Grand Designs (1999–…): Season 13, Episode 10 - Malaga Revisit - full transcript
I first came to this village
in Andalucia nine years ago,
in slightly better weather,
to meet Gill and Hillary Briffa,
who were leaving their architectural
practice in St Albans
in the hands of their son, Matt,
to come and retire here.
Their parting gift to him
was the job of designing
their retirement home - a rather
confrontational, bold, glass box
that was really quite challenging
in terms of form, style and colour.
Not exactly the most sensitive way
of integrating yourself
into a rural, isolated community.
Are you not going to be, you know,
the Brits who built the weird
glass box on top of the hill?
I don't think anybody here's
got a clue what this thing's
going to look like.
The builder has,
and he's laughing at us,
quite openly saying,
"You're nuts doing this."
They won't sign the house off
if we don't change the colour
and they won't give us electricity.
I'm taking a very
arrogant stand here.
Very sadly, Gill died in 2008.
I was last here in 2005,
eight years ago.
Now I'm quite excited
to see Hillary again
to see whether or not the building
has settled into its landscape,
whether it's still multi-coloured,
and to find out just how life
is for her as a British widow
living up in the Andalucian hills,
in a house that was so controversial
when it was built.
But first, here's the story
of the construction of this sleek,
modernist retirement home
that dared to turn local
architectural wisdom on its head.
In 2005, 100,000 Brits
relocated to Spain.
But the couple I was about to meet
had rejected the coastal
sprawl around Malaga.
Instead, they'd found a virgin plot
of land up in the Andalucian hills.
This place had so far managed to
escape the grasp of the developers.
What you get here are traditional
old fincas and white-washed villas.
It's as though nothing has changed
for the past 50 years.
And it's here that
a British architect and his wife
have decided to build themselves
a retirement home,
but one the likes of which
no-one here has ever seen.
Hola! Hola, you found us!
How are you? Very well.
Nice to see you. Nice to see you.
I'm afraid that's
the sum total of my Spanish.
Well, that's not too bad, then.
It's a start.
How did you find this place?
We didn't know this area at all.
We did a recce one February,
one year,
and we passed through it
and we realised how quiet it was
and how underdeveloped it was.
'This is a great find.
'Sitting in a prime location
above the valley,
'this eight-acre site cost
Gil and Hilary just £35,000.'
So, you're going to build
on this terrace, then?
Absolutely, all the way down there.
Wow! What a view.
Yes, it's lovely, isn't it?
It's fabulous. Yeah.
So, how would you
describe the house?
Is it going to be modern,
or traditional, or what?
It is going to be modern.
It is going to be different,
visually, from other houses,
but it will have a lot
of similarities with houses
in this part of the world.
We'll do a lot of living
outdoors, I hope,
and so we'll have courtyards,
because I love courtyards.
Because of the view, our main
living space is a glass box.
Wow. So we've got a lot of shade.
So the room, although glassy,
has got overhanging canopies
that actually do shade it
from the fiercest heat
in the middle of the day.
So, you're an architect,
did you design the house? No, no.
Hilary and I wrote the brief,
and then we passed it to
our poor son to solve the problem.
He's also an architect? He's also
an architect, and is a partner.
Oh, in your practice? Yes.
So he's designed this house
for you, as clients?
For his mum and dad, yeah.
I have to say, when I first saw his
design, I thought it was amazing.
It wasn't at all what I anticipated.
It was absolutely amazing.
Just how amazing is difficult
to see at first.
A giant citadel wall
will tease you with mere glimpses
of what lies behind.
Only a small door
offers you any way in.
And the view it reveals is amazing.
This is a really clever design,
ruthlessly modernist,
but broken up to look
like a little hamlet of houses
curving around the side of the hill.
To the west will be the guest block.
In the middle, the glass box
sitting room and kitchen.
And to the east,
Gil and Hilary's private wing
with a first floor study
and master bedroom suite below.
Every linking space
in the building will be open-air,
forcing you outdoors.
In theory, shelter from the sun
will come from the high pergola
and the broad concrete overhang
above the transparent living room.
This south-facing glass box
is an experimental idea
in such a hot climate,
and a surprising place to put
an open-plan kitchen.
The guest block will have
two double-bedroom suites.
Next to it, an outside staircase
will take you to the enormous
first floor roof terrace -
a very usable outdoor living space.
This promises to be the coolest
retirement home I've ever seen,
and at a total cost of only £250,000
something Gil and Hilary could
only dream of getting in the UK.
I can see that what you're going
to build here is going
to hug the landscape, but it is
still going to be a modern building,
with a big glass wall,
which is very unusual.
And here you are, in the middle
of an entirely Spanish community,
two Brits, you know?
Are you not going to be, you know,
the Brits who built the weird
glass box on top of the hill?
I think it'll cause interest.
I don't think anybody here's
got a clue what this thing's
going to look like.
The builder has,
and he's laughing at us,
quite openly saying,
"You're nuts doing this," you know.
