00:00:06
George Clark, welcome to my podcast.
00:00:08
Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
00:00:10
>> You literally like just walked in and we
00:00:11
just sat down. You had a couple of
00:00:13
canceled Ubers, so you've been um
00:00:15
walking here in the awkward humidity.
00:00:17
>> That's why I'm looking a bit hot and
00:00:18
sweaty with slightly greasy looking hair
00:00:20
today and so apologies for that. So, how
00:00:22
are you? What brings you to NZ?
00:00:24
>> Um I'm filming a new series actually.
00:00:26
It's um it's a kind of co-commission uh
00:00:29
between Sky Orin and Channel 4. So
00:00:31
Channel 4's they're my bosses in the UK
00:00:34
basically. Um and I'm doing about a
00:00:36
whole series about Homes in the Wilds.
00:00:38
George Clark's Homes in the Wilds. You
00:00:40
probably noticed that when you look
00:00:42
online, every single program's got my
00:00:43
name in front of us just in case people
00:00:45
forget who I am.
00:00:47
>> There are there is actually Well, now
00:00:49
I've got the list here. So there's um
00:00:50
Oh,
00:00:50
>> you're not going to go through them all,
00:00:51
are you? There's all
00:00:52
>> George You've only got an hour. Sorry.
00:00:55
George Clark's Amazing Spaces. I think
00:00:56
that's the one that most people in New
00:00:58
Zealand probably associate with you.
00:01:00
>> Yeah, I think it's probably the biggest
00:01:02
globally really in
00:01:03
>> fairness. Uh there's also Build a New
00:01:05
Life in the Country, The Home Show, The
00:01:07
Restoration Man. Oh, that's a big one
00:01:08
here as well. Restoration Man. Um Old
00:01:11
House, New Home.
00:01:12
>> Yeah.
00:01:12
>> Ugly House to Lovely House.
00:01:14
>> Yeah.
00:01:14
>> Is that the lot or
00:01:15
>> There's a few more, but there really go
00:01:18
there. Yeah, there's definitely more.
00:01:19
Flipping fast was a series that I made.
00:01:21
Yeah, we can go on and on, but I won't.
00:01:23
>> Yeah. Amazing. So, um, yeah. How's New
00:01:25
Zealand been? You've been I follow you
00:01:27
on Instagram. So, you've been here for a
00:01:28
while. I've been here for a month. Uh,
00:01:30
over a month, actually. It's been great.
00:01:32
So, we've actually just finished
00:01:33
yesterday the New Zealand leg of the
00:01:36
series. So, I'm doing four episodes in
00:01:38
New Zealand, two episodes in Australia.
00:01:40
So, I head off on Monday um to
00:01:43
Australia. But New Zealand's great. I
00:01:44
mean, I've been many times before. I
00:01:46
love it. You know, great people,
00:01:48
beautiful landscapes, and um yeah, great
00:01:51
houses. Thankfully, that's why I'm here
00:01:53
to see homes in the wild. So, we've been
00:01:55
the the the premise of this series is is
00:01:58
not just about wild homes, but um homes
00:02:00
on islands, kind of island living,
00:02:02
off-grid, predominantly off-rid living.
00:02:04
So, yeah, I've been at Great Barrier. I
00:02:06
came back from Malra Sounds yesterday. I
00:02:08
was in Rakino.
00:02:10
Uh I was in Caro. Um not carow as people
00:02:14
call it here. How do you pronounce it?
00:02:16
How do you
00:02:17
>> I don't know what island you're talking
00:02:18
about. Do you know?
00:02:19
>> Was it Kawwo?
00:02:22
K A W A U.
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>> I don't know how to spell it. Anyway,
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>> I can't even speak English properly. I'm
00:02:26
trying to get around the New Zealand
00:02:27
pronunciations of stuff. Never mind,
00:02:29
spell it. No, car wash. It's not too far
00:02:31
from here. But um yeah, I think a lot of
00:02:33
K say carow, which is not the right
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pronunciation.
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>> Do you do you get recognized in New
00:02:37
Zealand quite a bit? Have you been
00:02:38
recognized when you've been out and
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about?
00:02:40
>> Yeah, just a bit. A lot. Yeah, know a
00:02:42
lot actually. I think the shows Well,
00:02:44
you probably know about them. I think
00:02:45
the shows do really well. Um Amazing
00:02:48
Spaces, as you mentioned, is the biggest
00:02:49
brand really. I think it's it's such a
00:02:52
unique program. I mean, I'm making
00:02:54
season 14 of that at the minute. It's
00:02:56
been going since 2012.
00:02:59
Um, and it's funny actually because if
00:03:01
you think, you know, I'm a trained
00:03:03
architect and, you know, I've done all
00:03:04
this kind of very serious education for
00:03:06
many, many years. And, uh, and yeah,
00:03:09
Amazing Spaces is about kind of caravans
00:03:11
and camper vans and tree houses and
00:03:14
quirky, quite unusual, bizarre builds.
00:03:17
Really quite eccentric. It's quite an
00:03:18
eccentric series which is what I love
00:03:20
about it. Um,
00:03:21
>> but yeah, I get recognized quite a lot
00:03:22
here. It's great. I mean, everyone's
00:03:23
lovely. Everyone's so adorable. I mean,
00:03:25
you know, everyone's super positive
00:03:27
about the programs and you all love your
00:03:29
houses and your DIY, you know, obsessed
00:03:32
as the Brits are about property really.
00:03:34
So, um,
00:03:35
>> no, it's good fun. It's great.
00:03:37
>> What do people say when they come up to
00:03:38
you?
00:03:40
>> That's quite a good question. The reason
00:03:42
why I'm laughing so loudly is, and I I
00:03:45
don't mean to offend anybody, I'll just
00:03:47
get that caveat out there beforehand,
00:03:49
right? The phrase for some reason that
00:03:52
New Zealanders say to me as soon as the
00:03:55
I think I think I'm going to get some
00:03:57
some excuses in just in case I do offend
00:03:59
somebody. I think because you you're
00:04:01
you're such a beautiful remote country,
00:04:02
you're a million miles away from
00:04:04
anywhere, which is what makes it
00:04:05
amazing. You know, you've kind of got
00:04:06
everything that you need here. You've
00:04:09
got everything. You know, you've got
00:04:10
great wine country, beautiful walks,
00:04:12
outdoor sports, great restaurants. You
00:04:15
know, you've got you do everything. You
00:04:16
produce so much of your own stuff. But I
00:04:18
think everyone's quite surprised that
00:04:19
people come here cuz it's so far away.
00:04:21
So the phrase is, "Hi, George. How long
00:04:25
are you here?"
00:04:27
Right now, I thought it was like people
00:04:29
trying to get rid of me. It's like, is
00:04:30
he here for a week? Is he going to get
00:04:31
lost? Is he going to stay for a month?
