The long-running property show Grand Designs returns for another season, with Kevin McCloud once again at the helm. In the season premiere, McCloud takes us to East Yorkshire, to follow a challenging long term build.
The episode centres on Zahid, a resident of Leeds, who purchased an obsolete coastguard station at an auction. Together with his wife, Ferzana, he envisions replacing it with a unique family home for their children and grandchildren. The plan is to create a cantilevered, three-storey steel and glass structure that enhances the panoramic sea views from its location on an exposed East Yorkshire headland.
Their son, Yusef, takes on the role of project manager, facing a tight ten-month deadline and a budget of £325k. However, the build is plagued by issues from the start. The exposed site’s high wind loads pose technical challenges for the cantilevered design and window strength. Complications arise when Yusef seizes a career opportunity, leaving the project, and Zahid steps in as a self-proclaimed ‘nightmare’ client who prefers designing on a whim without detailed construction drawings.
As if that weren’t enough, the COVID pandemic impacts their business, and a string of bad luck seems to jinx the birdproof glass window contract. Will this ambitious project ever be completed? Five years later, McCloud returns to East Yorkshire to find out if Zahid and his family’s dream home has become a reality.
Grand Designs Season 25 Episode 1 airs Wednesday, 25 September 2024, at 9:00 pm on Channel 4.
