0:00:02 > 0:00:04I've been picked up from airports in taxis before,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07but never, never had to go to a jetty to be picked up by a boat!
0:00:10 > 0:00:13'He's Piers Taylor, an award-winning architect.'
0:00:14 > 0:00:16This building is so tactile
0:00:16 > 0:00:19and just rich, materially.
0:00:19 > 0:00:20SHE SHRIEKS
0:00:20 > 0:00:22'And she's Caroline Quentin,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25'acclaimed actress and passionate property developer.'
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Oh, I've been expecting you, Mr Bond!
0:00:27 > 0:00:29SHE LAUGHS
0:00:29 > 0:00:30'We've been given the keys
0:00:30 > 0:00:34'to some of the most incredible houses in the world...'
0:00:34 > 0:00:36It's chock full of surprises, isn't it?
0:00:36 > 0:00:38SHE SHRIEKS
0:00:38 > 0:00:41'..to discover the design, innovation,
0:00:41 > 0:00:42'passion and endurance needed
0:00:42 > 0:00:46'to transform architectural vision into an extraordinary home.'
0:00:46 > 0:00:48If this was Hollywood,
0:00:48 > 0:00:49I'd be snogging you now.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53'Together, we'll be travelling the globe.'
0:00:53 > 0:00:54Oh, look down there!
0:00:54 > 0:00:57- I would, but I'm trying not to kill us.- No, you look ahead.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59'Meeting the architects and owners
0:00:59 > 0:01:02'who have taken on the challenge of building unconventional homes
0:01:02 > 0:01:04'in demanding locations.'
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Just another day on the wing of a 747.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11'Whether it's navigating the logistics of constructing a house
0:01:11 > 0:01:13'on top of a remote mountain...'
0:01:13 > 0:01:18Why would you build a house where you can only get there by cable car?
0:01:18 > 0:01:21'..negotiating the ancient trees of a fragile forest...'
0:01:21 > 0:01:23You never see a building this close to the trees.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25I mean that's six inches away.
0:01:25 > 0:01:26'..having a sea view
0:01:26 > 0:01:30'whilst perched on the edge of a dramatic coastal shoreline...'
0:01:30 > 0:01:32I'd love to know how you actually built this
0:01:32 > 0:01:35on what appears to be a sort of vertical cliff face.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39'..or excavating the earth to build a home deep underground...'
0:01:39 > 0:01:41There is always a moment where you feel fear.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44nature is never to come back the same way.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Since earliest times, humans have had a close affinity
0:01:56 > 0:02:00with the tranquillity and isolation of the forest.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02The joys of living so close to nature
0:02:02 > 0:02:05is why I chose to build my own family home in the woods.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10But building in this natural habitat can be fraught
0:02:10 > 0:02:14with environmental obstacles and technical challenges.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17We built the road three times, it kept washing away.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19It was a long three years.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Piers and I will be travelling from the forests
0:02:21 > 0:02:24of the Catskill Mountains of America...
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Usually, if we see this, it's in a building that has cost £150 million.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30It's been made like a piece of jewellery.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34..to the ancient woodlands of Europe and New Zealand.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Discovering what it takes to design, build and live
0:02:38 > 0:02:41in some of the world's most extraordinary forest homes.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45It's a tight rope you walk, it can go spectacularly wrong.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54What a beautiful morning!
0:02:54 > 0:02:57The first stop on our architectural adventure
0:02:57 > 0:03:01takes us an hour's drive out of Madrid to an ancient pine forest
0:03:01 > 0:03:05on the outskirts of the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Look at the dappled light, it is beautiful.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10- Is it up here somewhere? Are we nearly there?- I think it is.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15We're heading to an unconventional four-bedroom home,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18where one architect took on the seemingly impossible challenge
0:03:18 > 0:03:21of building a house which would weave right amongst the trees
0:03:21 > 0:03:24in the forest, without damaging them.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28- Most people clear the trees from a site before they build.- Yeah.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30But this guy kept the trees,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32allowing the house to weave among them.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34- So is that why the design's so extreme?- Yeah.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Because they've had to take the trees into account?
0:03:37 > 0:03:40It was not just a crazy idea about doing some weird shape.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44It was actually about wanting to preserve the qualities of the trees
0:03:44 > 0:03:46that existed on the site.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49- Stop, stop, stop, stop! I think that's it.- I think it is.
0:03:49 > 0:03:50It could only be it, couldn't it?
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Check out the fence.
0:03:52 > 0:03:53It's quite industrial.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56It looks a little bit like Ford open prison in Sussex.
0:03:56 > 0:03:57- Does it?- Yeah!
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Have you got the buzzer to get us in?
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Oh, er, yes, I have somewhere. Here.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- I'm pressing everything. Oh, yes!- Oh, there we are.- Ha-ha!
0:04:05 > 0:04:06I love it when that happens!
0:04:06 > 0:04:08GATES SQUEAK
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Richard, the owner of this house,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20is a publisher and editor of an architectural magazine,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23and wanted his own home to challenge the conventional.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27This is incredible, seeing that so close.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29It's almost touching, but not quite.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31I mean, it's beautiful, looking up there.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33I suspect when the wind blows,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36this will almost touch the building.
0:04:36 > 0:04:37It must do.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40And it'll be calculated just so it doesn't quite touch.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42And underneath here, of course,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44there'll be foundations that go down beneath the tree roots.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46If you were here and you weren't careful,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49you'd kill a lot of the very thing you were trying to use. You'd kill the trees.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Yeah, that's the danger. And, of course, then you'd end up
0:04:51 > 0:04:54with a house that was in a barren piece of land with no trees.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Casa Levene is a major piece of angular engineering.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03The floor plan of this structure
0:05:03 > 0:05:06cleverly takes the shape from voids left between the trees.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Inside, individual zones have been designed like branches,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16each separately coloured to create a different atmosphere.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Outside, the building has been entirely clad in basalt,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25a type of dark volcanic rock, to contrast the colourful interior
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and reflect the surrounding trees.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33I really like buildings that have the same material on the roof
0:05:33 > 0:05:34as on the walls.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36- Is it slippy?- No, it is fine.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38My experience of basalt is limited.
0:05:38 > 0:05:39THEY LAUGH
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Oh, this is cool.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44But what a landscape. I mean this is brilliant, this landscape.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- Look at the trees, they're literally poking out of there.- Yeah!
0:05:47 > 0:05:50WHISPERS: It's a bit like...being in a nest.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54- We're cocooned, aren't we? - I like it, I really like it.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57There is a real respect for nature that's creeping back into
0:05:57 > 0:05:59architecture in the last 20 years or so.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02And, historically, we didn't really care about nature,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04we just battered nature into submission.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06But here they've looked at the site,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08they've kept almost all the trees,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and then they've just looked at where you can build
0:06:11 > 0:06:12and then they've filled in the gaps.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14And what, of course, we've ended up with is a building
0:06:14 > 0:06:16that has come out of the shape of the site
0:06:16 > 0:06:18rather than an architect tradition.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21I like that. I find that quite exciting.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Externally, the form of this building shows a complete empathy
0:06:26 > 0:06:27with the forest.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32But on the inside, the architect has had the freedom
0:06:32 > 0:06:35to let his imagination run wild.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Oh!
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Bright yellow!
0:06:39 > 0:06:43'The use of bold colours and industrial materials
0:06:43 > 0:06:44'create a vibrant atmosphere,
0:06:44 > 0:06:49'providing an extraordinary contrast to the serene woodland outside.'
0:06:49 > 0:06:52Look at the shadows on the floor. I mean, that's beautiful.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54It's a hell of a colour, actually,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56and it's a brave choice, but I really like it.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00'Colour theory has been used to create two distinct atmospheres.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03'Lively oranges and reds to lift your mood,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07'and blues and greens to relax and focus.'
0:07:08 > 0:07:11But I also like this transparent acrylic,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14and I love the way the toys become quite decorative.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16- This is quite quirky, isn't it?- It is.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19I'm not quite sure - jury's out for me on this,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21what is it? A poly or a plastic?
0:07:21 > 0:07:24- This is an acrylic. It's a type of plastic, but it's acrylic.- Yeah.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26I love the low tech nature of it.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28It's pretty cheap and quite easy to fix.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30And this metal here, I mean, that...
