Spain • 2019 • episode "S2E5" • The World's Most Extraordinary Homes

Category: Design | Download: | Subtitle:

In Spain, Caroline and Piers see a farmhouse made of steel, a home with a floating pool, a circular sanctuary and a shared dwelling for three sisters.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

The World's Most Extraordinary Homes • 2017 - 2019 • 12 episodes •

Mountain

They begin in California, viewing a property built from the wings and tail fins of a Boeing 747. In Arizona, the pair stay in a modern house with an innovative take on an ancient technique of absorbing the heat during the day and releasing it at night. In New Zealand, Caroline and Piers view a house camouflaged using cedar cladding, while their last stop takes them to a hexagonal alpine chalet with a steel chimney core that anchors it to the mountain.

2017 • Design

Forest

Architect Piers Taylor and actress Caroline Quentin explore unusual homes built in or near areas of forest. After trips to properties near Madrid and the Catskill Mountains in New York State, they arrive in Piha, New Zealand, to a house built within an indigenous forest of pohutukawa trees. Navigating very strict environmental laws, this wooden-cladded and glass-roofed property mimics the branches of the surrounding trees, while its huge sliding glass walls open up to allow the surrounding forest to become an intrinsic part of the house itself.

2017 • Design

Coast

Piers Taylor and Caroline Quentin visit an island in Norway, spending two days in a house built on a footprint of just 100 square metres. In Spain, the pair head to a home built into a steep cliff face overlooking the Mediterranean, featuring a cantilevered terrace offering maximum sea views and a swimming pool as well as an unusual tiled roof. After viewing a house in New Zealand crafted from two separate wooden cladded structures, the duo explore a home in Canada inspired by two ships in dry dock, designed to peer over the coast, allowing the sea to pass underneath.

2017 • Design

Underground

Piers Taylor and Caroline Quentin explore unusual homes built underground. In Greece, they view a house hidden beneath the landscape that still boasts stunning sea views. In the Swiss Alps, they visit a house made so invisible it has to be accessed via a tunnel. Next it's over to New Zealand's South Island to a house built underground to soften its impact on the landscape as well as withstand the threat of earthquakes, before the pair inspects a Dutch house created by deep excavation, which features a huge, light-filled open-plan living space.

2017 • Design

USA

Piers and Caroline end their tour in Florida with a waterfront wonder, a modest pavilion, a modernist showpiece and a high-end home built on stilts

2018 • Design

Portugal

Caroline and Piers start the season in Portugal, where a fully automated home, a serpentine design, an X-shaped stunner and a woodland property await

2018 • Design

Switzerland

In Switzerland, Piers and Caroline tour a modern chalet, a concrete retreat, an S-shaped home and a house built for it's owner's classic cars

2018 • Design

Japan

Caroline and Piers visit Japan to see a V-shaped home, an eccentric gathering place, a Zen-like escape, and a glass and concrete marvel

2018 • Design

Spain

In Spain, Caroline and Piers see a farmhouse made of steel, a home with a floating pool, a circular sanctuary and a shared dwelling for three sisters.

2019 • Design

India

A tour of India includes an airy fortress, a fluid home with origami-like roofs, a new take on a tea plantation house and a lovely "patchwork" property.

2019 • Design

Norway

Piers and Caroline travel to Norway to see a charming family cottage, a summer house built around a rock, a daring concrete home and a rugged retreat.

2019 • Design

Israel

Israel serves up a palatial family estate, a pastoral property that filters the elements, a house built on a cliff and a home with three gardens.

2019 • Design

You might also like

Crossroads of Change

Crossroads of Change

A changing environment and shifting population patterns present significant new demands on cities worldwide. Luckily, people are coming up with ingenious answers.

S1E3 • Design with the Other 90 Percent • 2011 • Design

Secrets of British Animation

Secrets of British Animation

Explores more than a century of animation in Britain, including the creative and technical inventiveness of the UK's greatest animation pioneers. The defining characteristic of British animation has always been ingenuity. Unable to compete with the big American studios, animators in Britain were forced to experiment, developing their own signature styles. The documentary uncovers the trade secrets of animation legends like Bob Godfrey, John Halas and Joy Batchelor, Len Lye and Bristol's world-renowned Aardman Animations. Tracing the development of British animation from the end of the Victorian era to contemporary blockbusters, Secrets of British Animation shows the perseverance and determination that are part of the animator's mind-set. Focusing on the handmade tradition of animation in the UK, the programme includes newly-remastered early films from the archive of the British Film Institute.

2018 • Design

Secrets of the Mona Lisa

Secrets of the Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa: bewitching, seductive, world famous. In the minds of millions, she is the ultimate work of art. Yet behind the enigmatic smile, she remains a mystery, fuelling endless speculation and theories. But is that all about to change? Is the world's most famous painting finally giving up its secrets? Presented by Andrew Graham-Dixon, this landmark film uses new evidence to investigate the truth behind her identity and where she lived. It decodes centuries-old documents and uses state-of-the-art technology that could unlock the long-hidden truths of history's most iconic work of art.

2015 • Design

USA

Piers and Caroline end their tour in Florida with a waterfront wonder, a modest pavilion, a modernist showpiece and a high-end home built on stilts

S2E1 • The World's Most Extraordinary Homes • 2018 • Design

Es Devlin: Stage Design

Es Devlin: Stage Design

Stage designer Es Devlin crafts evocative sets for concerts, operas, plays and runway shows using light, film, sculpture -- and even rain.

S1E3 • Abstract: The Art of Design • 2017 • Design

Objects of Desire

Objects of Desire

Picking up the story of design from the drab days of the late 70s, the final episode tracks the explosion of wild creativity that defined the 'designer decades' of the 80s and early 90s. By addressing wants rather than needs and allying themselves to the blatant consumerism of 'retail culture' designers emerged from the backrooms to claim a starring role in the shaping of modern life.

S1E5 • The Genius of Design • 2010 • Design