00:04:33
You know, do we have to call
00:04:34
immigration? And and honestly, the
00:04:36
phrase is, "Hey, George, how long are
00:04:38
you here?" And I think it's in in
00:04:41
fairness, I think it's like a sense of
00:04:42
pride because you're chuffed to bits
00:04:43
that people have traveled so far to come
00:04:45
because you are quite remote. Um, and I
00:04:48
think people are genuinely intrigued.
00:04:50
Why have you come? Why are you here? How
00:04:51
long are you here? Um, and I kind of it
00:04:53
makes me laugh because I'll say, "Does
00:04:55
it make any difference whether I'm here
00:04:56
for two nights or two weeks?" And they
00:04:57
go, "Nah, no, really. Stay as long as
00:04:59
you want, mate." But that is the number
00:05:00
one question that honestly it's even
00:05:03
even what are you doing here comes after
00:05:05
that. It's a time thing. By the way,
00:05:07
that is the most um English thing ever
00:05:09
that you thought people might be
00:05:10
offended by that. That's another thing
00:05:13
about most New Zealanders aren't easily
00:05:14
offended. You'd have I thought you were
00:05:16
about to say something really shock.
00:05:17
>> No, no, no, no. I got to say anything
00:05:19
shocking about New Zealanders. It's
00:05:22
>> I'm genuinely the most positive people.
00:05:23
Really welcoming people. People bend
00:05:25
over backwards.
00:05:26
>> What is your favorite place in the NZ?
00:05:28
Ooh,
00:05:30
that's too difficult. I think
00:05:33
uh I mean I love the Coramandal,
00:05:34
beautiful coastline. I I would Malra
00:05:37
Sounds right up there. I'd never been
00:05:39
before until um Monday, Monday, Tuesday
00:05:42
this week I flew out and I left there
00:05:44
yesterday and I even did a piece of the
00:05:46
camera saying it's one of the most
00:05:47
beautiful places I've been to in my
00:05:48
life. It's just so beautiful with all
00:05:51
the lakes and the mountains and I know
00:05:52
the weather can be pretty kind of
00:05:54
turbulent in that part of the world, but
00:05:57
>> you got Queenstown. I mean, the list can
00:05:59
go on and on. I've traveled around New
00:06:00
Zealand a lot. I came here the first
00:06:02
time in
00:06:04
>> 2016, I think, for Amazing Spaces. Um,
00:06:06
and I've been back many times since.
00:06:08
I've got family here. My my uncle
00:06:10
>> Your uncle and auntie um you read about
00:06:11
this. Where where are they?
00:06:12
>> They're in Hamilton,
00:06:13
>> right? Um they've got a little batch in
00:06:15
in F tour and um I stay at the batch
00:06:18
quite a lot and yeah it was it was
00:06:21
brilliant for me actually. So my my
00:06:22
without boring people for too long um my
00:06:26
you know I'm from the northeast of
00:06:27
England from a place called Sunderland
00:06:28
which is about 8 10 milesi away from
00:06:30
Newcastle and um my uncle he was a
00:06:34
soccer player and he was playing for
00:06:36
Newcastle back in the day. this is in
00:06:37
the early 80s and he got picked up by a
00:06:40
a soccer scout to come to New Zealand
00:06:42
and he immigrated here. I think he was
00:06:44
like 19 or something. He was really
00:06:45
young. Um and he was my hero my uncle
00:06:48
Stewart. He still is. He's he's there in
00:06:50
Hamilton. And uh when he left I mean he
00:06:52
couldn't have got any further away from
00:06:54
from Sunderland, you know what I mean?
00:06:55
It's God knows how many miles to get to
00:06:57
to Dun Eden which is where we landed.
00:07:00
And so when I was growing up, when I was
00:07:01
a very young teenager, I was like 12,
00:07:03
13, 14, New Zealand was like the dream
00:07:07
place for our family. Whenever he sent
00:07:08
kind of newspaper cutings of him playing
00:07:10
soccer and he'd send postcards and he'd
00:07:13
take photographs, get them printed and
00:07:14
send them back to England. And we we
00:07:16
just looked at New Zealand think that
00:07:17
was absolute paradise. And it and it
00:07:19
kind of is.
00:07:20
Is such a long way to come though, isn't
00:07:22
it? It is. How long you here? Yeah,
00:07:25
that's why we ask. Um I I put on
00:07:27
Instagram that you were coming here and
00:07:28
there's heaps of questions. Um mainly
00:07:30
architecture based um uh we'll get to
00:07:33
them but yeah first of all like um when
00:07:34
it comes to New Zealand like
00:07:35
architecture design and style. What are
00:07:37
we doing right and what are we doing
00:07:38
wrong?
00:07:39
>> Um you're very good uh with ecological
00:07:42
design. You're very good at building
00:07:43
houses that blended with nature which
00:07:45
I'm a massive fan of. I think it's one
00:07:46
of the reasons why I love your
00:07:47
architecture here so much. You know I'm
00:07:49
obviously into sustainable design and
00:07:51
buildings that work in harmony with the
00:07:54
landscape rather than fight against it.
00:07:55
And I'm really really impressed by some
00:07:57
of the houses. I mean, some of them
00:07:59
blend in with the surroundings really,
00:08:01
really beautifully. I've seen some
00:08:02
fantastic pieces of architecture in the
00:08:04
last few weeks.
00:08:05
>> So, I'd put that right up there. Um,
00:08:08
what do you do badly? Don't worry, not
00:08:11
much really. Just avoid building in too
00:08:13
much plastic. I would say I've seen a
00:08:15
lot of plastic
00:08:16
>> on It's one of the It's the same in in
00:08:18
England. You know, you some of the kind
00:08:20
of mass built suburban stuff can
00:08:22
sometimes not look great because it's
00:08:25
just rolled out on a big scale or like
00:08:27
McMansions, do you mean or
00:08:29
>> or just like preab just just just boring
00:08:32
if you know what I mean? I just don't
00:08:34
like middle of the road boring stuff. I
00:08:36
think do I think there's no excuse for
00:08:37
bad design, right? Like genuinely, I
00:08:39
think there's no So people say, "Oh, we
00:08:41
didn't have the budget." It's like, you
00:08:42
know what I mean? I worked on some
00:08:44
really lowbudget projects
00:08:46
>> in my architectural practice back in the
00:08:47
day and we never built anything bad.
00:08:49
>> You know what I mean? So I think I think
00:08:51
sometimes like lazy design produces poor
00:08:54
quality buildings. I don't think it's
00:08:56
just about budget. Obviously budgets can
00:08:58
be a challenge. I get that. But
00:08:59
>> yeah, just I just don't like boring. I
00:09:01
just don't like middle of the road
00:09:02
stuff. I don't think there's much of an
00:09:03
excuse for it.
00:09:04
>> Yeah. And not that I want to [ __ ] on my
00:09:06
own back door step, but I'm guessing
00:09:08
like cuz you're you're the architecture
00:09:10
guy, so whoever's like driving you
00:09:12
around is is isn't going to take you to,
00:09:14
you know, the rather pedestrian areas
00:09:17
like
00:09:18
>> but but I've driven myself around a lot.
