Tim and Kev head to the Sydney inner-city suburb of Marrickville to visit artist Leila Jeffreys and musician James Roden, who have spent a decade transforming a modest weatherboard cottage into a small but carefully considered home.

Their dream? A small sustainable home that works for them and connects them to nature by creating
habitat for birds and native species while rethinking what a suburban block can become.

The result is a house which nods to Australian modernism that Kevin wants to move into and a
conversation that will definitely be good for your soul.

Leila is an award-winning photographic artist whose images of birds have been exhibited all over the
world and have featured in a number of best-selling publications. You can visit her website here:
leilajeffreys.com

James Roden is a musician who has also worked for record labels and as a band manager. He’s now the studio manager of Leila’s practice.

You can check out his latest musical project here: snakeheads.com.au

The house was designed by Will Fung at CO-AP Architects. co-ap.com

Will has a great Instagram page (@will.fung)

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

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

 

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

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can you imagine living in a museum?

Tim and Kev head to Surrey to visit The Homewood, the modernist masterpiece Patrick Gwynne
designed for his family in the late 1930s. Completed in 1938, The Homewood is one of the most
remarkable examples of pre-war modernist architecture in Britain.

Gwynne later gifted the house to the National Trust in 1999, with the stipulation that someone must live in it and that it be opened to the public for part of the year.

That person is Lou, whose family has called it home since 2004 while welcoming visitors inside this
extraordinary piece of living history.

I bet you’ve got questions already. We certainly did - and we’ve probably asked most of them in this
fascinating interview, recorded around Gwynne’s own custom-made round dining table.

Thanks to Lou and The National Trust for assisting with this episode. You can learn more about the house and when you can visit here on their website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/the-homewood

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

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

 

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

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when you try to fix the housing crisis without destroying the suburbs we love? You get
density by stealth.

Tim and Kev head to the Perth suburbia to visit Giuseppe’s House, a 1960s home recently restored by
local architect Kate Fitzgerald. Beneath the terrazzo floors and colourful character lies a bigger idea: how to add more housing to our cities without flattening their identity.

Kate shares her approach to preserving streetscapes while quietly increasing density, rethinking
backyards, laneways and overlooked spaces to create the “missing middle” between apartments and
traditional homes. Along the way, they unpack Perth’s boom-and-bust development history, the rise of
migrant architecture, and why small, clever infill might be the key to housing affordability.

Check out Kate’s work on their website - https://www.whisperingsmith.com.au including her home (House A) and Giuseppe’s House.

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

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

 

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

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re back with Series Two!

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

The model makers who create wooden Christmas ornaments of buildings can be found on Instagram here: Atelier Maps or their Esty store here. 

For suggestions of places and stories for Series 2, shoot us an email to [email protected] - we will be back on 4 th February 2026!

Tickets are now on sale for Kevin McCloud and Tim Ross – Live in Interesting Places –
check out the details on our website – http://bigdesignadventure.com/

You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure 

And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)

We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected] 

Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure. 

 

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

 

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud

Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. 

Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp 

Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media 

Video Production: Ned Williams

Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst) 

 

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this mini episode we’ve got huge news about the final show for the year and we answer our most asked question.

For questions and suggestions for our Christmas episode, shoot us an email to [email protected]

For suggestions of places and stories for Series 2, shoot us an email to [email protected]

Tickets are now on sale for Kevin McCloud and Tim Ross – Live in Interesting Places –
check out the details on our website – http://bigdesignadventure.com/

You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure 

And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)

We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected] 

Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure. 

 

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

 

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud

Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. 

Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp 

Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media 

Video Production: Ned Williams

Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst) 

 

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim and Kev head to London to visit Highgate New Town, a 1970s social housing scheme designed by Hungarian-born architect Peter Tabori.

Over a cup of tea with architect and long-time resident Rachel Stevenson, they uncover the secret behind the development’s enduring success.

