All language subtitles for Great Escapes with Colin and Justin - 1x02_track3_eng

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On Great Escapes, we're going
to travel the wilderness,

on the hunt for unique
architectural design.

I'm Colin McAllister.
And I'm Justin Ryan.

We're designers and have travelled
the globe, renovating houses

and adding our own unique flair

to other people's homes.

Now, we love the great outdoors

and the idea of embracing
the wilderness into your home,

and, in fact, just how far people
will go to achieve precisely that.

Building an escape in the woods
presents magnificent opportunities

for individual design,

but also unique challenges to work
in harmony with the surroundings.

Add to that, an extreme climate,

from blistering hot summers
to teeth-chattering winters,

and these escapes must combine
splendour with functionality.

We're going to explore properties
that take that challenge

head on, as we investigate homes
that celebrate the landscape

and work with the environment
in interesting and distinctive ways.

On this episode,
we'll be talking to people

who have never before
built their own home.

But the very same people
who gave it their all

to build their dream escape.

One first-time builder spent a year
surveying his property,

looking for the perfect view before
even breaking ground. Wow! Come on!

Some properties just stop
you in your tracks!

Another drew on family history

and local heritage before building
their very first dream home.

Everything's big about
this property!

And our last first-time builder
decided to take the simplicity

of condo life and transport
it into the ultimate off-grid oasis.

I love the realisation of a dream,
when you know what you want

and you go out there
and you jolly well get it!

I will never forget the hassle,
Colin,

of being a first-time builder
in the middle of nowhere,

but it came together beautifully,

and so did the next house
that we're about to visit.

Yep, it's truly a sight to behold.

We've all heard the mantra,
location, location, location...

Well, this impressive 2,400 square
foot escape known as Black Birch

takes full advantage
of its placement

and sits naturally amongst the
trees, as if it's always been here.

One of the key elements to a great
building is the way it

sits on its site, to take
advantage of the sun as it moves

through the sky and of course,
the breezes to cool the interior.

But sometimes,

these type of details can be
overlooked by a first-time builder.

That's not the case here, however.

It's clear that homeowner Chris
and his wife Susan carefully

studied the site upon which
Black Birch was built.

Wow! Wow! Well, I know why
it's called Black Birch. Yeah.

Hey, Chris, how are you doing?
I'm doing well. How are you?

I'm all the better for seeing this
incredible place of yours.

That mix of black exterior,
the greenery, the water,

the blue skies,
I have died and gone to heaven.

And this was your first build.

Can I take you inside?
I'd love a look. Great, let's do it.

Windows are Chris's passion.

He has spent his life building
a custom glazing business,

so it's no surprise that Black Birch
would feature an impressive

display of incredible windows.

Hey, Susan. Hi, guys. How are you?

Good! Good to see you, too.

Oh, wow! We were standing outside,
we were blown away,

but coming inside and seeing this
incredible volume, all

the glass, all the black frameworks
and the furnishing detail...

Oh, my goodness! Off the charts!
One of the things that strikes me

immediately about this place is
there isn't any drywalls,

so it's significantly glass
on all elevations.

Chris, you are the window guy.
I am the window guy.

You ARE the window guy,
so this is exactly what we'd expect.

Almost 360 degrees, it really
influences the architecture.

How important to you when putting
this design together was

the landscape and representing
aspects of what's out there, inside?

I would say it was very important.
In fact, we spent a lot of time...

We spent almost a year
on the property

before we started building,
where we'd just come in here with

a lunch during the afternoon
and just sit in the wooded forest

and decide, you know, what view
we wanted, what trees we wanted.

The interesting point is

so much of the view was
designed around the coffee machine,

so when we are talking
about the view

and we are talking about the
perspective, that's our thing,

that's what we do, how would this
view look while standing

and making a coffee?

And all of a sudden,
you're surrounded by the very,

very best in nature.

That's actually my favourite window.
We call that our snow globe window.

That's the window when you can
be sitting in the kitchen

and the snow is dropping or
blowing off the trees

and it literally looks like you're
in a snow globe. Amazing.

It's amazing that you actually
thought of that

and this is your first big
build as a couple.

We had the luxury of time,

so we weren't in a time constraint
where we had to move in here.

We had tonnes of time to plan.

There was nothing here, initially,
was there? Nothing.

