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8:57pm
Maggie’s Centre by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners WINS THE 2009 RIBA STIRLING PRIZE. Ruth Reed, President of the RIBA, presents the award to Richard Rogers, a previous winner for Barajas International Airport. Our congratulations go out to Richard and colleagues, and commiserations to the four other practices that made the shortlist. Any of the nominees would make a worthy winner.

8:51pm
Not long now… So exciting. There’s apprehension in the air.

8:42pm
He gets about a bit, doesn’t he? Kevin’s now in rural Denmark at the Fuglsang Kunstmuseum. It’s very Danish, and by that I mean effortlessly cool, as well as being both warm and modern. Its layout would require a visit to properly appreciate I think – might dust off the 4Homes expenses account and go have a look. This was the favourite with the bookies, which means it most likely won’t win. By the way, it’s a crazy architect that tells the client their brief is wrong! Tony Fretton must be a brave man.

8:38pm
Argh, now I’m torn. Maggie’s Centre in Hammersmith is quite special. Kudos to Richard Rogers for this, his second building on the 2009 shortlist. It’s marvellous that every aspect of the design is geared towards comfort and relaxation, as well as to both interaction and introspection. It’s an exceptional project, and would make a very worthy winner.

8:32pm
My own personal favourite – Kentish Town Health Centre by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. As all buildings should be, this is designed to serve its visitors down to the very finest detail. This is the bookies’ longest shot, but the RIBA Stirling Prize judges don’t always pick the odds-on favourite. Anyone else mildly uncomfortable with Kevin toying with an examination light?

8:27pm
Grand Designs Trade Secrets presenters Deborah Saunt and Tom Dyckhoff look very excited to be at the architectural equivalent of the Oscars. No word on who they’re rooting for, though – Kevin’s too coy to ask.

8:21pm
Time for 5 Aldermanbury Square to shine… quite literally. It’s coated in polished steel and glass, making it rather reflective. We’ve got Eric Parry to thank for this fine addition to London’s skyline. At 18 storeys high the views across London are magnificent, and the architects have made the most of this. Inside there are mixed materials, including timber, marble and more steel and glass. The building has a timeless, impenetrable feel to it, but and yet maintains at least a degree of grace. As Kevin points out rather more eloquently, this building blurs the lines between strong, masculine architecture and the curves and soft lines more often labelled feminine.

8:18pm
Kevin mentions that one architect will win and five will go home empty-handed. However Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners are nominated twice, for Maggie’s Centre in London and Bodegas Protos. To be fair, he may have had a vino or two.

8:11pm
After a quick ad break, Kevin returns to take us on a tour around Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ Bodegas Protos. It’s a winery built to mimic the underground caverns used to ferment and store wine in days gone by. Those timber-clad curved roofs also play on the shape of wine barrel. The building has a central courtyard for staff and visitors to relax in, and critically the wine store is kept at a constant 16C not by electronic means, but rather by utilising the thermal mass of the land in which it sits.

8:04pm
Kevin’s short film about Liverpool One emphasises the enormous scale of the project – 500 new homes, 42 acres, and 26 separate architects are involved in the regeneration of the city, under the single banner of Liverpool One. Great moment when Kevin sits in the chair of Herbert, ‘hairdresser to the stars.’ Multinational architecture and design practice BDP will accept the gong if this masterplan wins over the judges.

8:02pm
Two medical buildings, an art gallery, a winery, an office block and an entire city centre make up this year’s shortlist. An eclectic mix that includes two buildings by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

7:59pm
In case you were wondering, the bookies are offering the following odds.
Fuglsang Kunstmuseum – 6/4
Maggie’s Centre – 9/2
Bodegas Protos – 9/2
Liverpool One Masterplan – 5/1
5 Aldermanbury Square – 5/1
Kentish Town Health Centre – 6/1

7:55pm
Kevin McCloud heads from his Grand Tour of Rome to Old Billingsgate, London where nerves are no doubt jangling…

Who do you think will win the RIBA Stirling Prize 2009? Leave your comments below…

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This time it’s the Killearn Loch House Grand Design that’s up for grabs. From memory it’s got a lovely cantilevered staircase, and as the owner you have the ability to raise and lower the water level of the loch so that you’ll never be flooded.

Savills are listing it at £1.9million. I happen to know that this is my mum’s all-time favourite Grand Design, but she won’t be getting it for Christmas…

For more on the sale, check out the Primelocation Blog.

Like this Grand Design? Loathe it? Let us know by leaving your comments below…

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Seems the curved house in Clapham is up for grabs… FindaProperty have all the info over on their blog.

For the episode guide, click here.

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Sounds as though if you’ve got £50,000 to dismantle, transport and rebuild it, it’s yours…

Read the full story here.

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This week, our insatiable hunger for property porn led us to contemporary coastal homes. The collection below brings together some of the finest modern mansions the UK housing market has to offer, and they’re all perched atop cliffs, overlooking harbours or a stone’s throw from the beach.

Click on the photos to see the full listings, complete with lots more pics for you to drool over. All properties were found using the 4Homes Property Search. read more

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This week, my Tuesday evening was occupied with Property Snakes & Ladders and Thursday by The Home Show. Nestled snugly in between, my Wednesday viewing entailed a feature length documentary by the name of Garbage Warrior.

The film focuses on mildly hippyish West coast architect Michael Reynolds, who has dedicated his entire adult life to studying, experimenting with and finally perfecting sustainable building methods. He specialises in earthships, much like the Brittany Groundhouse Grand Design. read more

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Earlier in the week a friendly and obviously gifted architect by the name of Guz Wilkinson emailed me. He’s a Brit based in Singapore, and has been cursed with the unenviable task of travelling across the globe, designing and building beautiful eco houses. Tough life, no?

One look at his work was enough to have me drooling all over the 4Homes office.

If you’d like to contact Guz, or just peruse more photos of his eye-popping work, you can do so at www.guzarchitects.com

Like Guz’s designs? Are you building an eco house? Please leave your comments below…

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Every now and then I hear about a unique property so interesting that my imagination instantly starts running away with me. This disused water tower in Warwickshire is no exception. With a guide price of £25,000 and wonderful views over rolling farmland, if ever a property were ripe for the Grand Designs treatment then this is it. read more

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The price is only available on application and it won’t come cheap, but the house that was crowned winner of Channel 5’s ‘I Own Britain’s Best Home’ is on the market to either buy or rent. The guys over at Primelocation drew our attention to it, and if you’re a fan of Grand Designs it could be right up your proverbial street.

read more

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