Living the high-life
Strathaven couple appear ontv’s Grand Design with airfield home
A Strathaven couple who risked everything to build their dream ‘airfield house’were revisited by Channel 4’s Grand Designs.
Six years after his last visit, presenter and home building guru Kevin Mccloud returned to the home of Colin Mackinnon and Marta Briongos as seen in an edition of the hit C4 show last month.
Back in 2013 Mccloud paid tribute to “adventurers” Colin and Marta after they risked everything to construct their dream home with an in-built air traffic control tower.
Flying instructor Colin and Marta built the massive bespoke aluminium home on their airfield in Strathaven, from where they run microlight, trapeze and hovercraft lessons.
The couple took on one of the most ambitious projects in the history of the show by choosing to build their massive aircraft hangar-style home out of metal, taking three years to complete, and costing them £500,000.
Back in the day Kevin was seen marvelling at their determination to see things through, despite huge problems with materials, budget and weather.
At one point the couple were even forced to sell a painting by Scots colourist JD Ferguson.
But in the end their dramatic threestorey building project had a happy ending and Kevin paid huge credit to the pair during his revisit on last Thursday night’s show.
He said: “On my last visit six years ago, Colin and Marta’s house was a unfinished hanger, the couple had ran out of money and hadn’t moved in.
“But now that engineered space frame has become a home – a flying machine for living in – happily moored to the airfield.
“I’ve seen this house described as eccentric, idiosyncratic, and playful. It’s certainly all of these things.
“What is great about this building is that it reflects Colin and Marta, their passions, their story, their interests, their love of engineering and their romance and sense of playfulness.
“It’s taken on it’s own character. It too wants to soar.”
Marta added: “The house reflects who we are. It doesn’t matter where I look at it from I just love it.
“It’s our control tower. Our control tower of the airfield, it’s where we plan our lives, we plan our trips and we plan our dreams.”
The episode will be on Channel 4’s All 4 catch-up until Friday, November 15.