It was forest, dense forest,

and we had to clear it all and that
was a huge, huge undertaking.

I really love the open plan.

Everywhere you look, there's
something else glorious to look at.

And there's never a moment where
you're thinking,

"I'm bored seeing what I'm seeing."

How important for you was the open
plan aspect, Susan?

Very, very important.

We have a lot of family up
on the lake and a lot of friends...

Do you throw a lot of parties?
Yes, we do. I can imagine. We do.

We have great parties up here.
So we wanted one big,

huge open space where everyone can
just mingle around

and a great flow
and very interactive,

so, yeah, that was very important,
to keep this space open.

I think part of the planning was

we really wanted two separate
environments.

The main living area's very bright,
very open and very tall,

whereas when you go into
the bedrooms,

the bedrooms have a very different
feel.

The bedrooms are a little bit
smaller, a little bit darker,

and very quiet,
so it's really and truly a retreat.

One of the stunning architectural
features of Black Birch is

this incredible two-storey wall,

a feature that divides the living
area from the bedrooms.

Now, not only is it gorgeous,
but it's completely soundproof.

One thing I'm noticing is
I'm not seeing any air conditioning

ducts anywhere. How are you cooling
and how are you heating?

In-floor heating. We also wanted it

to be really warm underfoot,
so we wanted to be comfortable.

Chris heats the house via
radiant floor heating,

which although not a new system,
is still somewhat rare.

Radiant floor heating is a system
that injects heat into the floor.

The radiant floor heating is
transferred to the floor

through liquid in tubes.

We don't have a cooling system.

We've been working with something
called an active house

principle and that is just
having as many operable

windows as possible, including
entire moving walls of glass.

So it allows for a very
efficient air flow,

so we don't need air conditioning.

So that's really fancy speak
for open a window! Pretty much! Yes!

How does it actually work?

Would you like me to show you?
Yeah! OK.

We had the balance
between as big as we can get,

but not so big that we
couldn't handle it.

Wow! And they are just seamless!
You know, that is so simple to do.

Well, it's clearly all about that
incredible view. This is awesome!

You know what, you can't get
that on prescription, can you?

That feeling,
that sense of connection to water.

And that wonderful
feeling of tranquillity you get.

And you never tire of it
cos it's always changing,

so we could walk down here
in the morning and it can look

completely different and the sunsets
are completely different again.

So it's never the same.

You could be in the same spot,
but never get the same view.

For someone thinking about embarking
on a build

for the first time,
what advice would you give them?

If I had to give any advice,
it's allow yourself the time

and the opportunity to execute your
vision

and execute your vision properly,
as opposed to having a date on which

you need or want to be in there

and everything else is a compromise

as a result of that date,
cos we've seen it happen before.

It's all about the relationship
between the building

and the location.
Everything just works.

I like the fact that this home is

so perfectly positioned
within this area of forest.

It's a big, modern, black box,

yet it doesn't feel
overwhelmingly out of place.

Black Birch isn't just a home,
it's the future.

It really is, I think,
a statement of what you can do

when you put your mind to it
to make a wonderful holiday escape.

It was the Roman engineer Vitruvius
who wrote

that the three principles
of good architecture

are durability, usefulness
and beauty.

The breathtaking Black Birch
ticks all three boxes.

But now, in our present day,

we need to add a new fourth
principle to the list,

sustainability, and one of the best
ways to make a structure

sustainable is by preserving
the past.

It's hard to believe, but this
impressive wood frame house

has its roots in humble log cabins
built by early

settlers in the North American West.

This style of wood
and stone construction

reached its peak in the grand stone
and timber lodges built for

the brand-new National Park system

in the early part of the 20th
century.

Lodges,
such as Grand Canyon's El Tovar

and the Old Faithful lodge
in Yellowstone

were massive in scale, but were
remarkably cosy and intimate.

The architectural style is known

today as
National Park Service Rustic,

or Parkitecture.

OK, don't worry, Justin.
It's not a prison. Phew!

These walls used to part of an old
cooperage and that of course

is the place where they would make
the barrels for whisky and wine.

I wonder if they've got any whisky
left indoors. What do you reckon?

I think we're going to find out!

This massive wood framed house
stands at 4,850 square feet

and is the brainchild of couple
Steve and Rene, who were attracted

to the property because of
the ruined remains of the old

cooperage, which occupied the site
from 1933 until the early 1950s.