00:09:19
I mean, I've driven, you know, I've I've
00:09:22
literally hired cars and driven all over
00:09:24
New Zealand, mainly the North Island. Um
00:09:26
I tried to drive all the way from
00:09:28
Oakland um down to Queenstown and
00:09:30
realized just how big your country was
00:09:32
and that I was losing a lot of time. So
00:09:34
I end up driving from Oakland to
00:09:36
Wellington. You're Palmerston North,
00:09:38
aren't you?
00:09:38
>> Yeah, I went through Palmer.
00:09:39
>> How did How did you know that?
00:09:40
>> Check you out.
00:09:43
>> There is that Palmer North is not an
00:09:45
amazing
00:09:45
>> I went through Palmer North. I stopped.
00:09:47
I had some Thai food in Palmston North
00:09:49
when I was on my little road trip. I
00:09:50
remember.
00:09:50
>> How was the food poisoning?
00:09:51
>> It was good, actually. Yeah. Yeah. It
00:09:52
took me months to get over it. No, I'm
00:09:54
joking.
00:09:54
>> Um and then I got to Wellington. I was
00:09:57
like, I'm going to have to take a flight
00:09:58
to Queenstown. This country is way
00:09:59
bigger than I thought.
00:10:01
>> I've driven around all sorts of areas in
00:10:02
New Zealand. It's not like I've had a
00:10:04
driver just taking me around the posh
00:10:06
bits.
00:10:06
>> Yeah. Oh, well, I stalked to you on
00:10:08
Instagram. You've done well for yourself
00:10:09
here. You had an Aston Martin for a
00:10:11
while. You had a Polestar electric car
00:10:13
for a while.
00:10:13
>> Do you know I get everyone's so generous
00:10:15
in using I got given a pair of socks
00:10:16
this morning
00:10:18
>> from where?
00:10:19
>> I thought that was adorable.
00:10:20
>> What's the context?
00:10:21
>> I went in and I went in and bought these
00:10:22
trainers. Can I put this on?
00:10:23
>> Yeah, of course. These are Reebok. I
00:10:25
actually post I normally don't post
00:10:26
about these like that, but these are a
00:10:27
classic pair of Reebok trainers. And
00:10:29
I've never bought Reebok since I was 16.
00:10:31
And the the guys in the shop were like
00:10:33
absolutely brilliant. And I bought them
00:10:35
and I walked out and uh I was texting
00:10:37
someone back in the UK as I walked back
00:10:39
towards Queen Street. And I must have
00:10:41
been there for about 10 minutes and then
00:10:42
the guy just came running out the shop
00:10:44
and said, "My boss wanted you to have
00:10:46
these socks.
00:10:48
Your response was amazing. It's just so
00:10:51
random." But then so yeah then then
00:10:53
coming back to your point um I drove a
00:10:55
very ecological um uh polestar um which
00:11:00
I drove around on camera a lot as well
00:11:01
which was really beautiful and then I
00:11:03
went off that car had to go back um for
00:11:05
lots of boring reasons and then um uh
00:11:08
Gilt trap uh gave me a Aston Martin
00:11:11
DB12. I'm a big Aston Martin fan. It was
00:11:13
my dream dream car when I was a kid. you
00:11:15
know, James Bond, British built,
00:11:17
beautiful design. Um, yeah, kind of
00:11:20
classic piece of design. Uh, I'm not
00:11:22
really into kind of cars that are too
00:11:25
showy, you know, like Lamborghinis and
00:11:27
Ferraris and all that sort of stuff, but
00:11:29
the Aston Martin for me was always a
00:11:30
dream from Bond films when I was a kid.
00:11:32
I bought my first one secondhand, by the
00:11:34
way. I didn't go out and buy a new one.
00:11:36
I bought a secondhand one years ago.
00:11:37
>> He's a man of the people.
00:11:38
>> No, no, not even that. It was just like,
00:11:42
it's cuz I'm too tight. I'm from the
00:11:43
northeast of England. and I just didn't
00:11:44
want to pay all the VAT. Um, so now I
00:11:47
got a DB9 back in the day and realized
00:11:49
it was completely impractical when I had
00:11:50
kids and um got rid of it. So yeah, I
00:11:52
had this at the Martin DB12 which I will
00:11:55
genuinely say was the best car I've ever
00:11:57
driven in my life. It was beautiful. And
00:11:58
to take it to Wahiki,
00:12:00
>> I mean, bit over the top, you know,
00:12:02
people kind of saw me on the ferry and
00:12:04
probably thought I was a right dick.
00:12:06
>> Um, and that was without the car. No,
00:12:08
I'm joking.
00:12:09
>> It's It's interesting though. So you you
00:12:11
get to the point where you know I don't
00:12:13
know like you you're f you became famous
00:12:15
quite quite old like 30-ish I guess.
00:12:18
>> Yeah. Yeah. That was it took me seven
00:12:21
years to train as an architect. I didn't
00:12:22
get out university until I was 24 25 cuz
00:12:25
30 old 30 years being
00:12:27
>> old. Well not not like I'm I'm old as
00:12:30
[ __ ] I'm 52 but it's not like not like
00:12:31
boy band.
00:12:32
>> I'm only two years behind you. I'm not
00:12:34
that far. No, no. I mean, yeah.
00:12:36
Genuinely, I started university at 18
00:12:38
and you don't it took um it's seven
00:12:40
years of architectural studies and I
00:12:42
took an extra year when I was working in
00:12:44
Hong Kong for a while. So,
00:12:45
>> you know, I was kind of 25 26 when I
00:12:48
finished all my studies and then started
00:12:50
in TV when I was 29.
00:12:52
>> Yeah. Okay. So, well, let's talk about
00:12:54
your journey and a bit of the
00:12:55
background. So, um I believe um your
00:12:58
granddad, he introduced you to
00:12:59
architecture uh with with books.
00:13:01
>> Yeah. Yeah. He bought me. So my granddad
00:13:03
was a builder. They both were, right? Uh
00:13:05
both my granddads. Yeah. But my mom's
00:13:07
dad um Edward, he was he was a builder.
00:13:11
He he put his hands to anything really.
00:13:13
He worked on a farm when he was younger,
00:13:14
when he was very very young cuz he had
00:13:16
to kind of provide for the family. And
00:13:17
he ended up becoming a a troll and a
00:13:19
fisherman in the later in his later
00:13:21
parts of his years. And um but yeah, he
00:13:23
was a builder. And when he was he used
00:13:25
to take me to building sites, he used to
00:13:26
push muk around. He would build all
00:13:28
sorts of stuff. And um it bought me the
00:13:31
glossery of architectural terms when I
00:13:33
was 11 12 years old. And I I knew at 12
00:13:36
I used to draw a lot and sketch a lot.