Really? Yes, absolutely.
I'm not surprised that the builder
thinks they're mad.
If you look around here,
all the houses have got thick walls
and tiny windows,
in order to keep the heat out.
And here's Gil and Hilary,
and they want to build a house
with a glass box at its centre,
which, in the middle of summer -
I mean, that could
just be a greenhouse.
I just hope that they can get this
project to work, technically,
cos I love that design.
I also hope they can get it to work
aesthetically here.
I tell you what -
Gil's a brave man to try.
With Gil and Hilary back in the UK,
work starts on site
at full throttle.
The concrete foundations
are shallow,
but reinforced with steel, as is
the main framework of the building.
This is because all
of southern Spain
is considered an earthquake zone,
and the steel gives the concrete
added strength and flexibility.
This top floor flat
becomes quite massive...
In St Albans, Gil and his son, Matt,
work full-time
at the family practice,
which means Gil and Hilary
will only be flying out to Spain
once every four weeks.
Considering this is
a very demanding design,
once a month doesn't seem
like a lot to me.
And, what's more,
Gil is putting all his trust
in a local Spanish builder,
Paco Montanez,
who speaks no English
and has never seen -
let alone built -
a house like this before.
HE SPEAKS SPANISH
Oh, dear.
With such an unusual design
and Gil 1,000 miles away,
he really needs a builder
who, at the very least,
shares his vision.
This is a highly ambitious project.
It's also the house
that Gil and Hilary
want to spend
the rest of their lives in.
I just hope Paco can deliver.
It's the end of June,
and after a month of work on site,
Gil and Hilary Briffa are making
their first scheduled visit to Spain
to see the layout of their
mountain-top retirement retreat.
Flipping heck.
It is always nerve-racking,
you know,
wondering what the hell
the builder's got up to.
Hoping he's done it right.
That's the problem.
Gil can't wait to get involved.
His Spanish is basic,
but he's not afraid to get stuck in.
The thing is,
as both client AND architect,
he can't resist the temptation
to make changes,
and he's just decided
he wants the pool heated.
So now they need to build
a machine room.
If I was the architect and
the client had asked me to do it,
I'd have probably
gone through the roof.
But as I'm the client
and the architect, it's containable.
We're fighting each other
and we've both won.
This means Paco's got to lay
ANOTHER set of foundations.
First thing next morning,
Paco's concrete order
for the new foundations arrives
and the builders are digging
the trenches to receive it.
That's not manana culture.
That is today.
But Paco's been a little
too efficient.
The cement lorry has arrived
earlier than expected.
They've been caught on the hop,
I think,
they've ordered the concrete and
they haven't prepared enough for it
and they've just got to make
the best they can out of it.
The builders have no choice
but to fix the steel reinforcements
in place
AS the concrete is being poured.
And in this heat,
concrete sets fast.
He is a control freak, he does
like to control what's going on.
He's quite a volatile person, so
I've learned not to worry too much.
SHE LAUGHS
It usually works in the end.
The problem is, I'm here.
It could have happened on Friday
and I wouldn't have seen it
and it wouldn't have mattered.
They're coping very well.
MEN SPEAK SPANISH
This last process
may have been chaotic,
but Paco has at least
got all the foundations in.
Gil and Hilary are now
three months into the project.
Their Spanish builders are already
working on the concrete roof.
With a surface area
of 500 square metres,
this is going to be
an enormous single slab.
Gil is worried that the project
is going too fast
and he's finding long distance
communications with Paco
frustrating.
I'm anxious only because
I'm not there, you know.
I just can't toddle down the road
and have a look at it,
if I was concerned, you know.
You've got to plan it
a few days in advance
and it takes some time
to get down there.
Paco is used to working in concrete,
but this roof is tricky.
Over 300 tonnes of wet concrete
has to be poured in one go
to avoid it cracking.
Throughout the day,
18 lorry-loads of concrete
are craned onto site and levelled
to a perfect flat finish.
Paco and his team
work 14 hours flat-out,
and I have to say,
I've rarely seen a British team
achieve so much in just one day.
Bloody hell!
It's a huge house you've got.
Frightening, isn't it?
Cor, look at this.
That's some mass of concrete,
isn't it?
Yes. Nice view that way.
Nice view that way.
And you keep on walking...
Above the glass. And now here we're
above the living room glass box.
And you've got, above here,
you're going to have this sunshade.
Downstairs, the wide roof
will stop the direct sunlight
from over-heating the glass box.
So it's quite a big overhang now,
isn't it?
It's about a two-metre overhang,
yes.
Well, you can see the shadow
it's casting already.
It's what, it's just gone
nine o'clock in the morning.
About half of what would be
the glass box has got
some sunshine in it,
at this time of day.
Yes. It's gratifying to see
actually, there's quite a shadow,
as you say, at the moment.
And I can see this sort of crank
shape of this pool now.
That makes sense to me now.
Very often you find
that pools are built
away from the buildings,
as though they're another facility
that you use when you fancy,
whereas this, we believe,
is part of the whole thing,
not just an event or an incident
that happens somewhere else.
