Grand Designs New Zealand

Plans for an elegant "empty nest" home on Waiheke Island are swamped by a sea of mud and a tsunami of rising construction costs.

A cherished family holiday home at Lake Ōhau is rebuilt after destruction and near-death experience.

A concrete, steel and glass citadel above a popular Auckland beach combines austere functionality with luxury living.

The dream of a sustainable rammed earth house at Waikanae risks crumbling in the face of building delays and steadily rising costs.

An old tennis court in Paraparaumu is set to become a couple's new family home but the project lobs up a series of backhanders.

A couple with peaceful retirement in mind, plan a rustic retreat in North Canterbury inspired by a Stealth Bomber fighter.

A rambunctious retired bricklayer builds one final house, for himself and his ever-patient wife on their farm near Whanganui.

Tasman-raised Mark Ahearn and his Australian restaurateur wife Liz are taking time out from their hectic lives in Perth to build a legacy family holiday home in Abel Tasman.

When Matthew and Rosemarie Dunning decide to put down roots in Mangawhai, they throw convention out the window and embrace their son's intriguing concept of a brick house in a sand dune.

Eternal globetrotter Tessa Kingsbury's dream is to convert an old Dunedin Sunday school into her forever home, but it comes with a twist – she's incorporating a glasshouse into the heart of it.

Josh and Esther Perriam have always wanted to build their family home on New Brighton's beachfront but, with a limited budget and on just a slip of land , will the design live up to their dream?

On a steep site in the wilds of Mahurangi, just north of Auckland, architect Felicity Brenchly is prepared to do whatever it takes to get their family home built.

An hour, and 7 river crossings, inland from Geraldine is where arborist Li Tane and his landscaper wife Michelle are building their rammed earth, off-grid, sustainable mountain home for their family.

When John and Sharon Russell bought their vertiginous site above Queenstown for their shared-ownership holiday house, they thought their biggest challenge would be signing up other owners...

In the Waitaki Valley, Michael and Olivia Pavelitch discover they have their work cut out for them when they embark on breathing life into an historic rabbiters' cottage.

After renting the local schoolhouse for 20 years, Chatham Islanders John and Bridget Preece are finally embarking on their own dream build. But will the challenges of building on a remote island prove to be their undoing?

Tony Hodge discovers that building with the humble container is not as easy as he thought it would be on his unforgiving, vertiginous. bush clad site on Waiheke Island. 

In Featherston, Swedish architect Josefine Watterson tackles the challenge of creating a Passive House for her young family in pursuit of both a more sustainable lifestyle.

In North Canterbury Phil Metaxas takes on the ambitious task of completing another man's dream - that of a post-modernist castle.

Season Final:  Charles Webster, a man with a passion for technical engineering, and his wife Yvonne pour their energy into creating a home in the shape of a sand dune on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Roland and Lucienne Vanderwal join forces with their son Michiel to build a home out of local schist, in the middle of their central Otago vineyard. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

Heritage building enthusiasts Ted and Ita Daniels create an ultra-modern rooftop apartment on top of one of the city's most beautiful renovations.

Shane and Tina Nicholls design a unique family home using Japanese burnt timber and Scandinavian brick, a special memorial garden, views over the gulf, a wine cellar, a pool, and much more – it's a truly international affair.

A site with a river running through it would put most people off. But not Harlem and Nicola who attempt to build a glass-house on a bridge over the water.

Musicians Justine Cormack and Marc Taddei swap their Auckland home for the mountains of Central Otago. They risk all by adapting an American design for the Southern Hemisphere.

David and Tracey Lewis share a passion for art and architecture but don't always share the same opinion. So when they jointly create a home in Waipu Cove, there's a creative clash and a battle over the budget.

Craig Jarvis's tiny 65 square metre home overlooking Taylor's mistake is Grand Designs longest running house build. Hand built from the ground up, Craig proves he's a man on a mission who will not be defeated.

Neil Lawrence is on a quest to build a Medieval castle for his wife and son. Creating a 50-metre long castle wall is just the first of many uphill battles this brave family face as they tackle this huge task.

A writer builds a sculptural steel house on a hill behind Pakiri beach on the North Island. The bold design features sloping walls and an angular, vaulted ceiling and contains hardly any right angles.

A builder and his wife create a hand-crafted American Gothic-style house, complete with ornate detailing such as a Juliet balcony, spandrels, a horseshoe window and lacework valances, near Auckland