Big Design Adventure

Can you imagine living in a museum?
Tim and Kev head to Surrey to visit The Homewood, the modernist masterpiece Patrick Gwynne
designed for his family in the late 1930s. Completed in 1938, The Homewood is one of the most
remarkable examples of pre-war modernist architecture in Britain.
Gwynne later gifted the house to the National Trust in 1999, with the stipulation that someone must live in it and that it be opened to the public for part of the year.
That person is Lou, whose family has called it home since 2004 while welcoming visitors inside this
extraordinary piece of living history.
I bet you’ve got questions already. We certainly did - and we’ve probably asked most of them in this
fascinating interview, recorded around Gwynne’s own custom-made round dining table.
Thanks to Lou and The National Trust for assisting with this episode. You can learn more about the house and when you can visit here on their website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/the-homewood
To view images from this episode, head to our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure
And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)
We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected]
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.

Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation).

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud
Guest: Louise Scott
Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia.
Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp
Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media
Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when you try to fix the housing crisis without destroying the suburbs we love? You get
density by stealth.
Tim and Kev head to the Perth suburbia to visit Giuseppe’s House, a 1960s home recently restored by
local architect Kate Fitzgerald. Beneath the terrazzo floors and colourful character lies a bigger idea: how to add more housing to our cities without flattening their identity.
Kate shares her approach to preserving streetscapes while quietly increasing density, rethinking
backyards, laneways and overlooked spaces to create the “missing middle” between apartments and
traditional homes. Along the way, they unpack Perth’s boom-and-bust development history, the rise of
migrant architecture, and why small, clever infill might be the key to housing affordability.
Check out Kate’s work on their website - https://www.whisperingsmith.com.au including her home (House A) and Giuseppe’s House.

To view images from this episode, head to our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure
And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)
We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected]
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.

Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation).

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud
Guest: Kate Fitzgerald (@whisperingsmith_)
Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia.
Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp
Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media
Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re back with Series Two!

Tim and Kevin head to Birmingham to explore a city defined by industry, reinvention and the home
of Peaky Blinders, Black Sabbath and ELO.

Over tea and biscuits with journalist and campaigner Mary Keating, they examine the fight to save the
Smallbrook Ringway Centre, one of Europe’s longest modernist buildings and a rare surviving example of Birmingham’s post-war ambition.

In the decades following the Second World War, Birmingham was radically reshaped by modern planning and the rise of the car. New roads, new civic buildings and bold architectural experiments transformed the city, reflecting a belief that modern design could deliver progress, efficiency and optimism. Today, many of these - particularly brutalist - buildings are under threat, dismissed as outdated or expendable. The Ringway Centre sits at the heart of this debate, raising the question of whether a city’s confidence can determine which buildings survive.

Follow Brutiful Birmingham (@brutifulbirmingham) and Birmingham Modernist (@birminghammodernist) on Instagram.

To view images from this episode, head to our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure
And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)
We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected]
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.

Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation).

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud
Guest: Mary Keating
Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia.
Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp
Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media
Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the special festive episode, can you have a room just reserved for Christmas Day? What’s our hot take on the merits of tinsel, and we present our all time favourite Christmas movies and songs.

The model makers who create wooden Christmas ornaments of buildings can be found on Instagram here: Atelier Maps or their Esty store here.
For suggestions of places and stories for Series 2, shoot us an email to [email protected] - we will be back on 4 th February 2026!
Tickets are now on sale for Kevin McCloud and Tim Ross – Live in Interesting Places –
check out the details on our website – http://bigdesignadventure.com/
You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure
And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)
We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected]
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.

Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation).

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud
Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia.
Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp
Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media
Video Production: Ned Williams
Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this mini episode we’ve got huge news about the final show for the year and we answer our most asked question.
For questions and suggestions for our Christmas episode, shoot us an email to [email protected]
For suggestions of places and stories for Series 2, shoot us an email to [email protected]
Tickets are now on sale for Kevin McCloud and Tim Ross – Live in Interesting Places –
check out the details on our website – http://bigdesignadventure.com/
You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure
And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)
We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected]
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.

Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation).

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud
Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia.
Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp
Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media
Video Production: Ned Williams
Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.