0:07:30 > 0:07:34stainless steel that wraps around is really beautiful.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38This riot of material and colour, I think is really refreshing.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41And then into this beautiful blue space,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44and the flash of the lime green Perspex here,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47it's quite exciting, this use of colour, isn't it?
0:07:47 > 0:07:48- Really exciting.- Stimulating.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Every element of this house pushes the boundaries
0:07:52 > 0:07:54of a domestic dwelling.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Even the kitchen is wrapped in industrial stainless steel.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59Can I ask you something?
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Where do you stand on a stainless steel kitchen?
0:08:02 > 0:08:03Don't say on the surface!
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Do you like them or, do you not like them?
0:08:06 > 0:08:08I think they're great. They're really practical.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11I love things that can be the same colour all the way around.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Some people would say it's a little bit too like a hospital.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16It means that the kitchen is part of the architecture,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19it isn't something that's just been stuck in the corner
0:08:19 > 0:08:21and it makes it less kitchen-like.
0:08:21 > 0:08:22What do you mean?
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Because most of us, our kitchens, well, they are by their very nature, kitcheny!
0:08:25 > 0:08:29If it was made out of something and there was just a standard set of units in the corner,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31- it would be a bit of a let down. - Is your kitchen kitcheny?
0:08:31 > 0:08:33It doesn't have conventional units.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35It just has a big island that everyone cooks at.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37If a man's going to have an island,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40I'm surprised it's you, because it's very suburban, an island.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42So social. It's so social!
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Don't you quote that suburban thing at me.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46It's sociable. Listen, I'm going to go and make you something!
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Oh, hello, Caroline, I can't see you any more, it's really antisocial!
0:08:49 > 0:08:52I hate cooking looking at a suburban bit of stainless steel.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54What I want to do is be in the view and talk to people,
0:08:54 > 0:08:55and actually experience the space.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59I think kitchens are about the space and the poetry of cooking.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01They're not about the units.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04If it were me, my life would be all about the birds here.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07I would have a pair of binoculars permanently there.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09I'd spend my whole life just watching nature.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12And I'd spend my whole time marvelling at the spatial sequence,
0:09:12 > 0:09:13how wonderful it is,
0:09:13 > 0:09:15and just basking in the sheer delight of it all.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17Oh, he can't help it.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Chop off his head, it says "architect" right the way through the middle!
0:09:27 > 0:09:30This unusual house began with a very unusual brief
0:09:30 > 0:09:33for architect Eduardo Arroyo.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Tell me how it came about, this project?
0:09:36 > 0:09:40So, one day, the client, Richard,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44arrives in the office and says, "I want a house to change my life."
0:09:44 > 0:09:47- That's pretty powerful, isn't it? A pretty powerful statement.- Yes.
0:09:47 > 0:09:48Scary at the same time.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51And when you came here, what did you think of the site initially?
0:09:51 > 0:09:55It was quite shocking, because it was completely packed with trees.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Most of them are 100, 200 years old.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02So my first response was, "It's impossible to build anything here."
0:10:04 > 0:10:07But Eduardo and his team weren't going to be defeated
0:10:07 > 0:10:11by the plot of land, and embraced the challenge of building a home
0:10:11 > 0:10:15in what most architects would consider an unworkable location.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Show me some early sketches that show the evolution of the house,
0:10:19 > 0:10:20I'm really interested in that.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23One of my favourites
0:10:23 > 0:10:26was the one we did the first day we were in the site.
0:10:26 > 0:10:32We did a very strict and precise work of measuring all the trees,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36the distances, the thickness of the trees.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38And once we had that very precise technical plan,
0:10:38 > 0:10:43to activate a very rough and intuitive ideas
0:10:43 > 0:10:45of how to use this forest.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49How did that feel as the form was beginning to emerge?
0:10:49 > 0:10:50The forest was guiding us.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55It was guiding us, how the forest let ourselves occupy it.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57To me it is very exciting to build things
0:10:57 > 0:10:59that haven't been built before.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03Coming back to this house, how do you feel walking around it?
0:11:03 > 0:11:05I normally don't like to come back to my buildings.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10I think once you have finished a work, then I release myself.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13So, it feels very good to see that, even if there are some changes,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17and life has developed inside, absorbing what has happened inside,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20not getting destroyed by it,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22which means that the building is very strong.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28This house is all about the trees,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31and what that means is when Eduardo first came here,
0:11:31 > 0:11:36what he did was work out exactly where the trees were
0:11:36 > 0:11:39and what it enabled Eduardo to do
0:11:39 > 0:11:43was to strike a line around the buildable volume
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and there, very naturally,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49can you see the shape of this house
0:11:49 > 0:11:55which sits beautifully in the space left over by the trees?
0:11:55 > 0:11:58With that, what Eduardo was then left with
0:11:58 > 0:12:03was the problem of how to build next to a tree
0:12:03 > 0:12:05and this house is built right up to the trees.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Typically you need to be way outside the tree canopy,
0:12:08 > 0:12:09because that's where the roots are,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12and often, you know, if you have a tree trunk, like that,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16the tree roots spider out from that,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20to about the same distance as the canopy spreads.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25What Eduardo did was to work out that he could put these micropiles,
0:12:25 > 0:12:29little piles down between the tree roots.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Typically what they do, they're rammed into the ground
0:12:31 > 0:12:33or driven into the ground,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37so what you have is a building built off these delicate fingers of steel
0:12:37 > 0:12:39that go down between the roots.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Trees are really vulnerable to being disturbed.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46And if you sever roots, trees will die.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49So this is the only way you can build on a site like this.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Just as the forest has dictated the unusual shape of this house,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00it's also heavily influenced the interior living spaces.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06From here, I really feel like I'm floating in this canopy.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The sheer poetry of being in the trees
0:13:09 > 0:13:11with all this light bouncing around
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and all these brilliant surfaces reflecting that light -
0:13:14 > 0:13:15that's really magical.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21I think this is the perfect place to sit
0:13:21 > 0:13:24because I can hear the wind rustling through the pines and the birdsong.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30It's great the way this house doesn't have conventional rooms and conventional doors.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35It just has spaces that you can use in beautiful and inventive ways.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38And just if I really listen carefully,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40I can just about hear Piers,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43banging on about suburbia and conventional living,
0:13:43 > 0:13:49and how dull it is to have sinks in the kitchen and beds in bedrooms!
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Often people think that houses like this are difficult to live in,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55difficult to really occupy in an informal way.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58But this is a child's bedroom that is full of life.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02And I love the way these pictures sit alongside something
0:14:02 > 0:14:04that's really high architecture.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15What's fantastic about this house, Caroline,
0:14:15 > 0:14:17is that it's so poetic.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20It's all about the experience of being in the trees,
0:14:20 > 0:14:22in this extraordinary landscape.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26Nature's been respected, the trees are exactly where they were,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29and the house just flows around the trees.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31It's wonderful for that.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33But for my taste...
0:14:33 > 0:14:35It's a little conventional!
0:14:35 > 0:14:36PIERS LAUGHS
0:14:45 > 0:14:47The next leg of our forest journey
0:14:47 > 0:14:49takes us to the United States of America.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56We're heading two and a half hours north of New York
0:14:56 > 0:14:58to the Catskill Mountains.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06The owner and principle architect of our second forest house, Tom Gluck,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10wanted a weekend home for his family to escape the bustle of busy city life.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13It's spectacularly beautiful, isn't it? It's kind of dreamy.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15- Spring!- Spring in the woods.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- Spring in a deciduous forest. - Oh, it doesn't get any better.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21- So green. Lime green everywhere! - Lovely. Young leaves.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24It's quite romantic to live in among the trees, isn't it?
0:15:24 > 0:15:25Really romantic.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Tom's challenge was to come up with a design which would be large enough
0:15:31 > 0:15:33for a three-bedroom family home,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36but would lessen its impact on the surroundings
0:15:36 > 0:15:40by minimising the footprint within this densely wooded plot.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41I know it's the modern way,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and I know glass and steel can be absolutely wonderful and exciting,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47but I want this to be a home.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51I want it to be an incredibly poetic experience of being in the woods.
0:15:51 > 0:15:52And a home?
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Not so fussed.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00Tom's towering vision was to build a stairway into the forest canopy,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02using the most contemporary materials
0:16:02 > 0:16:05to create a treehouse with a twist.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06SHE GASPS
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Oh! Hang on! Hang on!
