[Opening titles]
[Daytime. Kevin McLeod standing in South Africa Road, the West Paddock turnstiles behind him]
KM [to camera]: In 2023 we came to west London to visit Christian Nourry, who had an ambitious plan to turn a rundown council house into a state-of-the-art eco-friendly town home, with the potential either to be a lifetime home, or a hugely profitable resale.
[Cut to VT from 2023. CN is briefing his Spanish project manager, Marti, on his plans as they survey the site. Marti is seen shaking his head repeatedly.]
KM [voiceover}: Not everything has gone to plan. Marti, who was in charge through the first year of the project, has left.
[Cut to pitch, present day, KM and CN walking together]
CN: There were some unforeseen setbacks, it's true.
KM: Marti left? What happened there?
CN: I heard he'd given a quote for a job in Solihull.
KM: But didn't he start camping in your garden?
CN: That's true.
KM: Where is he now?
CN: Gone to live in Leicester.
KM: Why did he want to go to a different job?
CN: We disagreed about the project. He felt his experience in preparing homes for Scandinavian winters was relevant. I didn't.
[Cut to VT from 2025, Marti and CN at site]
Marti: I told you, I have to be able to hire brickies taller than five foot two.
CN: These brickies fit the profile. They've got the potential to work on really big jobs in the future.
Marti: And your design can't work. It's no good having two fortified wings, if the body of the house has no glass in the sliding doors. Just let me make sure it's waterproof and insulated, then get someone else in.
[Cut to present day, CN and new project manager at site]
KM [voiceover]: Now Christian has doubled down, hiring Julien to work for him. Julien oversaw the award-winning new model home in Strasbourg, which recently suffered subsidence issues.
[CN and Julien in conversation]
CN: That storm last night was disappointing.
Julien: It blew right through the centre of the house. Destroyed the living room and dining room and kitchen.
CN: How are the wings looking?
Julien: The west wing is going to take a few weeks to repair, the east wing we're going to try to shore up with some buttressing.
CN: But do they still look nice?
Julien: Well, it depends what you mean by nice, boss. But, I guess so. There's still some detailing.
[Cut to KM and CN, with CN smiling and giving cakes to his favourite small brickies}
KM: But don't you think, even if you don't stay here, then any future owner will want a living room and a dining room and a kitchen?
CN: I really don't think houeses in the modern age need that. What do you do at home, really? You sleep. That's it. Everything else you do outside. You eat, you see friends.
KM: What about watch TV?
CN: On your phone, in bed. Honestly, you talk to anyone under 30, they feel this way about architecture. This is the process.
KM: But most people like a living room and kitchen, at the very least.
CN: Well, people are always disappointed when they don't get to sit in their favourite rooms …
[CONTINUES FOR 45+4 MINS}
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