Chris Moller’s Grand Design

Now in its fifth season, Grand Designs New Zealand seems to be inspiring a new wave of home builders. Many of the people agreeing to let the cameras follow their stories say the show has been the catalyst for starting their own projects, reveals host and architect Chris Moller. ‘‘They can see now it doesn’t just have to be the run-of-the-mill houses,’’ he says.

‘‘They realise they can look at completely different ways of building using old or well-known materials in different ways, and I think that’s so important.’’ Moller acknowledges that regulations are necessary but so is creativity. ‘‘Health and safety is important but sometimes we get a bit too carried away with that, I think,’’ he says. ‘‘People’s creativity, ambition and, I guess, dogged commitment to realising their dream, should also have its place.’’

This season of Grand Designs New Zealand has no shortage of people ready to push the boundaries, their budgets and themselves.

They include Dunedin’s Nicola Johnston and Harlem Irwin, who have created a suspended house, and there is also the series’ longest-running build, a tiny 65 square metre eco home overlooking Taylors Mistake, near Christchurch.

‘‘It’s tiny but [homebuilder] Craig has been through the Christchurch earthquake, he’s tackled all sorts of things and he’s just sticking it out.’’

Then there is the young builder who creates a glass home on top of a bridge over a stream in one of the coldest parts of the country, and a couple with a passion for the ancient Japanese art of burning timber who create a family home with a pool, a wine cellar, a memorial garden and a beach pavilion.

In Central Otago, two musicians find a plan for a wedge-shaped American home, a man realises his dream of building a medieval castle, and a woman rips into one of Auckland’s heritage buildings – the former Farmers department store’s tearooms – to create a New York-style loft.

By the end of this season, the Grand Designs team will have documented about 40 building projects and there is no shortage of contenders for future series. ‘‘It’s extraordinary that there are still so many people who want to build such things and share their stories in a public forum,’’ Moller says.

However, he has no plans to follow in their footsteps, preferring to just make the odd change or addition to what he calls his existing ‘‘wonderful’’ home.

‘‘That’s why I love stories like the heritage tearooms because that’s about revaluing the buildings we have, repurposing them and giving them a new life, and I think that’s just as important as building new things.

‘‘In fact, we need to do more of that where we really give an extension to the life of the lovely old things we have, to give them new meanings, new chances for being seen in a new light.’’

This year, Moller is revisiting some of the properties that have featured on previous series and he expects the experience to be just as eye-opening for him as it is likely to be for viewers.

‘‘It would be lovely to do more of this as many weren’t finished when we revealed them,’’ he says, adding the revisits will not only show what’s happened to the build but also to the people behind them. ‘‘To see how life has moved on for them because, inevitably two, three or even four years on, things have changed.’’

The journey begins in Titirangi in Auckland, where Moller visits Steve and Chrissy Sygrove to see how their fairy-tale American Gothic-style home has matured. He then checks out Brendon Poole and Nikki Cliffe’s $6 million apartment block in the city’s Vinegar Lane.

The final stop is in Te A¯ rai, north of Auckland, where he catches up with Vince and Cathy Moore whose plans to build a huge Italian-style villa turned into a budget disaster.

Other homes have since been sold. ‘‘That in itself is quite confronting,’’ Moller says. ‘‘For some people who do that it’s partly because they didn’t quite find what they were seeking. Let’s face it, when you are taking on such a huge challenge, and there are so many unknowns, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will all work out, that it will be what you hoped. It might not be.’’ – Kerry Harvey, TV Guide

Grand Designs New Zealand, Three, Wednesdays, 7.30pm.