0:16:10 > 0:16:12That's not at all what I thought it was going to be!
0:16:12 > 0:16:14That's amazing. It's green!
0:16:14 > 0:16:16- It is green.- It's green! - But I wonder whether that's...
0:16:16 > 0:16:19It is green, actually. Look at it! I mean, that is...
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Oh, look, there's yellow. There's yellow, there's yellow.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23It's got a yellow staircase.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- Perfect.- Right, I'm having a look at.
0:16:30 > 0:16:31It's, um...
0:16:31 > 0:16:32It's, it's, it's...
0:16:32 > 0:16:35It's, God, it's not at all what I thought it was going to be like!
0:16:35 > 0:16:37I like buildings that are intrigue-y.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40And, actually, there's nothing worse than a pretty building
0:16:40 > 0:16:41that gives you everything in one hit.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Well, this is not a pretty building, so you're all right there.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Well, I'm not so sure. I think it's really good-looking, actually.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50It's really composed and quite pert.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Mindful to conserve this woodland,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Tom designed a house to fit on a small footprint
0:16:55 > 0:16:58the size of a static caravan.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Instead of putting the three double bedrooms side by side,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03he's stacked them on top of each other
0:17:03 > 0:17:06and placed a large cantilevered living area
0:17:06 > 0:17:0830 feet above the ground.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13The living room is part supported by the stacked bedrooms underneath
0:17:13 > 0:17:17and a slender V shaped column picks up the additional load,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19allowing the building to teeter high into the canopy
0:17:19 > 0:17:22without toppling over.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24Do you know what it reminds me of, Piers?
0:17:24 > 0:17:26It reminds me of A, a comprehensive school
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and B, one of those fire towers
0:17:29 > 0:17:31that they build for firemen to practise on.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34It feels like a kid could have designed it.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36- It's almost made out of Lego, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39And I don't know about your kids but if my kids built a tower,
0:17:39 > 0:17:41it was always balanced precariously with the biggest bit at the top!
0:17:41 > 0:17:43SHE LAUGHS Yeah!
0:17:46 > 0:17:50With ambition to create a living space with views high above the forest canopy,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Tom has taken the layout of a conventional three-bedroom house
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and turned it on its head.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Here they put the bedrooms at the bottom and the best bit,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01all the living space, at the top,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05which probably just peaks over those trees and gets the mountain view.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09To blend into this densely wooded habitat,
0:18:09 > 0:18:14Tower House was entirely clad in glass to reflect the forest,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16making it almost invisible at times.
0:18:20 > 0:18:21Oh, this is good.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24- This is good, cos you get the mountain reflected in this.- Yeah.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26And, actually, the colour makes sense here, doesn't it?
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Yeah, because it disappears.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Here is a building that is defined by where it is.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33It does mimic the landscape and trees.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- I quite like that, I think that's a good thing.- Yeah.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39And remember that all of the buildings that we love in the UK
0:18:39 > 0:18:42were all pretty radically modern buildings once,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44that stood out like a sore thumb.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47You know, I suspect that all of the manor houses, rectories, farmhouses,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51barns that were built hundreds of years ago were quite stark,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53alien things, a little bit like this.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Do you know, Piers, I'm starting to really quite like this tower.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59It's like a princess's tower in the forest,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01and I'm starting to really love it.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03And here's something funny, look, see that?
0:19:03 > 0:19:07There's a door there, and round here, there's a door here, the same,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10so I love this sense that you don't quite know which is the front
0:19:10 > 0:19:12and which is the back.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- OK, go on, then, you take that one. - OK.- Let's go.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- I'll take the high road.- All right, then, and I'll take this...side.
0:19:17 > 0:19:18THEY LAUGH
0:19:20 > 0:19:21It's locked!
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Bit of time to myself. So important, I think.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Oh, yes!
0:19:27 > 0:19:28It's like a proper home!
0:19:28 > 0:19:31It's like a proper home! It's like people live here.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35It's got stuff, and it's got places to put boots.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38I like the yellows, like the sun hitting you. I think it's fantastic.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41- Hi, Caroline, are you there?- Oh, he's back! Look out.- Here we are.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42What do you think?
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- I love it's informality.- Yeah.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47You know, you come in, there's dirt on the floor and logs.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Really hadn't expected that, actually.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52This yellow is great isn't it? The underside of this.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57You're immediately, well if you're a kid, you want to run upstairs.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58- You do.- You can hear their voices.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01You can hear the thundering of their feet.
0:20:01 > 0:20:02"I'm going to do that, now."
0:20:02 > 0:20:04And you hear the thundering of their feet as they head up.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08- Can I hear the thundering of your feet?- Yeah!
0:20:08 > 0:20:09I'm going to go right to the top.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11I'm just going to linger down here a bit longer.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13- OK.- See you in a bit.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15I love it that Caroline's so excited.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Because there's a kind of freedom this house is giving her.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21It's a kind of frivolous house in some ways.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23Because some buildings slow you down and are quite serious,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26like churches and cathedrals,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28but there's a real informality to this.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30I also like that this is a bit untidy,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32because it shows that the owners aren't precious
0:20:32 > 0:20:35because the architecture speaks for itself.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Oh, follow me.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Oh, yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
0:20:42 > 0:20:45This is a proper house! This is a proper house!
0:20:47 > 0:20:48Oh!
0:20:48 > 0:20:50And look at the views!
0:20:51 > 0:20:55And on that side, you've got the most beautiful view of the forest.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Absolutely beautiful. It's breathtaking.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00I could easily be a bird
0:21:00 > 0:21:03so I could live here quite happily
0:21:03 > 0:21:05with my kids and my husband,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07just looking at that beautiful view.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Oh! It's just lovely.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17This is the most extraordinary experience,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20being up high and being able to see so far.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22But, also, this is a beautiful space.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25It's well structured. It's really informal.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27It's really lived in.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29But also this is really fun, too.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Just this little bit of...
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Well, this glimpsed view up into the stairwell.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- It's lovely, isn't it? - It's lovely, it's lovely.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38And you can go...
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- LOUDLY: "Supper's ready!" - Yeah!- "Come up!"- "Now!"
0:21:41 > 0:21:43"Off your iPad and Minecraft!"
0:21:43 > 0:21:44THEY LAUGH
0:21:44 > 0:21:46- Come thundering up those stairs!- Yeah.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50It's so brilliant that we are not talking about this
0:21:50 > 0:21:53as an architectural structure, or even as a thing of beauty,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55although I think it is a thing of beauty,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- we're talking about it as parents and how we live.- Yeah.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03I love it that there's stuff on the floor, and kids' toys.
0:22:03 > 0:22:04And it shows, in a way,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06that architecture and home can really coexist.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13The owner and the principle architect of Tower House
0:22:13 > 0:22:15is from a famous family of American architects.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Tom Gluck has travelled from their New York office
0:22:20 > 0:22:22to meet us in his family's woodland estate.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- Tom.- Really good to meet you. - Nice to meet you.- Caroline. This is Piers.- Hi, I'm Piers.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- Hi, great to meet you. - We've been loving your house, Tom.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33- It's fascinating.- Absolutely loving your house. It's like a playhouse.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36- It's like a treehouse for grown up boys, isn't it? - That's the way we think of it.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- Is that what you thought of when you first came up with it?- It is.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41- Is it?- Well, I'm not sure it's what we thought of when we first
0:22:41 > 0:22:43came up with it, but it's the way we think of it now.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45You've known this wood all your life?
0:22:45 > 0:22:46We first came up here,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48my parents brought me here when I was six months old.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51- Does it feel like it's part of you, this ground?- It does.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55We've been building and playing architecturally on the property
0:22:55 > 0:22:56for 40 years.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58This is the most recent addition.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00We'd always known there was this plateau up here.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02We suspected there might be views.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04- But you didn't know? - We didn't know for sure,
0:23:04 > 0:23:06because it was heavily wooded,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09- and you can look through this way and you can't see very far.- Yeah.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11So we actually built a tower out of scaffolding,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14to get up about 40 feet, tied off the trees,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and when we got up there and had a decent view,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20we committed to this kind of upside-down treehouse
0:23:20 > 0:23:23where all of the living space is on the top.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26'I'm intrigued to hear there's a whole wealth of buildings
0:23:26 > 0:23:28'hidden in these woods.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32'Exploring some of Gluck's other work is a temptation I can't resist.'