00:13:37
My granddad was a builder. I spent time
00:13:39
on building sites. So I knew I wanted to
00:13:41
be in building somehow. But I love to
00:13:43
draw. My dad was a bit of a kind of
00:13:45
amida cartoonist. He used to love
00:13:47
drawing and doing cartoons and sketches.
00:13:50
I used to draw with him. So I think that
00:13:52
combination of my granddad being a
00:13:53
builder and and my dad sketching and
00:13:55
drawing, I was I was probably always
00:13:57
destined to become an architect. And my
00:13:58
granddad knew that. So he would buy
00:14:00
books for me to encourage me into it
00:14:02
even more. And um I love it cuz it's a
00:14:04
way of life for me. It's not a job.
00:14:05
>> Yeah.
00:14:06
>> You know, I love it.
00:14:06
>> And then um you had a careers adviser
00:14:09
that sort of scoffed at the idea when
00:14:10
>> God you have done your research, haven't
00:14:12
you?
00:14:12
>> Why was that? Cuz you were you were no
00:14:14
good at maths.
00:14:14
>> I was [ __ ] at maths. I still am. I'm
00:14:16
terrible at it. Am I allowed to swear on
00:14:18
your
00:14:18
>> Oh, yeah. Of course. Good. Good. [ __ ]
00:14:20
[ __ ] [ __ ] And uh I was I was It wasn't
00:14:24
just that I was bad at maths. I hated
00:14:26
it. I really couldn't stand it. And it's
00:14:28
interesting everyone cuz how can you
00:14:29
become an architect if you don't do
00:14:30
maths? I mean we're not structural
00:14:31
engineers. We've got engineers who do
00:14:33
all the calculations and the complex
00:14:34
stuff. Obviously we need to do
00:14:36
measurement and scale and size. But I
00:14:38
could see that you know if you ask me
00:14:40
like the size of this room I could have
00:14:41
a half decent guess at it.
00:14:43
>> Um and the height of the room. So
00:14:44
anything I could see and measure that's
00:14:47
that was easy maths for me. I could do
00:14:49
areas and volumes and things like that.
00:14:51
Um, but when it came to like algebra and
00:14:54
equations, it was just numbers on a
00:14:57
piece of paper that couldn't work out.
00:14:59
And I went to see this careers advisor
00:15:00
and he said, um,
00:15:01
>> you know, if you want to be an
00:15:02
architect, you need to do maths,
00:15:03
English, and something else at A level,
00:15:05
which is like 16 to 18 year old in the
00:15:07
UK.
00:15:08
>> I just said, forget it. Um, and he
00:15:10
really pissed me off a lot. I was like
00:15:13
furious. And we we have a we used to
00:15:14
have like an old telephone directory in
00:15:16
the UK called the Yellow Pages. And I
00:15:18
got the yellow pages out after that
00:15:20
meeting with him when I was 15. And I
00:15:21
wrote to every architect in Sunland and
00:15:24
Newcastle. Yeah. Within like 10, 12
00:15:25
miles of my mom's house and just said,
00:15:27
"Will you give me a job?" And this
00:15:29
brilliant architect um bless him, passed
00:15:31
away just last summer, David Johnson, um
00:15:34
he gave me a job when I was 16. So if I
00:15:36
saw that careers adviser, I'd actually
00:15:37
shake their hand because they annoyed me
00:15:40
so much that I wrote those letters and
00:15:42
then got this amazing job. It's to work
00:15:44
in an architect practice when you're 16
00:15:45
when you've wanted to do it since you
00:15:47
were 11 or 12. It was like the stuff of
00:15:49
dreams, you know. So I said, "Gave you
00:15:51
the fuel."
00:15:52
>> Yeah. I mean, that careers officer made
00:15:54
me really angry and that's why I applied
00:15:55
for those jobs. And then I didn't do my
00:15:57
A levels, which then meant because I'd
00:15:58
been in practice for a couple of years
00:16:00
before I went to university, I was in
00:16:01
quite a good position because I'd been
00:16:03
in an office and learned from architects
00:16:05
and designers and technicians. So
00:16:07
>> it was great. And and you know, to leave
00:16:08
school on a Friday where I
00:16:11
>> Yeah. I liked the subjects that like
00:16:13
everybody I liked the subjects I liked
00:16:14
at school you know art played a lot of
00:16:17
football design English and history I
00:16:19
really enjoyed I didn't really enjoy the
00:16:21
maths and the kind of detailed science
00:16:24
stuff so to leave school on a Friday and
00:16:26
start working in an architect's practice
00:16:27
on a Monday and get paid I was on £40 a
00:16:31
week
00:16:32
>> back in the day it was like oh I would
00:16:34
have done I would have done it for
00:16:35
nothing. Yeah,
00:16:36
>> I left it back then. God, imagine what
00:16:38
you would have done back then for a free
00:16:40
pair of socks.
00:16:42
>> Now you can afford what I do today for a
00:16:44
free pair of socks. I'm still the tight
00:16:45
northerner from Sunland. I mean, now you
00:16:47
can afford them. And it's like, yeah,
00:16:48
have the socks. Have the socks. Where
00:16:51
Where do you live? Are you Notting Hill?
00:16:52
>> I am. I'm in West London. Yeah, I'm in
00:16:54
West I've been in West London for 28
00:16:56
years. I left I left the Northeast. I
00:16:58
went to university at Newcastle when I
00:17:00
was 18 till I was 21 and then I worked
00:17:02
in Newcastle for a year because you had
00:17:04
to do a year in architecture and then um
00:17:07
and then I went down to London, worked
00:17:08
for another practice in London, worked
00:17:10
for them in Hong Kong for a bit and then
00:17:12
went to University College London for
00:17:13
another couple of years to do my
00:17:14
masters. But yeah, and and then um
00:17:17
you're employed as an architect. Are you
00:17:18
immediately sort of good?
00:17:21
>> I don't know about that.
00:17:24
>> That's a that's a great question.
00:17:26
>> Are you immediately good? Do do you
00:17:28
remember like I mean you
00:17:29
>> like are you the mold sort of
00:17:30
architecture or something?
00:17:31
>> No like you remember your first house.
00:17:34
>> I think it it varies with people. You
00:17:37
can see people who have who have got a
00:17:39
natural instinct for it. I think you
00:17:41
know when when I was at university there
00:17:42
was like 72 students I think in my first
00:17:45
year probably only like 20 25 of them
00:17:48
actually went on to become architects.
00:17:50
It's a great course architecture because
00:17:52
it it's it's like a kind of broad arts
00:17:55
design course and it's it kind of
00:17:57
teaches you to see the world. You know,
00:17:58
you're looking at how people live and
00:18:00
you're looking at architecture in the
00:18:02
built environment and you're looking at
00:18:03
historic towns and modern buildings. So,
00:18:05
it makes you more observational, I would
00:18:07
say.