Guys! Grand rooms! Great rooms!

Some are greater than others
and this certainly delivers.

Everything's big about this
property.

I'm thinking of the fact that this
property is built

on the site of the old cooperage,

you've brought the
wood detail in here again to reflect

days gone by,
yet in a modern interpretation.

When we go to the community and they
say, "Oh, you bought the Cooperage.

"My grandfather worked there.
My uncle worked there.

"We used to play there as kids."

So, everybody that we talked to
almost has used this property,

so why not have a great stone
and wood building that matches up?

So, Steve, how does that happen?

You know, you find a great
property on the lake, amazing walls,

how do you then turn
that into a home?

Cos this is a first-time build for
you two. A lot of research.

Mostly in the States, Wisconsin,
Montana, Missouri, Colorado

in particular. And we visited, too,
as well, a lot of log homes

and we looked at kind of how they
were set up, how the rooms flow.

How tall is the ceiling? Cos that's
a mammoth. It's 26.5ft. 26.5ft?

Yeah. How can you be so accurate?
I was up there.

OK. Yes, I did the staining and...

The staining on that, yes!

And put the beam up there. Yes.
With some help.

I love the size of it because
you can get lost in it, if you want.

You can go into your own room
and it's great.

We've got the media room where

you can go and watch the sports,
if you want.

And we love the idea that friends
and family can come

and that we're not like on top
of each other. We can spread out.

You can be outside, you can be down
at the fire pit, you can

be out on the water, kayaking,
canoeing, so we love that.

Steve, is it important for you

to actually capture
a sense of history in your home?

Cos this is essentially
a new-build property,

but it's got a great sense
of heritage about it.

It's very important. My family was
a logging family in Oregon.

My grandparents came from Europe
and had a homestead, 165 acres,

and they logged that and we just
built the family business up,

had our own sawmill, so it has
a little bit more than just wood.

It's, you know, the blood
of my family too.

You know, Steve, I love that!

I like that sense of appreciation
of the past,

the connection with timber,

you can see it in every single
piece of wood in here.

It's amazing!

Now, the flooring here I'm seeing is
that lovely kind of weathered look.

Was that inspired by the wood
of the barrels? Oh!

It was definitely
inspired by the wood of the barrels

and so I wanted to
incorporate that in here,

so this is reclaimed wood
from an old aeroplane hangar.

It's lovely, isn't it? It's really
fab. It is. It's amazing.

Sourcing reclaimed
materials for a first-time build,

you're using material which has
already been

harvested from the forest,
so by using reclaimed materials,

the energy which is used to
produce a material,

that embodied energy,
is already there,

so that's one of the primary
advantages

of using reclaimed materials,

as well as the aesthetic.

If you want to have a home that
looks like it's 200 years old,

then why not use materials
that are 200 years old?

So, this room here, I call
Cosy Cabin. OK. I can see why!

I wonder why

You know, it feels like a cosy
cabin.

The timber is beautiful.

The bed is fantastic.
I love the antique-style bedstead.

And then we have the balcony,

where we can sit outside
and we can look at the lake

in the morning and have our coffee.

Isn't it self-indulgent to have
an amazing space like this,

where the two
of you can be together

and it feels like the rest
of the world just doesn't exist?

Well, you guys have done
a load of work here

and this has been your first build,
so a huge achievement.

And for anyone who fancies doing
this at home, you know, they think,

"OK, I'm going to build an escape,"
what advice would you give them?

Start with the things that you love.

Pick one piece that you love
and then build around that.

It has to be something that
speaks to you in your heart

and this speaks to us in our heart.
Yeah.

You know, being here on the site
of the old cooperage,

it's great to see it breathe again.

You know, this must have been
the centre of the community.

It's been uncovered

and there are people here enjoying
this amazing site.

For me,
it's really exciting that Rene

and Steve have built this place as
their first ever home construction.

It's a great big log home with all
manner of fantastic detail.

Be inspired, be yourself.
That's the lesson from this house.

It's the job of the architect
to turn their client's vision

into reality and it takes a skilled
architect

to bring a first-time home
builder's dream to life.

Black Birch is the perfect
synthesis of client vision

and architectural skill.

The Cooperage echoes the heritage
of the site upon which it was built.

But sometimes,
a builder's dream is so specific,

they decide to be their own
architect.