0:23:32 > 0:23:35So I'm going to leave you two to look at the house and I'm going look at your other ones.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38- Sounds good. Enjoy it.- See you later.- Take pictures.- I will.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40- Shall we look around?- Sure. - I don't know why I'm asking,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42cos I sort of imagine that I live here already.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Yeah, no, that's great. What's for lunch?!
0:23:50 > 0:23:54We're going now to see something called the Scholar's House,
0:23:54 > 0:23:55that is Tom's mother's office.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Actually, there are quite a lot of links between this little cabin
0:24:02 > 0:24:04and Tower House.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Beautiful coming up.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13I really like this panorama that you get of the tree canopy.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15And of course so many parallels up here
0:24:15 > 0:24:17between this and the Tower House.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20The same round columns pulled away from the corners
0:24:20 > 0:24:24so you get very open corners of just glass meeting glass
0:24:24 > 0:24:26and also of course,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30the low sills and all around, there's built in storage.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32It's great.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34I think in many ways this feels a bit of a baby brother
0:24:34 > 0:24:35to the Tower House.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40This is just superb, Tom.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42- I mean, you must never get used to that.- That's the big reveal.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45It really is, isn't it?
0:24:45 > 0:24:46We live full-time in Manhattan.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50We have this roughly two-hour drive up from the city
0:24:50 > 0:24:52and you kind of leave all the stress
0:24:52 > 0:24:55of the crazy city lives that we live.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57And as you come, I come up the stair, I come up to this space.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01You really kind of feel... Feel the stress drop away.
0:25:01 > 0:25:02It's very rejuvenating.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06So when you first started thinking about putting the building together,
0:25:06 > 0:25:08tell me how it works? Do you draw?
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Do you get blocks? How does it go, that process?
0:25:12 > 0:25:16So we did a lot of initial work in model, in physical models.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18My oldest child, our son, was just born.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21I spent of lot the time designing the house with the baby on my lap
0:25:21 > 0:25:24while my wife would get some much-needed sleep.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27It was literally block, two blue foam blocks
0:25:27 > 0:25:32and it was about the composition of the elements
0:25:32 > 0:25:33and the small footprint,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36so it has a small impact on the forest floor.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Then once we knew we wanted to get up high and see the view,
0:25:39 > 0:25:41then it was a question of, how do we pull this off?
0:25:41 > 0:25:44And so one way of thinking about this house is
0:25:44 > 0:25:49if you have a typical hallway with bedrooms that run off of it,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52we take this thing and we tilt it up, so instead of the hallway
0:25:52 > 0:25:54you have the yellow stairs,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57and then we have three bedrooms that help get the living room,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59which is on the top floor here,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02up high enough so that then you can really experience the big view.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04Was there ever a time when you thought,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07"I don't know quite what I've built here?"
0:26:07 > 0:26:12So before we put the glass on, the side of the house is massive.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15I mean, it is 40 feet tall, it's a massive surface.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18And when it was just covered in its waterproofing,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20it really was not invisible.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22But once the glass goes on it, and it just reflects,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25it's like camouflage, cos it reflects what's around it.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29And how close are you to what your initial dream was for this property?
0:26:29 > 0:26:31We, I have to say, we love it.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32One of the things we enjoy the most,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35is because we're always having people up,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39is having people who aren't used to being in capital A architecture.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42And they come up with their kids and they don't even know what
0:26:42 > 0:26:46architecture is, but their response is universally the same,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48which is, it's so easily understandable,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52and so successful in the way it makes you feel when you're here.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55So in fact, you've kind of achieved more than you ever expected to
0:26:55 > 0:26:58- with the build? - Yep. Yep. In this case.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00It's not always the case!
0:27:00 > 0:27:01I'm sure it isn't!
0:27:09 > 0:27:12- Hello!- There you are! - You great big butch architect!
0:27:12 > 0:27:14While you've been wafting around a big beautiful house,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16I've been chopping wood.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17Oops, sorry!
0:27:17 > 0:27:18So sorry.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21So, do you think this is a good house, Piers?
0:27:21 > 0:27:22I like this house more and more.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25I mean looking at it now in this evening light,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27it really is mesmeric, isn't it?
0:27:27 > 0:27:29It is. Because when I first saw it,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31I thought this is a sort of big glass thing,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34where there should be wood, but actually it works really well.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37I think nature is so beautiful and in a way, this stuff,
0:27:37 > 0:27:38this wood is so perfect,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41to try to build a building out of this doesn't always make sense,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44but this is subtle, and delicate, and appropriate.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47And it's really easy to be clumsy in this landscape,
0:27:47 > 0:27:48but this building isn't.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00The next stop on our forest adventure
0:28:00 > 0:28:04takes us across the Hudson River and to the hamlet of Shokan,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07deep in the heart of the Catskill Park.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10This area of upstate New York is a woodland playground
0:28:10 > 0:28:13for the rich and famous.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Movie stars and musicians have all lived here.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21It's quite a famous place, actually, in cultural history.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26I think Hendrix and Bowie both were drawn to the Shokan area.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31We're heading to a hi-tech weekend forest home,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34owned and designed by New York architect Jay Bargmann.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Jay's day job is for an acclaimed international firm
0:28:39 > 0:28:41responsible for designing iconic buildings -
0:28:41 > 0:28:45like the skyscraper in London now known as the Walkie Talkie.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50This is the first house Jay has designed for himself.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55But rather than building in the urban environment he's used to,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58Jay picked a wooded hillside plot with no infrastructure in place.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04So no roads, no running water, and no electricity.
0:29:04 > 0:29:05Jay's picking us up this morning.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08He's going to take us to the house which is nice, actually,
0:29:08 > 0:29:09in case it is difficult to find.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12Really nice. So I think he said out of town. And...here we are.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14Here, here, here, here.
0:29:14 > 0:29:15Airport? Hang on.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22There's a chopper over there, just landed.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25- You must be Jay?- How are you? - Good to see you, I'm Piers.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29- I'm Jay.- Caroline.- I'm Jay, how are you?- Very good to meet you. Lovely to meet you.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Slightly nervous that we're meeting you at an airport?
0:29:31 > 0:29:33Yes, well we set up something.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36The house is not really remote, but at the top of a hill,
0:29:36 > 0:29:39and maybe the best way to see it is from the air.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Are we going in this, are we?
0:29:41 > 0:29:43This is a friend of ours, and it's his helicopter.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45He's an aerobatic pilot.
0:29:45 > 0:29:46- Brilliant.- That's really exciting.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50- You need the keys, which I'll give you these. That gets you in the front door.- Great.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53We'll catch up with you later this afternoon.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57- Have a good flight.- Thank you very much, we'll see you at your house!
0:29:57 > 0:29:59See you there!
0:30:00 > 0:30:02Oh, lift-off!
0:30:09 > 0:30:11How high are we, Davie?
0:30:11 > 0:30:13We're 900ft above sea level.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15And travelling how fast?
0:30:15 > 0:30:18About 130mph.
0:30:18 > 0:30:19Oh, this is the way to see this place.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23Look at the Catskills, isn't it beautiful?!
0:30:23 > 0:30:25- Yeah.- Oh, wow, this is amazing.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27And here's the Hudson.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30So, I can see the house right now.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33- Oh, can you?- If you look at that peak in front of us...
0:30:33 > 0:30:36- It's, kind of, really dark. - There it is. There it is.
0:30:36 > 0:30:37- Can you see it, Caroline? - No, I don't, I'm...
0:30:37 > 0:30:39- Oh, yes, I've just seen it.- Yeah.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41It's quite dark, it's quite hard to see, isn't it?
0:30:41 > 0:30:44What a glamorous way in. You said an approach is important for a house.
0:30:44 > 0:30:50- It is SO important.- This is quite an approach, isn't it?
0:30:54 > 0:30:56CAROLINE LAUGHS
0:30:57 > 0:30:59'What an entrance!
0:30:59 > 0:31:00'I feel like a Bond villain,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04'flying into my villainous secret lair.'
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Oh, Piers, it's quite glamorous!
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Piers, Piers, Piers!
