Grand Designs Australia - All Seasons

Architect Peter Maddison returns for his 7th series on Grand Designs Australia.

After a short break in 2016 the newest and biggest season of Grand Designs Australia returned to Lifestyle in 2017, with the first 9 episodes launched in April. Now we are kicking off 2018 with a bang with Season 7 part b – the 5 remaining Grand Designs that took a little extra time to achieve their out-of-this-world ideas. These 5 remaining episodes include a giant greenhouse enclosing a house, garden, stables and animal pens; a large spotted gum clad house built on an island amongst the koalas - that requires all material arrive via barge; a tech dream home with a two storey helical glass staircase; and last not be least, a heritage listed windmill.

The leading Australian architect joins our homeowners throughout the process of turning ideas into reality, as people use design and architectural ingenuity to create an environment that best reflects their personality and ideals.

This season, Peter follows 10 new homeowners – all driven visionaries with a dream to change their lives and Australia's architectural landscape forever.

The backdrops are as varied as they are stunning, as Peter travels from Victoria's bush ranger country near Euroa where the dry earth is punctuated by huge granite boulders, to prime land on Sydney's northern beaches where sloping blocks pose blistering challenges for two very different owner builders.

One such builder is Stephen Mallinger who has spent the last 15 years at the helm of his own construction company building homes for other people. Now he is expanding his repertoire and finally building his own home – and it's a grand one. Set in the Northern Beaches suburb of Curl Curl, architect Andrew Donaldson's unorthodox design comprises four split-level terraced pods which follow the natural contours of the sandstone cliff. The spectacularly steep site adds complexity to an already difficult project, but rather than shy away from the challenge both Stephen and the design take advantage of the natural surroundings – and the effect is inspired.

In the popular Byron hinterland, a young family is building an anti-mansion – a house with a neat footprint which fully values every last square metre. But it's a proud Tasmanian travel writer that truly tests the principals of the small house movement, by creating a petite 40 square metre pod house providing all she needs and nothing more.

Travelling on to South Australia, Queensland and the ACT, Peter Maddison showcases as many eccentric and unique grand designs as modern masterpieces. Australia has never looked better in this exciting new series.

Grand Designs Australia returns to screens in October, with a new host and a new home on ABC. Anthony Burke (Restoration Australia, Grand Designs Transformations) succeeds Peter Maddison, who previously hosted the show for 10 seasons on Foxtel.