We love the simplicity of condo
living, the clean,

contemporary lifestyle, the feeling
of a reduced amount of clutter.

It's so de-stressing
and makes for a way better life.

Yeah, so why not bring that
feeling into the country?

Simon and Bram have lived all over
Europe and North America,

but decided to settle in the country
to build their dream home

because of Bram's childhood memories
of attending camp in the area.

When a large waterfront lot

with a massive shoreline
became available,

they snapped it up
and Bram was off to the races,

designing the off-grid home
of their dreams.

Simon, talk about the rough
and the smooth, rugged landscape

and super sleek building.

What a space! Thank you.
Do you want to come and have a look?

I'd love to have a look inside.

Oh, hello! You know,
it really is exactly like a condo.

It's like a slice of a tower
block by the lake. That's the idea.

We loved our condo in the city.

We thought we'd create something
just as liveable out here.

Well, you've clearly done that.

I love the realisation of a dream,
when you know what you want

and you go out there
and you jolly well get it!

We tend to think of condos
as a millennial phenomenon,

but they actually have their roots
in the German design

and architectural movement
from the 1920s, known as Bauhaus.

With their credo,
"form follows function",

the mission of Bauhaus was

to provide simple
and functional spaces,

based on a minimalist approach,

which features clean lines with bold
and graphic colourways.

There's a very contemporary
feel to this.

It feels really laid out
and precise.

For me, the great thing about
this place is

the fact that it is so simple.

You actually let
the landscape speak to us.

Those black windows really
frame the trees.

The star of the show is the woods,
to us.

You know, we don't need
anything else, really.

We can just be here,
enjoy the woods, enjoy the location.

We love the clean lines
of the windows, of the walls.

We have space for our art.

We even have our condo furniture
in here cos it seemed to

fit in perfectly
with what we had in the city.

I like the fact that you've taken
something

that most people think
is a negative, you know,

cos people complain about condos,
don't they? "Oh, they're too small."

So they really do dictate to you
that you have to pare back

your lifestyle
and it seems that you've taken

that as a positive and you've
brought it here to this location.

In this house, we have everything
we need and nothing we don't need.

So we feel that we're using every
single room in the house,

so we feel we're really getting
the most out of the house.

It also makes it easier to clean.

Yeah, so you can actually enjoy
this beautiful landscape

without worrying about vacuuming.

Exactly! I could just sit there

and look out the window
and enjoy it.

Now, in terms of your original plan,
did you work with an architect,

or did you do the vision yourselves?

We actually did the design
ourselves.

My partner, Bram, he loves
architecture, he loves design,

so he sketched it out online.

Used some of this software,
even put furniture in online.

Got it exactly how we want it and
then we sent it to an architectural

drawer, who drew up the plans,
together with an engineer.

Nowadays, you know,

with the software platforms
that are in fact...

There is like freeware, there is
all sorts of things that one can

use to start to tinker
with architectural space.

If one is really interested
in creating their own home,

there's nothing to stop you
from really going with gut instinct

and looking at precedents
that you like.

Now that you see
everything laid out,

does it correspond to your vision?
Almost perfectly.

The way the light comes through,
the way everything is

great for entertaining, with the
kitchen here and the living room.

It's almost, I would say,
exactly to our vision.

This is your first-time build,

but you've complicated that even
further by deciding to go off-grid.

Yeah. How has that played
out for you guys?

It really made sense for us.

We like the idea of being off-grid,
we like the independence of it.

Off-grid is the principle of not
being connected to the

municipal systems, so you're not
connected to the electricity

grid, the sewage grid,
or to the water grid.

You are producing all the energy
that you need,

you're drawing the water that you
need,

and you're dealing with
all your sewage waste

on your property as well.

When designing an off-grid space,

the first-time builder needs to make
sure that they keep it simple,

so they have good air tightness
and good insulation.

So, we've got 15 solar panels
at the top of the hill,

facing the sun, 24 lead-acid
batteries down in the basement,

and they give us enough electricity,

especially in the summer,
we have so much electricity,

we're thinking of like selling it to
neighbours or something.

In the winter,
there's a lot less sun,

which means sometimes
if it's a cloudy week,

we've got a generator that kicks in
and tops up the batteries. Wow!

So you're totally kind of
self-sufficient,

in your own little universe.