In the 1960s and ’70s, Camden became a testing ground for a new kind of socialhousing in London — one that valued community, good design, and human scale over high-rise efficiency. Under the leadership of visionary architects like Sydney Cook, the Camden Architects Department produced some of the most influential housing in postwar Britain, including schemes by Neave Brown, Benson and Forsyth, and Peter Tabori. Highgate New Town was one of these bold experiments, driven by the belief that public housing could be both socially progressive and architecturally ambitious. 

To view the full film – The White Flats - https://vimeo.com/917073596?share=copy

To check out the book – Cook’s Camden – The Making of Modern Housing -
https://isokongallery.org/products/cooks-camden-the-making-of-modern-housing

To check out the book – Modernist Estates – The Buildings and People Who Live In Them - https://www.thenile.com.au/books/stefi-orazi/modernist-
estates/9780711269262?srsltid=AfmBOoq45XQqD6qTV23sNHDZh6nTK0T6JnnCqKs0l
aLt5J43t6E1M89N

Tickets are now on sale for Kevin McCloud and Tim Ross – Live in Interesting Places –
check out the details on our website – http://bigdesignadventure.com/

 

You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure 

And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)

We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected] 

Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure. 

 

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

 

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud

Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. 

Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp 

Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media 

Video Production: Ned Williams

Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst) 

 

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In answering all your burning questions, Kevin reveals his one-sided feud with Jay Kay from Jamiroquai. There are a few mea culpas along the way as we tackle your criticisms and wonder if design can save us in a world without the communal joy of watching shows like Sale of the Century. Oh, and we’ve got a HUGE announcement to make!

 

You can check out Kev on Top Gear’s You Tube channel here: https://youtu.be/vpLq6rGwzpY?si=a4FOeL6cWGhP8A3b

 

Simon sent us some wonderful links including: 

 

The chairs of Doctor Who - https://pinkforyouractualpterodactyl.com/2021/06/20/the-chairs-of-doctor-who-1963-89/ 

 

The chairs of Blake 7 - https://watchingblakes7.wordpress.com/2019/06/18/the-chairs-of-blakes-7/ 

 

The furnishings of Space 1999 - https://catacombs.space1999.net/main/models/wrefmp.html 

 

You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure 

And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)

We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected] 

Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure. 

 

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

 

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud

Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. 

Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp 

Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media 

Video Production: Ned Williams

Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst) 

 

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a semi-desperate attempt to find meaning in service station design, Tim and Kev head to Copenhagen to visit the famed filling station designed by Arne Jacobsen in the 1930s. A far-ranging conversation was recorded in front of the bowsers for your listening pleasure, and things may have gotten a little kooky.

Also in this episode: find out how Sarah Jessica Parker has recently become a new fan.

And make sure you tune in next week for a very special announcement.

Arne Jacobsen’s 1937 petrol station is an icon of early modernist functionalism in Denmark. Located near Skovshoved Harbour, it’s the first part of Jacobsen’s ‘white city’ at Bellevue that motorists encounter when arriving from the south along the coastal road, Strandvejen.

During the 1930s, Jacobsen realised a grand modernist vision around Bellevue Beach north of Copenhagen. His key works include Bellevue Beach Baths (1932), the Bellavista housing development (1934), Bellevue Theatre (1936), and the petrol station (1937). With white exteriors, functional layouts, and crisp, cubist forms, these buildings are among the finest early examples of Danish functionalist architecture - showing clear influence from the Bauhaus movement and Le Corbusier.

You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure 

And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)

We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected] 

Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure. 

 

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

 

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud

Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. 

Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp 

Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media 

Video Production: Ned Williams

Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst) 

 

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when you mix modernism, espionage, and a few Bauhaus legends in one London apartment block? You get the Isokon Building.

Tim and Kev head to North London to visit the legendary 1934 modernist icon designed by Wells Coates and developed by Jack and Molly Pritchard. Once home to Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Agatha Christie and a bunch of spies, Isokon was a radical experiment in minimalist living that has stood the test of time.

You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure 

And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1)

We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on [email protected] 

Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure. 

 

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

 

Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud

Guest: Magnus Englund (@isokongallery)

Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. 

Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp 

Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media 

Video Production: Ned Williams

Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst) 

 

Please note this podcast is not currently available in the UK or Ireland. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.