00:18:07
>> And so, I've got a lot of mates who
00:18:09
ended up being architectural
00:18:10
photographers or became writers or
00:18:12
architectural journalists or went into
00:18:14
TV. You know, some people went into film
00:18:16
and became directors. Um, so it's a kind
00:18:19
of it's a broadbased
00:18:21
kind of creative course. Um, but I just
00:18:24
always wanted to be an architect and
00:18:26
obviously by I think being in practice
00:18:27
between 16 and 18, I already kind of got
00:18:30
the book, you know what I mean? But are
00:18:32
you naturally good at it? I don't I
00:18:34
remember when I was at university, one
00:18:35
of my tutors saying, you know, George
00:18:37
can draw and and which I could because
00:18:39
of my dad's. Um, and I kind of just had
00:18:43
a natural instinct for being able to
00:18:44
plan spaces and plan buildings. And I
00:18:47
think even at like 17, 18, if someone
00:18:49
showed me a plan of their house, I'd
00:18:51
probably spot even without really
00:18:53
knowing them or how they lived, just
00:18:54
spot some of the the issues that might
00:18:56
be a problem or spaces that might feel a
00:18:59
bit wasted and weren't being maximized.
00:19:00
And quite quickly I could I mean, when
00:19:02
I'm when I'm on TV, it's interesting.
00:19:04
Like people think it's all rehearsed
00:19:05
when I sketch and draw. It's not. We do
00:19:07
it there. And like sometimes someone
00:19:09
will just show me a plan and I'll have
00:19:10
walked around their house with them for
00:19:12
for 10 15 minutes and then we'll sit
00:19:14
down and I'll go right okay from just
00:19:16
meeting you and getting a feel for how
00:19:18
you live and looking at the plan and the
00:19:20
layout. There's things that I've spotted
00:19:21
which I think are are a problem no
00:19:23
matter how you live
00:19:24
>> but then seeing how you and your family
00:19:26
relate to each other.
00:19:28
>> I could see how I could make these
00:19:29
spaces work. And and the generally is
00:19:31
there's kind of like three or four
00:19:32
different options. I'll be like right
00:19:33
option one you could do this option two
00:19:35
you could do that. Option three. And
00:19:37
then I kind of work with them on that
00:19:39
design to get it to get it right for
00:19:41
them. But it's all instinctive.
00:19:42
>> Yeah. So it was an instinct thing and
00:19:43
now I suppose it's like muscle memory
00:19:44
because you've just been doing it for
00:19:46
such a long time.
00:19:47
>> Yeah. I mean I was on the ferry coming
00:19:49
back from Wiki the other day and um a
00:19:52
guy came up to me and he was like, "I
00:19:53
hope you don't mind. Can I show you the
00:19:55
plans of my house?" He did genuinely.
00:19:57
And uh and he said, "Look, this is the
00:19:59
house and I'm doing this big extension
00:20:00
on there and you know what would you
00:20:03
change?" I said, "Well, you know, you
00:20:04
could do that, you could do that, you
00:20:05
could do that." And I was like, "Do you,
00:20:07
you know, do you do you need a formal
00:20:08
dining room?" He's like, "Well, I don't
00:20:10
really live like that." I'm like, "Well,
00:20:11
why have you got one on your plan?" You
00:20:12
know what I mean? So, that's
00:20:13
automatically a waste of space. And then
00:20:14
by the end of it, um, he was like, you
00:20:17
know, you've helped me out and went off
00:20:19
and changed these plans, which is very
00:20:20
sweet. I get a buzz from that. It
00:20:21
doesn't bother.
00:20:22
>> Yeah. Yeah. I was going to ask it's
00:20:23
that's very gracious of you. Uh, yeah.
00:20:26
Are you ever like, "Hey, not not right
00:20:28
now. Now's not a good time."
00:20:29
>> No.
00:20:31
>> No. Oh, good for you. But, you know, I
00:20:33
mean, if I'm really honest, if I'm
00:20:35
sitting with my kids having dinner and
00:20:37
someone really imposed, I'd be like,
00:20:38
"It's my family time with my kids, you
00:20:40
know." But I I don't even really say
00:20:42
that. I'll be like, "Look, I'll
00:20:44
handshake and say, do you want a
00:20:45
picture?" And you want me to sign
00:20:46
something? I'll do that. And that takes
00:20:47
me It's only 30 seconds of my time.
00:20:49
>> Yeah. But rolling out rolling out the
00:20:50
planes.
00:20:51
>> I mean, rolling out the plans. They did
00:20:52
that in a restaurant when my kids were
00:20:54
probably at that point saying no. Um,
00:20:57
but in in fairness to I mean, I could
00:20:59
even tell he you know, he wanted to come
00:21:01
over. He used to lovely guy. Um, and he
00:21:03
waited until I was on my own.
00:21:04
>> Yeah.
00:21:04
>> Did Did he actually have a roll or were
00:21:06
they they pictures on his phone? You can
00:21:08
imagine rolling rolling it out sorting
00:21:10
people shelter on the corner.
00:21:12
>> It's too windy on the way ferry to do
00:21:13
that. You can't roll out the plants.
00:21:15
>> But also like formal dining room like
00:21:17
who is he? King Charles like
00:21:20
not quite up there. I think it's Yeah,
00:21:23
people do people have unusual things
00:21:25
sometimes especially when it's an
00:21:26
existing house.
00:21:28
There's there's sometimes I was going to
00:21:30
say leftovers of the previous life of
00:21:32
the house and they sometimes think, "Oh,
00:21:33
well, it's always been there and I
00:21:34
shouldn't really change that too much
00:21:35
and let's just do the extension. That's
00:21:37
the new bit." But I think even when you
00:21:39
extend your house, you've got to rethink
00:21:40
the entire master plan of the house from
00:21:42
the front door.
00:21:43
>> Yeah.
00:21:43
>> I mean, he even changed his front door
00:21:45
position after the chat that I had with
00:21:46
him. I was like, "I actually think your
00:21:48
door's in the wrong place." And he was
00:21:49
like, "Craigy, that's a big move." And
00:21:51
I, well, look at the layout. And so,
00:21:53
yeah, I don't mind doing it. It's all
00:21:54
part of the fun. You know how pissed off
00:21:56
as architect's going to be.
00:21:59
I sort of free advice. I did say to him
00:22:01
I'm going to send him an invoice at the
00:22:02
end. So, no, I was joking. Um,
00:22:06
yeah.
00:22:09
>> Okay. Yeah. Cool.
00:22:10
>> 10 minutes. Cool. No worries. We've done
00:22:12
all right. Have we How long have we gone
00:22:13
for?
00:22:16
>> Has it really? Okay. Cool. No worries.
00:22:18
Um, some of the clients you've worked
00:22:20
for, I don't know if you can talk about
00:22:21
this, but I read about this online. Uh,
00:22:23
Jamie Oliver, you designed his house.
00:22:26
Uh, I didn't redesign his house.
00:22:27
Actually, I redid his restaurant back in
00:22:29
the day.
00:22:30
>> Oh, the restaurant, right?
00:22:30
>> Yeah. 15. So, it was done for TV and it
00:22:33
went out and then he wanted it was it
00:22:34
was the day it was before Jamie kind of
00:22:36
launched his Italian restaurants really.