Yeah, we are. When there's hydro
out, we're just fine. Exactly!

So it all sounds great,
all sounds really positive.

But come on, be honest, you know,
during this first-time build,

it's not like you're in the city,
in the suburbs,

you're in the middle of nowhere.

That must have been
really difficult.

We're in the middle of nowhere
and we're on a very steep hill.

Yeah. So that was difficult.

And then, you know, we're
in the middle of winter,

building, it's not always easy.

Sometimes it's hard to get in here.

First of all,
we had to sort out the drainage.

All the water seems to want to come
down right here where the house is

and right down to
where the bunky is.

It's a very steep slope
down to the lake.

We have to climb that every day,
so did our contractors have to

climb all the way up and down,
like 15 times in a morning.

You'd have legs like a mountain
gazelle,

going up and down
that particular precipice.

One reason why we chose this lot is

because it has 500ft of waterfront
and six acres.

Six acres! So it is isolated.

That kind of land,
it's hard to find around here

and so,
although it's a challenging lot,

with the hill, we chose to buy it.

So you very successfully champion
the small-scale living.

What is the actual square footage?

So the actual house
is 1,250 square foot,

plus 100 extra for the covered
patio out there.

So, how many bedrooms do
you have in here?

We have two bedrooms,
but we also have the bunky.

We decided to keep this house up
here just for us,

cos it's nice to have guests,
but sometimes, you want them

to be a little bit distant,

so that's why we've got a bunky
down by the lake for the guests.

It's a challenge for any architect

to connect two buildings
on the same property

with nothing except design.

First-time architects
and builders Bram

and Simon rose to the challenge of
tying this bunky to the main house.

It functions as overflow
space for guests

and echoes the architecture with
the same simplicity of design,

the same exterior materials,
and, of course,

floor to ceiling windows
with a spectacular view.

So, this is the bunky!
Yep. There was a bunky here,

but we decided to take it down
and build it on the footprint.

Oh! This is cute. Wow!
This is just unbelievable.

The view, you know, nature,
its purity, its proximity.

I really like this because it
kind of serves all requirements.

A little living zone here,
somewhere to prepare drinks,

bit of a snack, bed zone round
the corner. It's got it all.

You can be very comfortable here.

You know, you could stay here
all day

and you've got everything you need,

you can just enjoy the lake
and come back here in the evening.

You've considered its placement
and how it affects the topography.

And we also considered
its relationship

to the house at the top of
the hill too.

We kind of call it big box,
little box.

The family resemblance.
Right, exactly. I love it.

I like the use of timber in here

because you do blur
the lines between the forest

and the inside, timber floor,
timber furniture,

the kind of very pale timber
on the walls. It all seems to work.

You know, nothing is too painted.
It's all really natural in here.

We took a lot of our cues from
what's around us, so a lot of wood

around us, a lot of greys,
of rock around us,

so it makes you feel like you're
part of nature.

I'm going to say it right now.
I think I'd rather be here!

I'm thinking of moving down here
actually, myself.

So, what was the most successful
thing about this,

for two first renovators who have
come

from the city to a rural location?

I think this bunky actually is it.

Where else do you get a place where
you can hang out so close to a lake?

And this is just an oasis for us.

I love it
when opposites come together

and create something positive,

cos this shouldn't work,
but it does.

You know, you've got this super
smooth, sleek building

and this incredibly rough landscape,
but it all works.

It's amazing how times change.

You think, in days gone by,
of off-the-grid living

and you think of a real kind of
hippy commune.

You know, producing
your own power is super cool now.

It's about being self-sufficient.

It's about not putting
a drain on resources

and it's about just taking control
of your own destiny.

I think it's hip, not hippy! Mm-hm.

Now, they say that fortune
favours the brave

and that certainly can be
said for each of our home builders

because they haven't made it
easy for themselves by choosing

a rural location for their
first-time builds.

But it's clear,
to build a great escape,

these elements are important.
Careful study of the landscape

and patient planning to
hone your vision.

Build on those things that inspire.

A sense of heritage
and personal history.

Keep it simple and sustainable.

Three brilliantly brave builders,
three incredible first-time builds.

I'm feeling inspired. Do you know?

I feel really inspired as well

because they're all so distinctly
different,

yet, I'll tell you something else
they share in common,

the fact that they're all great
escapes.

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