moral to the story? Okay, yes. Clearly, there are some things that money simply cannot buy, including a New Zealand passport. Covid-19 is a great leveler.
The Grand Designs NZ displays at Three at 7:30 pm on Mondays