0:31:08 > 0:31:10Look at it here with the helicopter in front of it.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13"Oh, I've been expecting you, Mr Bond!"
0:31:13 > 0:31:15THEY LAUGH
0:31:21 > 0:31:23This imposing structure almost
0:31:23 > 0:31:25launches itself into the forest clearing.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31But when Jay bought this virgin plot it was covered in trees.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33It took a month just to clear the site
0:31:33 > 0:31:35before they could start building.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Rather than create an oblong structure to sit across the view,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Jay cleverly rotated the plan 90 degrees
0:31:44 > 0:31:48to maximise the forest views from three sides.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53Due to strong winds, the house was constructed much like a skyscraper.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56The foundations are exposed concrete,
0:31:56 > 0:32:00with a steel superstructure used to create the height and strength
0:32:00 > 0:32:02within the building.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05Jay used a series of internal trusses and tension rods
0:32:05 > 0:32:09to hold this aircraft-hanger sized building completely rigid,
0:32:09 > 0:32:11retaining its millimetric precision.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17Continuous bands of tinted glass wrap around the house,
0:32:17 > 0:32:19mirroring the surrounding woodland.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22Piers, this is nice.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25I do love that reflection of those trees.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Yeah. And it is unusual to have a house pointing at the view,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31cos, typically, you'd orientate a house along the view...
0:32:31 > 0:32:34- Along the view, yes, absolutely. - ..and pointing out is unusual.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36- He deliberately chose to do that, didn't he?- Yeah.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39To focus the attention on the view.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41And also to get the view along that way.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43Listen, I've got the keys, do you want to go straight in?
0:32:43 > 0:32:45- I would love to go straight in.- Yeah?
0:32:45 > 0:32:47And the door works like a dream!
0:32:47 > 0:32:49And attention to detail.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53- Look at that. - Now, it's quite dark.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55Er...
0:32:55 > 0:32:57"System ready".
0:32:57 > 0:33:00"Room"? "Vestibule"? Hang on. Is this vestibule?
0:33:00 > 0:33:02- Yes! It is vestibule! - Look at that! wow!
0:33:04 > 0:33:06The interior of this state-of-the-art house
0:33:06 > 0:33:08exposes every detail of its
0:33:08 > 0:33:10highly engineered construction.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15A double-height open-plan living area
0:33:15 > 0:33:18provides panoramic views of the surrounding forest
0:33:18 > 0:33:21from every position inside this extraordinary home.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27AS BOND VILLAIN: So, do you like my home, Mr Taylor?
0:33:27 > 0:33:30The world will be mine!
0:33:30 > 0:33:35Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!
0:33:35 > 0:33:38I was suspicious, I have to say, when we arrived,
0:33:38 > 0:33:40because it's a big statement, let's face it, here.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44But the view is so dramatic, and then this room,
0:33:44 > 0:33:47I mean, this room is really majestic.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49- This is almost cathedral-like. - Sitting here and looking up,
0:33:49 > 0:33:53- I could be looking up at the roof of my local DIY superstore.- Yeah.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56- I mean, it's exactly like that.- Yeah.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00What is it that makes this so beautiful?
0:34:00 > 0:34:03There's real care, real consideration,
0:34:03 > 0:34:07and then you take off the shelf components like these little
0:34:07 > 0:34:09open Metsec trusses, we call them...
0:34:09 > 0:34:12- And you compose them...- Is that that one? That one that does that?
0:34:12 > 0:34:14- That's the ones that goes across. - The zig zaggy one.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16The zig zag ones. That's a really cheap, off the peg...
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- You see that everywhere. Normally it's orange...- Yeah.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22..but just to see it black, suddenly becomes very beautiful, doesn't it?
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Yeah. And I think, also, there's real refinement where you need it.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30So here, that is a beautiful bit of truss, and that's in tension,
0:34:30 > 0:34:34that's pulling quite hard, stopping the sides from wobbling around.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37I mean, there is real precision, alongside the everyday.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Stainless steel surfaces are featured throughout this house,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47capturing reflections of the surrounding environment.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49I like the staircase, the way it's...
0:34:49 > 0:34:52- It's beautiful.- Yeah.- I mean, look at this, Caroline. That...
0:34:52 > 0:34:55is a solid... You're aligning your chair.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58It's like a house that makes you be really neat. Do you do that at home?
0:34:58 > 0:35:00Do I hell. PIERS LAUGHS
0:35:00 > 0:35:03I mean, this is solid steel.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05It's so tactile.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08- Yeah.- All you want to do is stroke it
0:35:08 > 0:35:11all the way up the stairs.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14That is the most beautiful weld I've ever seen.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17- It's been made like a piece of jewellery.- It has.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20You know, it's really hard to impress me with this sort of stuff,
0:35:20 > 0:35:25but coming here and seeing the level of attention, the level of care,
0:35:25 > 0:35:26the level of passion...
0:35:26 > 0:35:30This is extraordinary because usually if we see this,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33it's in a building that has cost £150 million,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36the Gherkin or something, one of Foster's buildings,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39and to bring that level of thinking down to this scale
0:35:39 > 0:35:43is a real privilege and a delight to see.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45And, yes, I'm impressed by all of this.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47I am quite wowed by it, actually.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52Every single detail of this house is hi-tech.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56But I like my creature comforts,
0:35:56 > 0:35:58and there's no sign of a kettle anywhere.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01- I'm interested to see how it works, as well.- Yeah.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05So, I'd like you to make me a cup of tea.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08OK. So, this is the kitchen, and...
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Good test.... It has taps, it has sinks,
0:36:11 > 0:36:13there's a hob and an oven.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16- Oh, fridge, here we are. - SHE LAUGHS
0:36:16 > 0:36:19- Milk.- Milk, excellent.- Look!
0:36:19 > 0:36:21A cup of cha! Great.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25- So, tea...- Yeah.- ..cups. This can make hot water.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28So that says... "Alien"?
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Oh, "Align", I haven't got my glasses on.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32THEY LAUGH
0:36:32 > 0:36:34I need a power point now.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36- Here we are. Right, I'm going to bung a saucepan on.- Good idea.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40What's that, Piers? That little one? Is that soap?
0:36:40 > 0:36:42I think we've just blown up Russia(!)
0:36:42 > 0:36:43THEY LAUGH
0:36:43 > 0:36:45Oh, wave your hand about.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47- That one on. I think it's got a remote control.- Hang on.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49It's probably...turn it on with an app.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52- This isn't working.- Do you think it's voice activated?
0:36:52 > 0:36:54Make my tea - go!
0:36:54 > 0:36:56No, we're struggling here, aren't we?
0:36:56 > 0:36:59So, this is a house that is supposedly really easy to use,
0:36:59 > 0:37:00we know our way around,
0:37:00 > 0:37:02until we get to make a cup of tea.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04And it was going so well,
0:37:04 > 0:37:06until we tried to boil the water.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09- I'm going to persevere with this thing.- Izzy whizzy...
0:37:09 > 0:37:11SHE LAUGHS ..get busy!
0:37:11 > 0:37:15- This isn't on. This isn't on, Piers. This is not on.- It doesn't reach!
0:37:15 > 0:37:19- Are you serious?- I think I'm going for a lie-down. Do you mind?
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Hang on, hang on, hang on.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23How come I'm now making the cup of tea?
0:37:23 > 0:37:24You're making me a cup of tea.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26White, no sugar, thanks.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28I am going to go and have a lie down.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30- See you tomorrow. - See you later, Piers.
0:37:30 > 0:37:35I won't let this beat me. I'm a man, I know how to make things work.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37WHISPERS: Welcome to my library.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Ah look, you can see where the ideas come from, here.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44All these load-bearing structures from Germany.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48Here we go. A bit of lukewarm water. She won't notice.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50Here's your lovely cup of tea. You like it weak, don't you?
0:37:50 > 0:37:52Oh, Piers, you didn't get it going, did you?
0:37:52 > 0:37:55It's impossible. I think that is one of the problems
0:37:55 > 0:37:57with very elaborate houses like this,
0:37:57 > 0:37:59that when you come to do anything, it's too complex.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02- Do you think we're just ill-informed?- Probably just stupid.
0:38:02 > 0:38:03THEY LAUGH
0:38:03 > 0:38:05And foreign!