00:22:38
He wanted to make him more Italian. So,
00:22:39
I did that. He's a good mate. We share a
00:22:41
birthday. We text each other once in a
00:22:42
while. He's a good lad.
00:22:43
>> Unreal. So, does he like request you to
00:22:45
do it or he asked you to do it?
00:22:46
>> It came through some It was It was
00:22:48
before I was on TV.
00:22:50
>> It was way before I was on TV. Um, Jamie
00:22:53
wouldn't have had a clue who I was. It
00:22:54
was a it was a project manager who was
00:22:56
working for Jamie and said this guy
00:22:58
might be able to help us. So yeah,
00:22:59
that's when I met Jamie and he's become
00:23:01
a good mate. I mean I'm not I'm not
00:23:02
super close to it, but we text each
00:23:04
other once in a while and wish each
00:23:05
other a happy birthday on the 27th of
00:23:07
May cuz we share our birthday together.
00:23:09
>> Oh, actually well it's easy to remember,
00:23:10
isn't it?
00:23:11
>> It is. He's 50 this year.
00:23:12
>> Um
00:23:15
there was an internet rumor I read about
00:23:17
you um which I found
00:23:19
>> I want to talk about internet rumors
00:23:21
because there's so much [ __ ] on
00:23:22
there. It's unbelievable. Yeah. Well,
00:23:24
well, this one this one is [ __ ] And
00:23:26
you had to come out and um to say it was
00:23:28
[ __ ]
00:23:28
>> The muscular destrophy one.
00:23:30
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. An internet rumor.
00:23:31
>> I'm not even going to I'm not even going
00:23:32
to give that the time of day, Dom. It's
00:23:35
unbelievably
00:23:37
honestly the the stuff that's made up is
00:23:39
and and you know, I think with the
00:23:41
public the public must go, well, I can't
00:23:42
all be made up. I mean, there's got to
00:23:44
be some truth and of course there is.
00:23:46
Um, but the v it's unbelievable the vast
00:23:49
I would I would even say the majority of
00:23:51
stuff that's written about I mean I
00:23:54
can't speak for anybody else but that's
00:23:55
written about me it's just it's I mean
00:23:57
genuinely it's made up and it's there
00:23:59
might be a tiny seed of truth in there
00:24:02
like a tiny tiny tiny little seed and
00:24:04
then before you know it it's just spun
00:24:06
into something completely different.
00:24:08
It's
00:24:08
>> it's I mean I find it quite kind of um I
00:24:11
mean personally I don't care personally
00:24:13
I just I just I don't give a [ __ ] Um,
00:24:16
it doesn't bother me. It just comes with
00:24:17
the territory. Unfortunately nowadays,
00:24:19
it's part of the job. Um, and I'm pretty
00:24:21
thick skinned. It's, you know, if I make
00:24:23
a mistake with something, I'll hold my
00:24:25
hands up and make a mistake. But, um,
00:24:27
the the amount of stuff that's made, I
00:24:29
mean, for someone who must be very well
00:24:31
known, you know, I'm a TV. I'm an
00:24:32
architect and I make a bit of telly.
00:24:35
>> Um, and you know, for me, it is
00:24:37
genuinely a kind of it's a it's a job,
00:24:38
it's a passion, and it's a love. But um
00:24:41
you know I'm a without getting the
00:24:43
violins out. I'm a working class life
00:24:45
from the northeast. Me you go and you
00:24:46
earn your money. You do your job and you
00:24:48
pay your bills and you know put fear on
00:24:49
the table and look after my kids and and
00:24:52
um for for a super A-lister. Oh my god
00:24:55
it must be it must be torture for them
00:24:57
because
00:24:58
>> the stuff that is made up. I mean that's
00:25:00
what you're talking about is one example
00:25:02
of many many many many things.
00:25:03
>> Many many things.
00:25:04
>> But that's um I mean if if if Yeah. I
00:25:07
mean the the paparazzi and tabloid
00:25:08
culture in the UK seems like quite
00:25:11
troublesome still but um yeah saying
00:25:13
you're in a relationship with someone is
00:25:14
one thing but you saying you've got like
00:25:16
a serious illness is another thing
00:25:18
altogether like
00:25:18
>> it's because it was like they took 2
00:25:20
plus two and came out with 164 it was
00:25:23
just mad and um you know the only thing
00:25:26
as I say personally I don't care I mean
00:25:28
I literally don't care I for me I take
00:25:30
genuinely I take it all with a pinch of
00:25:32
salt
00:25:33
>> um it's people can write whatever they
00:25:35
want I know what the truth is And if
00:25:37
they want to just write something,
00:25:38
they'll write it anyway. Yeah. They
00:25:39
don't care what I say. And quite often
00:25:41
they'll come and say, "Oh, we want we're
00:25:42
going to give you a right to reply." And
00:25:44
I just don't bother cuz I'm just like,
00:25:45
"You're going to write it anyway. You're
00:25:47
going to spin another direction." But
00:25:48
what upset me about that is that my
00:25:50
daughter read that headline
00:25:52
>> um because a friend of hers had spotted
00:25:54
it on on the internet when she was at
00:25:56
school.
00:25:57
>> And so my my daughter genuinely thought
00:25:59
I was ill and she thought I was not
00:26:01
telling her to protect her from it. And
00:26:04
that's like that crosses a big line for
00:26:06
me. That's like
00:26:08
>> I even go as far to say as like that's
00:26:10
unforgivable and it has a
00:26:12
>> a detrimental effect on my kids even if
00:26:14
it's just for 2 minutes. And but I had
00:26:15
to really speak to her and tell her like
00:26:17
I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm not
00:26:18
ill.
00:26:19
>> And um yeah, that that's what was more
00:26:23
upsetting for me when it hurts other
00:26:24
people.
00:26:25
>> I'd be seething about that and there's
00:26:27
nothing you can actually do. Hey, I've
00:26:29
got some Instagram questions. You're on
00:26:30
a you I'm feel like I'm rushing through
00:26:32
this cuz you're on a
00:26:33
>> lif
00:26:35
um I mentioned on Instagram you were you
00:26:37
were coming and um yeah the questions
00:26:38
are all very sort of um architect
00:26:41
architectural based please tell me
00:26:43
George is here doing a New Zealand
00:26:44
episode or series of amazing spaces.
00:26:46
>> Uh so it's not amazing spaces um it's
00:26:48
it's George Clark's Homes in the Wild
00:26:50
brand new series brand spanking new
00:26:52
series.
00:26:52
>> What's one architectural trend that he
00:26:54
wishes would disappear forever?
