Charlie Luxton from “Building the Dream” chats to TBH


Architect, designer and TV presenter, Charlie Luxton is most well known for several Channel 4 series in which he explores buildings and sometimes the people who live in them. He has strong views on what buildings can contribute to human happiness and how and from what they should be built. Ideas and views tumble out at such a rapid rate from Charlie that some of the interview is necessarily paraphrased. We thank him for taking time out of a packed schedule at the Grand Designs Show to chat to us.


TBH: A big question to start – we clearly have a housing crisis in the UK but what can we do to solve it?


CL: There are simply too many houses being built by the 8 or so big housing contractors. Because there are so many “big oaks” in the forest, they overshadow smaller contractors who might be willing to innovate and build on a smaller scale to avoid the “nimbyism” that sometimes affects bigger housing schemes. Also, the planning system is essentially conservative and willing to go along with the bigger ‘tried and trusted” contractors because it is often easier. What may be more important is that Boom and Bust have affected the housing market too. In the 2008 crash many brick kilns and window factories were closed, so now we have a brick shortage, shortages of other materials and a shortage of skills. Many of them have not reopened because it is not a good place to invest money. Without the incentive of investment, we will never find the next Google or Uber or the next disrupter who will shake things up. In Europe, they have removed the element of boom and bust and continue to build steadily as needed. We are having to import many key materials from Europe simply because the shortsighted approach to housing that governments have adopted means that they have lost control. Perhaps it is time to return some power to local authorities and private renters to ensure a steady supply of good quality housing.


TBH: You have mentioned the role of self builders in your articles.


CL: Self builders are not professionals so will often be prepared “to take a flyer”. They are often investing in a home that they intend to live in for a long time and they have a lot at stake, so tend to build with quality materials and try to minimise their running costs with good insulation, PV cells etc. When the Wright brothers suggested putting an engine on a set of canvas wings they were laughed at in much the same way as innovators are discouraged by vested interests now.


Peter Brett with Charlie Luxton at Grand Designs Live


you think that your Australian background may have affected your ideas about housing?


CL: I do remember the big developer-built red brick housing estates in England where all the houses were the same compared to the modern, and sometimes amazing, individually built houses in Australia. There is a residual influence on my attitudes. There was a lot of corrugated iron!


TBH: That brings me neatly to the question about your favourite materials. Any favourites?


CL:My architectural practice did a house in Cornwall recently that used pre-cut I- beams and timber cladding with a facing of plasterboard. The I-beams were all made and pre-cut off site and it took only seven days to make the frame. More generally we need to use more efficient methods to build and also take care to minimise the waste left after a build. For example, using woodfibre insulation. This is blown in and what is left over is taken away and not charged for. Other methods of insulation need cutting, leaving voids where cold may get in, and the waste left from cutting it will be around for months. Waste woodfibre simply biodegrades in weeks. There is often a huge amount of waste to be tidied up after a build and we need to think about its wider impact on the environment. Other things we do in my architectural practice are specifying low cement content concrete that leads to a 50 or 60% reduction in polluting cement use and also wood treatments. Exterior wood needs treatments, but these are unnecessary for interior wood that does not get wet. We also carry out thermo-modelling of buildings – optimising buildings using some of the amazing technology available. It is too late to do this after it is built because we have to think that the building is going to around for many years to come.


TBH:Why do your clients come to you for a house design?


CL: I’d like to think it is because we have a local reputation, but it may be because they see me on the telly and they like my ideas.


TBH: How do your TV programmes feed into your architectural practices?


TBH: I sometimes have the perception that in the UK we are not short of brilliant ideas – in fact there are so many they compete with each other. How do we find a “referee” who will make some choices? When the railways first boomed here we needed to have some structure on the gauge, timetables etc that were adopted. Building codes may need a similar arrangement.


CL: There may be a need for some “wild west lawlessness” in the market before legislation can be made, ideas have to have space to grow. Currently 65% of people asked in a survey said that they would not buy a new-build house because they are too small, many are of poor quality and unsuitable for modern life. Too much profit is being recycled back to big house builders without providing the homes we need.


TBH: I read that your family came to England when you were ten years old. Do telephone 01444 440188


CL: I am very lucky that I get to see lots of very nice buildings with good proportions and lots of space. But I also get to see a lot of other buildings that don’t work so well. In “Building the Dream” I look at unbuilt floor plans and people can choose or not to follow my recommendations. Sometimes they are right and I am wrong, but it is their home they are building. I am always amazed by how the “ordinary” people on the show turn out to be remarkable in what they achieve because they don’t have the budgets and resources available to others, but end up with amazing buildings.


TBH:We have to discuss tools and tool skills. Do you do any hands-on use of tools?


CL:When I finished my degree I built an extension for a friend – from the ground up. I can build. My favourite tool is currently a multi tool and I wouldn’t be without my Festool drill. Impact drills and plunge guide rail saws are incredibly useful for accurate work onsite. And a good tape measure! As I get older I have learnt that I am not interested in cheap tools.


TBH:Well, our readers will be able to relate to those choices! ToolBUSINESS+HIRE 27


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