0:38:14 > 0:38:17After letting us explore his home, Jay's back,
0:38:17 > 0:38:20and he's brought his airline-pilot wife Cindy with him.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26- This is the first house you've built for yourself, isn't it?- Yes.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29- Right, right.- And you've been an architect for how long?
0:38:29 > 0:38:32- 40 years.- Yeah. It feels to me like there's a lifetime's worth
0:38:32 > 0:38:33of experience in this house.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37So, what it is, I think, it's a lifetime of knowing what not to do.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40It's not trying to be complicated, not trying to be flashy,
0:38:40 > 0:38:42not trying to be nouveau,
0:38:42 > 0:38:44not trying to be anything but just...
0:38:44 > 0:38:45Build something that you can see
0:38:45 > 0:38:47every part of the construction.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Were you involved in the early stage, Cindy?
0:38:50 > 0:38:51I found the lot.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53- Did you?- Yes. I came up here,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57it was just all woods and rock but it was just the view that...
0:38:57 > 0:39:01- was stunning.- So, the very second time we came up, this was the view.
0:39:01 > 0:39:06You're always sitting in the clouds or sitting in the colour red.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10- Yeah.- Or sunrise, that the objects take on a character.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12So, this is a typical sunrise.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16To achieve such incredible views of the forest,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Jay's construction team had to fell a patch of woodland,
0:39:20 > 0:39:24build a road and install utilities from scratch.
0:39:24 > 0:39:25This is the road being built.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28We built the road three times. It kept washing away.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30That was the single... I learned how to engineer a road
0:39:30 > 0:39:33- from the guy that...- Right. - ..built this road.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35- That's the...- Even finding the contractor,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38when we were looking for the team, we said, you know,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42it's a residential house but we were looking at commercial contractors,
0:39:42 > 0:39:45and they wouldn't look at us, and we're like, "Can you just
0:39:45 > 0:39:48"look at the drawings, because it's not your typical residential house."
0:39:48 > 0:39:53Executing Jay's vision of perfection was a slow process.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56The project required a team of highly skilled
0:39:56 > 0:39:58and talented master builders,
0:39:58 > 0:40:02who took three years to produce such an immaculately detailed home.
0:40:02 > 0:40:07I was looking for the botched welds and the clumsy connections,
0:40:07 > 0:40:08and there aren't any.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12We really got very excited by the quality of the welding on your stairs.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14I mean, it's so finely made.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16The guys that made that stair made the fittings on
0:40:16 > 0:40:19- the Pyramid at the Louvre in Paris. - CAROLINE GASPS
0:40:19 > 0:40:23And these are friends of ours that worked with us 30 years ago.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26That makes perfect sense.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28You brought a sensibility that is
0:40:28 > 0:40:31from buildings that cost millions and millions and millions
0:40:31 > 0:40:34of pounds into something that's of a domestic scale.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38Do you think this is pretty close to
0:40:38 > 0:40:40a kind of perfection for you?
0:40:40 > 0:40:43No. I think this... I'd like to do it again.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46Yeah... I think this is just a step along the way!
0:40:46 > 0:40:50We'll do another house on the property or something, a guest house, something like that.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52- I don't know.- But you still feel you've got more to say...?- Oh, yeah.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54You'd do it again, but would you do it again, Cindy?
0:40:54 > 0:40:56I would have to think about it.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58THEY LAUGH
0:40:58 > 0:41:00It was a long three years!
0:41:02 > 0:41:06Jay has let us continue to roam free in his extraordinary home.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09And I'm noticing a distinct lack of doors or walls
0:41:09 > 0:41:11dividing up rooms!
0:41:11 > 0:41:16Not that that seems to bother Piers "Oh, I'm so unconventional" Taylor!
0:41:16 > 0:41:20I mean, rooms are a bit suburban, really, aren't they?
0:41:20 > 0:41:21SHE LAUGHS
0:41:21 > 0:41:23That's such a Piers thing to say.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Well, I mean, you know, spaces are so much nicer.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28And, actually, this is a house that doesn't have any rooms,
0:41:28 > 0:41:30as far as I can see. I'm going to see if I can find some.
0:41:30 > 0:41:31Try and find me a door.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35Particularly, find one if it's on a lavatory, would you?
0:41:35 > 0:41:38Jay has taken open plan living to the extreme.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43He's used storage units to create a series of spaces with flexible uses.
0:41:43 > 0:41:44I hope this is a bed.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48Not just the wall collapsing on me!
0:41:48 > 0:41:52These storage partitions carve up this large space beautifully,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55without interrupting the forest views.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58It's a world away from the boxy rooms we're used to at home.
0:41:58 > 0:41:59Excuse me!
0:41:59 > 0:42:02I love the way that these aren't rooms.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04I think my least favourite two words,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07when you combine them in English, are "Master bedroom".
0:42:07 > 0:42:09I mean, it's just a ridiculous conceit,
0:42:09 > 0:42:11that you need a master bedroom.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13But I guess this is "The master bedroom".
0:42:13 > 0:42:14But actually, I mean...
0:42:14 > 0:42:19I love it, that's it's just part of a series and sequence of spaces.
0:42:24 > 0:42:25How interesting.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29- How interesting.- Just blown away by the craftsmanship, actually.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31The sheer brilliance of
0:42:31 > 0:42:34how he's executed his vision is mind-blowing.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38And really, I find what he's done extraordinary.
0:42:38 > 0:42:39This is a real one-off.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44You ordered the helicopter, didn't you?
0:42:44 > 0:42:45No. I thought you did.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49It's going to be a long walk back to the hotel.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51SHE SIGHS
0:42:52 > 0:42:54The last leg of our forest adventure
0:42:54 > 0:42:56takes us further afield.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04We've flown halfway around the world to New Zealand's North Island.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09We're about half an hour outside Auckland.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13- 45 minutes.- Yeah, I mean, if we were in London we'd be in Croydon now.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16And we're right on the edge of the world.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19We're heading to the village of Piha, on the west coast,
0:43:19 > 0:43:22home to the protected Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27This is ancient virgin bushland,
0:43:27 > 0:43:30and you have to be so careful when you build here.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34We're off to see an extraordinary home,
0:43:34 > 0:43:37built on a plot of land covered in the native pohutukawa tree.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41The owners wanted a three-bedroom house
0:43:41 > 0:43:44that could function both indoors and out.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49The architect's biggest challenge was to find a way of
0:43:49 > 0:43:51bringing the forest right into the house
0:43:51 > 0:43:54whilst having to navigate strict conservation laws.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59This house that we're going to is called Under Pohutukawa,
0:43:59 > 0:44:03and I think they had to clear as few trees from the site as possible,
0:44:03 > 0:44:06and then nestle the house in among the trees.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08I like that sort of challenge offered to architects,
0:44:08 > 0:44:10I think it's really important to say,
0:44:10 > 0:44:12"No, you can't just have a clear site,
0:44:12 > 0:44:14"you have to work with what's here,
0:44:14 > 0:44:16"and nature comes first and the building comes second."
0:44:16 > 0:44:18Oh, Piers, Piers, Piers. Slow down.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21- Are we here?- I think that's... It's here.- Here we are.
0:44:21 > 0:44:22Wow.
0:44:24 > 0:44:25Is there a house there at all?
0:44:25 > 0:44:28Mostly you can see trees.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31And that must be a pohutukawa tree.
0:44:31 > 0:44:32Shall we have a look?
0:44:40 > 0:44:42Oh, look...
0:44:42 > 0:44:43Oh!
0:44:43 > 0:44:47It's like an enchanted forest in here.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49I love this. I love the sense of ducking down
0:44:49 > 0:44:52under these beautiful branches.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55There's something about coming into these gnarled, sort of,
0:44:55 > 0:44:59very textured...almost like arms,
0:44:59 > 0:45:03coming in to being embraced by the arms of the pohutukawa trees.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05A lot of people would want to be by the sea,
0:45:05 > 0:45:06or in the mountains with the view,
0:45:06 > 0:45:09but I like to be in the forest, and this feels like coming home.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14To make way for the house in this indigenous woodland,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17the planners agreed to the removal of four pohutukawa trees.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22A two-storey open-plan living and dining area
0:45:22 > 0:45:24nestles into the site.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28Placed to the rear and side of the house,
0:45:28 > 0:45:31two wooden-clad towers create private areas
0:45:31 > 0:45:34for bedrooms and bathrooms.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37The entire building is enclosed by a large glass roof,
0:45:37 > 0:45:40which is supported by steel and timber struts,
0:45:40 > 0:45:44mimicking the branches of the surrounding trees.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46The texture of this bark set against
0:45:46 > 0:45:49the textures of that cladding -
0:45:49 > 0:45:50it's wonderful, isn't it?