00:26:56
>> Um
00:26:58
it's quite a good one. Um,
00:27:01
I don't know if it's an architectural
00:27:02
trend because it's not very
00:27:03
architectural. But I was talking to my
00:27:05
soundman yesterday saying, um, shower
00:27:08
curtains. You know, when people have
00:27:09
shower, you don't really have them here,
00:27:10
to be honest. I think it's more of a
00:27:11
British thing. You know, the Brits kind
00:27:13
of buy these like cheap fabric shower
00:27:15
curtains. Oh, no. We've got them here as
00:27:17
well. And it's just the most bizarre
00:27:19
invention I've ever come across in my
00:27:20
life cuz like you stand in the shower
00:27:21
and you turn it on and then the air
00:27:23
pressure changes between inside and
00:27:25
outside because of the heat and the
00:27:26
moisture and then it like sticks to you.
00:27:27
So, you try to have a shower in the
00:27:28
morning, you wrestle under this kind of
00:27:30
sheet of I don't know, $20 plastic. Um,
00:27:34
and then people step out and there's
00:27:35
like carpets on the floor in their
00:27:36
bathrooms. Bathroom. I've seen some
00:27:38
horrendous bathrooms in my time. I mean,
00:27:40
it's anything if if people get things
00:27:42
wrong more than anything when it comes
00:27:44
to finishes as bathrooms. Why would you
00:27:46
have a carpet on the floor in the
00:27:47
bathroom?
00:27:47
>> I feel like that was um maybe an 80s
00:27:49
thing or a 70s thing.
00:27:50
>> Still people Yeah, it's still around.
00:27:52
Yeah.
00:27:52
>> Does seem luxurious though, right?
00:27:55
>> Just to keep your feet warm. It feels it
00:27:57
feels like it feels like people maybe
00:27:58
like lotto winners or like poor people
00:28:00
that are thinking what would a rich
00:28:01
person do right now?
00:28:03
>> Oh, I don't know. I'm not going to get
00:28:04
into that. Rich and poor people got
00:28:06
carpets in their butt. I've just
00:28:07
offended everyone with carpet. No. Uh
00:28:10
with sustainability being such a big
00:28:12
issue, what are some easy ways
00:28:13
homeowners can make their homes more
00:28:15
eco-friendly?
00:28:16
>> Uh I mean insulation is the big one.
00:28:18
It's easy. Insulation is pretty
00:28:20
straightforward to be honest. As much as
00:28:21
you can insulate. It's it's like um it's
00:28:24
like you buying a a winter jacket, you
00:28:26
know? you might to keep yourself warm
00:28:27
and wipe yourself up. Preserve some
00:28:29
energy. So insulation is really good. Um
00:28:32
uh airsource heat pumps, that's a big
00:28:35
one. I mean in the UK we've got a lot of
00:28:36
gas boilers and people kind of still
00:28:38
burning a lot of gas and irrespective of
00:28:41
gas issues in the world. It just seems
00:28:43
bonkers for us to be burning things all
00:28:45
the time. So um so we need to kind of
00:28:48
have a a clean and green electrified
00:28:50
system really. So
00:28:52
>> um that would be one of my tips as well,
00:28:53
but insulation is the easy one. Um, this
00:28:55
this one might be just too broad to
00:28:57
answer, but um, best advice for first
00:28:59
home uh, firsttime home renovators.
00:29:02
>> That's a tricky one because it depends
00:29:04
where it is. Yeah. Depends whether
00:29:05
that's in New Zealand or the UK and
00:29:06
who's listening. Um, uh, you know, the
00:29:11
the best advice for that is basically
00:29:12
cuz it's your first home, I would say
00:29:14
invest in it for you. And I know that
00:29:16
might sound like a little bit of a
00:29:17
cliche, but I I generally see that when
00:29:20
people take on a property and then
00:29:23
>> and do what they want to do and how they
00:29:24
want to live and make it feel more
00:29:26
homely, it tends to add monetary value
00:29:28
as well because it becomes quite a
00:29:29
beautiful thing.
00:29:30
>> So if you ever wanted to sell it to then
00:29:32
buy your second home, people will walk
00:29:33
in and go, do you know what? This just
00:29:35
feels like a nice home.
00:29:36
>> I always say that the best architects
00:29:37
should just you don't have to be a kind
00:29:39
of architectural analyst to check out a
00:29:42
good building. you kind of walk against
00:29:43
it and go, "This feels nice."
00:29:45
>> You know, this feels good. This feels
00:29:46
homely. This feels like a beautiful
00:29:47
space. And okay, you could then analyze
00:29:49
it and go, "Why is that? Is it because
00:29:51
of the light or the proportions or the
00:29:52
high ceiling or whatever it might be?"
00:29:54
But
00:29:55
>> generally, it's that like instant
00:29:56
feeling when you walk in. And I think if
00:29:58
you're a firsttime buyer and you start
00:30:00
doing work on your house, just make it
00:30:02
beautiful. Really, just make it very
00:30:04
home.
00:30:05
>> Um, someone wants to know, "What is your
00:30:07
biggest design pet hate?"
00:30:11
>> Oh, shower curtains. We've kind of half
00:30:12
done it, but I mean bad design. I mean,
00:30:14
I I know that sounds really generic. I
00:30:16
genuinely think there is no excuse for
00:30:18
crap design.
00:30:19
>> I really don't. I I as say when I was
00:30:22
started my practice many many many years
00:30:23
ago and I was designing very affordable.
00:30:26
>> You know, there were normally um
00:30:28
refurbishment projects in London, you
00:30:30
know, small apartments and small spaces
00:30:32
cuz that's where I lived. Yeah. Some of
00:30:34
the budgets we had were absolutely tiny,
00:30:36
but we still did lovely work. It took a
00:30:37
bit more time, took a bit more effort,
00:30:39
but um
00:30:40
>> a bit more thought. Well, it's kind of
00:30:41
that's thought and it's sitting there
00:30:43
sketching with a pen. The expensive
00:30:45
stuff for the client is when they have
00:30:46
to build it and, you know, buy the
00:30:48
materials and pay for trades. For me to
00:30:50
sit and sketch and draw
00:30:53
>> doesn't take a lot of time. Do you know
00:30:54
what I mean?
00:30:55
>> Yeah, I I do. When you're when you're
00:30:57
working on a problem like that, when you
00:30:58
go home, are you able to switch off or
00:31:00
are you constantly sort of just worring
00:31:02
over in the back of your mind?