0:45:50 > 0:45:53And the cladding is a little bit like the bark,
0:45:53 > 0:45:54in that it has real depth.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56It's got bits of timber in three different layers.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Yeah, it has, actually, hasn't it?
0:45:58 > 0:46:00Often contemporary buildings are really flat
0:46:00 > 0:46:02but this feels textured,
0:46:02 > 0:46:05layered and rich. And I love the way you can see through the building
0:46:05 > 0:46:07to the canopy the other side.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10Cos this house just sort of snuggles into the trees.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12- It does. It really does.- The trees snuggle it up.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15And then... What are...? They're like trees, aren't they?
0:46:15 > 0:46:17They are. They are called structural trees...
0:46:17 > 0:46:19Which is really a way of supporting the roof.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21So, when it goes up to the sky,
0:46:21 > 0:46:23you're not looking at huge bits of structure, but you're looking at
0:46:23 > 0:46:25delicate limbs.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27So, I think we need to find our way in.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31- I know, but it's hard to leave these trees, isn't it?- I know!
0:46:31 > 0:46:34Inside, the textures, tones and colours of this house
0:46:34 > 0:46:37are inspired by the trees that surround it.
0:46:37 > 0:46:38Wow.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41- I love this.- Ohh.
0:46:41 > 0:46:42It's quite special, actually.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45- It's really special.- It is. It is special.- It's really special.
0:46:46 > 0:46:51The glass roof and walls make the house seem almost transparent,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55allowing the surrounding forest to be viewed from every direction.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57- Check out this, Caroline.- Mmm.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01Look at this beautiful view back into the forest, here.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03- How exotic is that?- Yes.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06And, again, you're in the trees again!
0:47:06 > 0:47:07Totally in the trees.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10I love the fact that everything has a slightly, sort of,
0:47:10 > 0:47:14filigree notion to it, so you can see through everything.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18- It's great from here, actually. - That's extraordinary, isn't it? - Yeah, love that.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22Seeing through the lamp shade, through the structural trees,
0:47:22 > 0:47:23through the actual trees to the sky.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26Through the roof to the sky to the real trees.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28And I'm in love with this cladding.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30- It's great, isn't it?- I've not seen anything quite like it.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33- I really like this. And what are those holes for?- Don't know.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35- Ventilation holes... - Oh, is it a speaker?
0:47:35 > 0:47:38- Maybe it is.- Maybe it's...
0:47:38 > 0:47:42- Oops!- Look at that! - You've broken it?!
0:47:42 > 0:47:45- There's the TV and everything. - Oh, very cool.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47This is just plywood with bits of timber stuck on.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50So, that's quite an inexpensive way to do it, isn't it?
0:47:50 > 0:47:53- Totally.- And because they've used different widths,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56it looks expensive and interesting and architectural
0:47:56 > 0:47:58and sculptural, doesn't it?
0:47:58 > 0:48:02What's lovely is that it doesn't act as a block for your eye
0:48:02 > 0:48:04because it has depth, and your eye keeps travelling.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06- A little bit like the canopy again.- Yeah.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09And the building gets much more delicate
0:48:09 > 0:48:12- as it goes up...- Yeah. - ..like trees, and then it
0:48:12 > 0:48:15completely dematerialises against the sky, which is lovely.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19So, it feels like we're immersed in canopy all the time.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21Do you think this all opens up, Piers?
0:48:21 > 0:48:23Yeah, it does. These doors are all stacked down there.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Do you think we should have a go at opening it all up,
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- and actually getting the full experience?- I do.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30- I do.- So, just the structure remaining.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33Yeah, we will just have, kind of, the trunks of the building.
0:48:33 > 0:48:34Here we are.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37- Get your fingers out of the way.- Yep!
0:48:37 > 0:48:39- OK, I'm going all the way down.- Great.
0:48:40 > 0:48:42Beautiful bits of glass, aren't they?
0:48:42 > 0:48:44Massive. This is what we use on stage
0:48:44 > 0:48:47- when we move trucks on and off stage.- Yeah.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50You have a track in the floor to take bits of scenery
0:48:50 > 0:48:52on and off in exactly the same way.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55I love buildings that move, or bits of buildings that move.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58Why don't we do it more? We don't do enough of this, do we?
0:48:58 > 0:49:01You can muck about and change it, like a magic box, or something.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04Yeah. I think by law all houses should have to do this.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07And look, this suddenly creates a really good space, doesn't it?
0:49:07 > 0:49:11What's wonderful is that I don't know whether I'm inside or outside now,
0:49:11 > 0:49:14I'm just in a beautiful environment.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16Why don't architects do this more often?
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Cos I think this is one of the most valuable things that architects
0:49:19 > 0:49:20could be doing for us, really.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23People will tell you that we don't have the climate for it
0:49:23 > 0:49:25in the UK but, actually, we do.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29Because this isn't a warm day, this is 12, 13 degrees
0:49:29 > 0:49:32but because it faces the right way, and it's protected from the cold winds,
0:49:32 > 0:49:34it makes it a really usable space.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37- Because people want to be outside. - But historically, they didn't.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41Historically we were fearful of natural landscape,
0:49:41 > 0:49:43particularly quite wild landscapes like this.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47So, we retreated in, and we looked at it through a pair of doors
0:49:47 > 0:49:50or a little pair of windows.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53The owners of this house, Gary and Sherry,
0:49:53 > 0:49:55are property developers from Auckland.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00Challenged with building on a plot covered with pohutukawa trees,
0:50:00 > 0:50:02they enlisted award-winning architects,
0:50:02 > 0:50:04Lance and Nicola Herbst,
0:50:04 > 0:50:08to navigate the sacred trees and design their perfect holiday home.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12What was your brief to them? What were you after?
0:50:12 > 0:50:15Our brief was not a lot, actually.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18We wanted light, good indoor-outdoor flow
0:50:18 > 0:50:21- because we loved the outside a lot. - Yeah.- Three bedrooms...
0:50:21 > 0:50:22And that was about it, really.
0:50:22 > 0:50:26We had no concept of what sort of look we wanted.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29And what was the first thing that they gave to you?
0:50:29 > 0:50:31What was the first drawing like?
0:50:31 > 0:50:32- It was this.- It was this already?
0:50:32 > 0:50:34- Yes, it was.- Pretty much, yes.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38- When we saw it...- They were nervous, we were nervous!- We were nervous.
0:50:38 > 0:50:39I saw dollar signs in front of my eyes,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42thinking, "This is going to cost a lot of money."
0:50:42 > 0:50:43THEY LAUGH Yeah, yeah.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47So, we took it away for two to three weeks, and we mulled it over.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49- Did you make any changes to those initial drawings?- No.
0:50:49 > 0:50:51- No.- No?
0:50:51 > 0:50:54Well, it captured exactly what we wanted.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56We didn't know what we wanted until we saw it.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59When we saw it, it...
0:50:59 > 0:51:01We thought, "Yeah, that's what we want."
0:51:01 > 0:51:04We did put our utmost trust in the architects,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07and believed in them and their work and what they were capable of.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09They've got a skill you don't have,
0:51:09 > 0:51:13and they can see things we can't see, so we thought,
0:51:13 > 0:51:14"Let them go for it."
0:51:14 > 0:51:18I think that the design that the architects came up with
0:51:18 > 0:51:22made it easier to get through the council for consent.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24Cos they're really strict, aren't they?
0:51:24 > 0:51:27- They have preservation orders on all the trees.- Pretty much.- Very strict.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31When the trees came out, we had to have our arborist on site,
0:51:31 > 0:51:34the council had an arborist on site to make sure that
0:51:34 > 0:51:37they took out exactly...just these four,
0:51:37 > 0:51:40and that nothing else was damaged.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42Once the trees had been carefully removed,
0:51:42 > 0:51:46the house took 15 months to construct.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Gary acted as project manager,
0:51:48 > 0:51:52keeping the workers on schedule and their budget on track.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54- I was here every day.- Worked alongside the builder.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57- I was the catch-it and fetch-it man. - Were you?
0:51:57 > 0:51:59All the labouring work.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02All the labouring stuff that the others didn't want to do!
0:52:02 > 0:52:04So, do you know every inch of this building?
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Every little bit of it. Yeah.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09- Do you love the house?- We do. - Very much.- Yeah.
0:52:09 > 0:52:14How close to it is your dream house?
0:52:14 > 0:52:15Oh, for me, I think it's there.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17We're not looking for anything else.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19Probably feet first out of here!
0:52:19 > 0:52:20THEY LAUGH
0:52:22 > 0:52:26Gary has told me that there is more to this place than meets the eye.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29Apparently, there are some secret spaces to discover!
0:52:31 > 0:52:33I don't know what this bit is.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35It's like a sort of...
0:52:35 > 0:52:37I don't know... Reading area, or...?
0:52:37 > 0:52:40There's somewhere to lie down and sleep for the guests, or something,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43down there. What it does give you is a brilliant view
0:52:43 > 0:52:45of both sets of trees,
0:52:45 > 0:52:48the real trees and the architectural trees,
0:52:48 > 0:52:50which look wonderful from up here.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53And it gives you a very, very nice view of Piers Taylor.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55What do you think this is up here?
0:52:55 > 0:52:57It's anything you want it to be.
0:52:57 > 0:52:58And isn't that great?
0:52:58 > 0:53:01Because rooms, you know, that's so 20th century,
0:53:01 > 0:53:03so 19th century.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06It's a beautiful space to do whatever you want, and, critically,
0:53:06 > 0:53:08look at the trees.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11Mmm, see, I'm going to translate for those of you at home that aren't architects,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14It means, "It's a little corridor we didn't know what to do with."
0:53:14 > 0:53:16PIERS LAUGHS It's a waste of space...
0:53:16 > 0:53:19unlike anybody else here!
0:53:19 > 0:53:22There's something kind of wonderful about the... Oops!
0:53:22 > 0:53:23- Where have you gone? - THEY LAUGH
0:53:23 > 0:53:26- Are you still alive?- I've just found...
0:53:26 > 0:53:27I found a secret door!
0:53:27 > 0:53:29SHE LAUGHS
0:53:29 > 0:53:32And there's a bedroom behind me!
0:53:32 > 0:53:34You're lucky you didn't fall down a big hole.
0:53:34 > 0:53:39Mmm, it's a very, very nice bedroom.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41Quite woody.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44But very simple because it's not about being inside,
0:53:44 > 0:53:47cos this place is all about the trees.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55I can hear the sea,
0:53:55 > 0:53:57I can smell the trees...
0:53:59 > 0:54:01..and there's nothing there!
0:54:01 > 0:54:04I think that's really brilliant.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12Many people think of buildings in terms of what shape they are
0:54:12 > 0:54:13and what colour they are,
0:54:13 > 0:54:17but this house is so much about transparency and breaking down
0:54:17 > 0:54:18the mass of the building.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21If you cut a section through this house,
0:54:21 > 0:54:25a solid bedroom block like this
0:54:25 > 0:54:28and a series of decks that move up and down
0:54:28 > 0:54:31to get you into the house, but in theory,
0:54:31 > 0:54:34these bedroom pods would be a very big block,
0:54:34 > 0:54:36so what this architect has cleverly done
0:54:36 > 0:54:39is provide a solid roof there,
0:54:39 > 0:54:41then a transparent roof,
0:54:41 > 0:54:44and then he's held up that transparent roof
0:54:44 > 0:54:47on the series of structural trees
0:54:47 > 0:54:50that allow you to see
0:54:50 > 0:54:53right the way through the house.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55And I think what happens ultimately,
0:54:55 > 0:54:58is that you forget the building's there
0:54:58 > 0:55:00and you really feel like you're in the canopy.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06To dig further into the challenges this house presented,
0:55:06 > 0:55:10I'm meeting one half of the architect duo, Lance Herbst.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12This is an extraordinary site.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15Tell me what it was like for you first coming here?
0:55:15 > 0:55:17So, coming to the site, was one of those things,
0:55:17 > 0:55:19you looked at the site and it was essentially
0:55:19 > 0:55:2299% covered in a mature pohutukawa forest
0:55:22 > 0:55:24and you're first feeling is,
0:55:24 > 0:55:26"We're never going to get a consent for this."
0:55:26 > 0:55:28It was one of those that was so difficult
0:55:28 > 0:55:30that we knew that the only way we knew we'd be able to
0:55:30 > 0:55:33even get a consent was to come in with something very poetic.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36And your first diagram for a building that nestled
0:55:36 > 0:55:39- under these trees, what was that? - It was trees.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41Yeah. It was one of those.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43It's an old... I mean, it's not a brand-new way of thinking.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46Like, throughout the history of modernism,
0:55:46 > 0:55:48there had been people who had tried to do buildings that are that,
0:55:48 > 0:55:52kind of, reference to trees, so it literally was a case of,
0:55:52 > 0:55:54"OK, we've got to have a go at this". And I mean, as you know,
0:55:54 > 0:55:56as an architect, it's an incredibly...
0:55:56 > 0:55:59It's tight rope you walk. It can go spectacularly wrong.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Building on this site involved sacrificing four ancient
0:56:05 > 0:56:07pohutukawa trees,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10and fuelled a passionate response from the architects.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13We just felt that we needed to do something
0:56:13 > 0:56:16that was a kind of... A memory of the trees that we had cut down.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18So, we started using a number of metaphors
0:56:18 > 0:56:20inside of that tree language.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23You will notice, that even though these are very much tree structures,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25they are also very geometrically rigorous.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28It's an element which is neither man-made nor neither organic.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31Because of course, when you try to mimic a tree, it looks ridiculous,
0:56:31 > 0:56:34but here there is a tautness and a crispness.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38The branches and trunks of these load-bearing structural trees
0:56:38 > 0:56:42not only support the glass roof but also had to withstand
0:56:42 > 0:56:45the rigours of the New Zealand's seismic terrain.
0:56:45 > 0:56:46In New Zealand, we have a...
0:56:46 > 0:56:49You know, it's a country of earthquakes. We have a seismic code,
0:56:49 > 0:56:53so this structure needs to resist forces that actually aren't present
0:56:53 > 0:56:56until they happen. So, structurally, there are massive, you know,
0:56:56 > 0:56:58steel beams going through the roof
0:56:58 > 0:57:00and tying back, and tying back, into that roof
0:57:00 > 0:57:05to give the building resistance in the event of an earthquake.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08Architects design and build a lot of buildings in their careers,
0:57:08 > 0:57:10but only a few are really special.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Tell me whether this building is one of those for you?
0:57:12 > 0:57:14- Oh, yes. - HE LAUGHS
0:57:14 > 0:57:16Yeah, this one will be hard to beat.
0:57:16 > 0:57:18It was one of those moments where everything came together.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20You know Gary and Sherry aren't clients, they're patrons,
0:57:20 > 0:57:23and it's a completely different approach that someone takes
0:57:23 > 0:57:26when they set about to make a building that is a piece of art,
0:57:26 > 0:57:28compared to making shelter.
0:57:30 > 0:57:34When we arrived, just being here amongst these trees,
0:57:34 > 0:57:36I knew it was going to be special, but I don't think I realised
0:57:36 > 0:57:38quite how special it was going to be.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41A building like this happens maybe three or four times
0:57:41 > 0:57:43in an architect's career,
0:57:43 > 0:57:46and this reminds me of why I became an architect.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49You're always looking for this opportunity, that is so rare,
0:57:49 > 0:57:53when everything comes together - perfect site, perfect client,
0:57:53 > 0:57:54perfect brief.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57It's perfection in the pohutukawas.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04'Next time, Piers and I will be exploring some of the most
0:58:04 > 0:58:07'extraordinary coastal homes in the world...'
0:58:07 > 0:58:09Oh! It's so beautiful!
0:58:09 > 0:58:13'..to discover how architects have overcome the challenges of building
0:58:13 > 0:58:15'incredible homes by the water.'
0:58:15 > 0:58:19This is the pile that's stopping the whole house tipping into the sea.