00:31:03
>> First off, a lot. I mean, I'm I'm pretty
00:31:06
good at switching off, he says. So I
00:31:08
just feel like I've lied to myself
00:31:10
there. Um, no. Like if I if I if I go
00:31:15
away for a holiday to go, right, okay, I
00:31:17
am just not going to do work. Like quite
00:31:19
often I remember last year I just turned
00:31:21
my phone off completely for a week. Like
00:31:24
I literally just didn't respond. I said
00:31:25
to everyone, don't even bother emailing
00:31:27
me. If there's a problem, just deal with
00:31:28
it. Um because when you've run your own
00:31:31
businesses and you're you know what I
00:31:33
mean? You you never really you can't
00:31:35
ever really fully fully switch off. It's
00:31:37
always in the back of your mind. Um it's
00:31:40
it's not like kind of, you know, I
00:31:42
suppose being an employee, you could
00:31:44
just say, "Right, I'm on holiday next
00:31:46
week." And even then, you probably don't
00:31:47
switch off from if you really like your
00:31:48
job. But
00:31:50
>> yeah, I remember just turning my phone
00:31:51
off for a whole week last year and it
00:31:52
was amazing. It was great. I'd recommend
00:31:54
it. I mean, I mean, seriously, like just
00:31:57
because
00:31:59
>> is there anything so bad that somebody
00:32:01
else can't really fix it? I mean, but
00:32:03
you know what I mean? It's not It's not
00:32:04
terrible, is it? you know, if someone
00:32:06
really needs to get hold of you for for
00:32:07
an emergency, they would do it. Um, so
00:32:11
yeah, that's I think for your own your
00:32:13
own kind of health and wellbeing, turn
00:32:15
your phone off on
00:32:16
>> and you get to the end of that time and
00:32:17
you think your phone's going to blow up
00:32:18
with all these messages and all these
00:32:19
fires that you have to put out, but it's
00:32:20
never the case, is it?
00:32:21
>> I don't know if it's just cuz I'm a bit
00:32:23
older and I've, you know, I've had my
00:32:26
own businesses since I was 25, since I
00:32:28
graduated.
00:32:29
>> You just realize that things get sorted
00:32:32
out. Do
00:32:33
>> you know what I mean? things.
00:32:34
>> Yeah, life carries on
00:32:35
>> because a lot of times people go, "Oh,
00:32:37
you know, we've got this massive
00:32:38
deadline and it's a big problem and if
00:32:39
we don't meet it, the world's going to
00:32:41
end." And you go, "Not really."
00:32:43
>> And quite often it's like self-imposed
00:32:45
deadlines. You know what I mean? You
00:32:46
might have a client who just goes, "It's
00:32:47
got to be done by that week." And you
00:32:48
go, "Well, does it really
00:32:50
>> really?"
00:32:50
>> Yeah, I think you're I think you're
00:32:52
right. I think that's the perspective of
00:32:53
age.
00:32:54
>> Uh no, as as in you learned it, you
00:32:56
learn that nothing is that big a deal.
00:32:57
Nothing actually matters all that much.
00:32:59
>> Yeah, that's one of the benefits of
00:33:00
getting older. How would you describe
00:33:02
the architectural style of New Zealand
00:33:04
compared to other parts of the world?
00:33:06
>> I've kind of done that as well really
00:33:07
when when we were having no chat before
00:33:09
and I think you're very good at um
00:33:11
ecological design. You're very good at
00:33:13
um
00:33:13
>> I I've can't say too much about them but
00:33:16
I've filmed some pretty incredible
00:33:19
pieces of architecture in New Zealand in
00:33:20
the last four weeks
00:33:22
>> and and some of them have been quite
00:33:24
expensive buildings and others have been
00:33:25
very very affordable buildings like
00:33:27
self-built projects that were done you
00:33:29
know a few years ago. Outstanding
00:33:31
really. I mean, some of it has been
00:33:33
because I'm doing homes in the wilds.
00:33:35
There's a lot of homes that have been
00:33:37
off-grid anyway.
00:33:38
>> And some buildings that were built in
00:33:40
the 70s and 80s that were very very
00:33:42
off-grid on an island back in the day.
00:33:45
>> I just think you've got this this
00:33:46
amazing connection with landscape and
00:33:48
nature here. You know, it's you've got
00:33:50
such a beautiful country. I was I was
00:33:52
flying back from Mr. last night and I
00:33:55
just looked out the window and I was
00:33:56
just thinking this this place is just
00:33:58
green, you know, green, green, green,
00:34:00
green, green, beautifully green.
00:34:02
>> And I think your architects are very
00:34:04
good. They've got a really good touch
00:34:05
and I think they um they see the
00:34:08
importance of designing something blend
00:34:10
in with nature.
00:34:11
>> Yeah. Do you know of any um local
00:34:13
architects or designers that you admire?
00:34:14
>> Yeah, Ken Crossen.
00:34:16
>> Oh yeah, he's got an office just around
00:34:18
the corner. Um he's yeah he's done some
00:34:20
beautiful um homes that have won home of
00:34:22
the year and stuff.
00:34:23
>> Yeah. Yeah. Um uh a guy called Peter I
00:34:26
think I don't know if it's Bossley or
00:34:28
Bossley. I only met him this week. Um
00:34:30
Peter is just a fantastic man. Wonderful
00:34:32
architect. I checked out his stuff
00:34:34
online obviously before I filmed it and
00:34:36
then I saw one of his houses with him
00:34:38
this week and it blew my mind.
00:34:39
>> So you you've got some great artists.
00:34:41
But Ken Ken's a good mate. I filmed with
00:34:42
Ken for Amazing Spaces back in I think
00:34:45
it was 2016 I came out if I remember.
00:34:47
might have been 17 and I filmed with
00:34:49
Ken. He's become a really good friend.
00:34:50
We had dinner last night in Ponson.
00:34:52
>> Amazing. When I I saw on Instagram you
00:34:54
hanging out with El Brown as well. Was
00:34:56
it
00:34:56
>> Oh, Laval.
00:34:58
>> Was that a TV thing or was it just
00:35:00
socially?
00:35:00
>> When I when I first when I first came
00:35:02
out to New Zealand, that's why I keep I
00:35:04
keep saying 201617. Everyone was so
00:35:07
welcoming when I came out for the first
00:35:09
time. I made so many good mates, really
00:35:11
really good mates that I'm still close
00:35:12
to. And I think it was the TV exec
00:35:16
producer who I worked with when I was
00:35:18
out here. Um because I did some amazing
00:35:21
spaces and then I did some work for Mer
00:35:23
10
00:35:24
>> um and the production company who did
00:35:26
the Mer 10 work took me out for dinner
00:35:28
and just said um we'll go to Al Brown's
00:35:30
place and I went to to had dinner with
00:35:33
Al Brown and he's been a really good
00:35:34
mate ever since. He's a wonderful man.
00:35:36
I'm a big fan of his.
00:35:38
>> He's a good dude.
00:35:39
>> Oh, he's a good guy. Uh from Instagram
00:35:41
New Zealand. Are we wrapping up?
00:35:43
>> Wrapping up.
00:35:43
>> Okay.
00:35:45
>> All right. I just realized how Look how
00:35:46
greasy my hair is from running here.
00:35:49
>> Look at Look at that. You look great.
00:35:51
Got out in P. Look at the state of that.
00:35:53
You look great.
00:35:53
>> Literally like what? Everyone's going to
00:35:55
be gone. Look at that grease ball.
00:35:57
>> You look You look great. Um George
00:35:58
Clark, it's been short and sweet, but
00:36:00
it's been wonderful. I really enjoy
00:36:02
much, mate. Really appreciate it. Thanks
00:36:03
very much. Cheers. Thanks very much.