Now that the first phase
is complete,
the builders can celebrate with
a customary topping-out ceremony,
just like in the UK,
only here the food's better.
THEY SPEAK SPANISH
Paco's invited everyone involved
with the project.
All the builders,
the registered Spanish architect,
Jaime Garcia Jaramillo, and special
guest, the original architect,
Gil and Hilary's son, Matt.
Designing a house for another
architect is a nightmare, right?
Designing a house
for another architect
who happens to be your dad...
Yes. It's a responsibility,
you know?
They're retiring in this place and
I have to make sure that, you know,
we're comfortable
that they can live in it.
So you've got a good working
relationship with your dad?
I think so, yeah.
I'm going to ask him that. Gil!
Listen, I was asking your son
about your working relationship.
Our working relationship
is an excellent one.
You know, to say,
"Design me a house"
is such an amazing thing of trust.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a great gift.
I just wanted to blame him
when it went wrong, you see.
And he'll take the glory
when it's all fantastic.
When it doesn't work,
I'll be there to take the flack.
Listen, it's a classic situation.
You design it and we pay for it.
ALL LAUGH
After a short break to allow
for the summer's hottest month,
it's September by the time
they begin infilling the walls
with lightweight hollow bricks.
And once again, it's all happening
far too far away for comfort.
You do feel remote from the build,
I have to say,
and the fact that we can't get there
more frequently.
And it doesn't worry me too much,
but I know that Gil's getting
really sort of quite uncomfortable,
in case, just in case
something irrevocable gets done
that we can't redress if it's wrong.
He is,
he's getting quite worried about it.
So that's, yeah,
we do think about that a bit.
SHE LAUGHS
But in the event, the first mistake
is British, not Spanish,
when Paco spots a problem
with the drawings for the stairs
that lead up to the study.
HE SPEAKS SPANISH
We can't get the staircase in,
in the way that we wanted,
so we're having to reform
the geometry of the stairs.
But it gives us problems
in the appearance of it up there.
It's the plans that are at fault.
So together, Gil and Paco
try to iron out the problem.
GIL SPEAKS SPANISH
We've found three solutions and they
all have aesthetic implications.
I want to go down and sit down
quietly with a large Scotch,
or something, and work it out.
Gil returns to the UK to try
and resolve the staircase issue.
Details like this are increasingly
becoming a priority.
It's November and time
for the next important phase,
the application of the render.
Gil knows that the Spanish builders
are used to applying rough,
rustic finishes to buildings
and that they might not be able
to meet his demands
for a modernist crisp-edged render.
I'm going to be very fussy
when it comes to detail,
because simple buildings
need meticulous detailing
and need meticulous skill
in putting things together.
If things don't meet exactly
where they should, not just me,
but other people will see it,
and it will be a pity.
And I've got to lock up because
I've got the key, is that right?
Gil can't keep away from this build,
and he and Hilary are now flying out
every two weeks.
Six months in, they've already spent
almost ?4,000
travelling to and from Malaga.
And with every trip,
their expectations grow.
It is becoming a reality,
and you do think
more positively about...
"We're actually going
to be living here."
It takes an entire month to render
the external walls,
but the transformation
is astonishing.
It's fortress-like. Can we go in?
Yeah. You've got pipework in.
Yes, we're starting the heating
and the air conditioning.
The pool is all...
Look at those shapes. Mm!
The structural elements
of this build are almost complete.
The overhanging concrete roof
appears to float
over where the glass box will be.
And the huge steel-framed pergola
that shades the upper terrace
and pool is being built today.
How's your main space?
It's beautiful.
I thought there was going to be
a fireplace here, wasn't there?
What's the deal there?
Yes, there was.
And we stood here
and we couldn't see the view.
And we thought, "We were wrong".
LAUGHTER
I'm not going to say anything.
So at the moment you're on your way
up onto the roof...
With the render on, this building
is looking nice and sharp.
The hard lines and geometric shapes
are already working
in the way Gil and Hilary wanted.
To get this consistency in England
would be very difficult.
Seriously? Absolutely.
You don't mean that.
You couldn't get that straight line
out of a British builder?
You couldn't get the consistency
that he's getting.
I always assumed that Gil and Hilary
would paint their house white,
like all the other houses
in the area.
But they've got other,
more adventurous ideas,
and they've asked Paco
and their Spanish architect Jaime
to help them
choose their colour scheme.
I think that would make a gash
in the hillside from where we are.
We either go for one strong colour
in one area
and then the lighter colour
in front of it.
Or we go for a collection of
colours, which break the building up
even more.
I want to ask Paco what he likes.
Paco?
That sounds to me like he's saying
that all the houses round here
are white,
in this region, in the territory,
and consequently,
the town hall's view
is that all houses should be white,
therefore, this should be white?
Yeah. I'm sure,
I'm sure we'll arrange something.
We'll arrange something, yes.
Yes, we'll come to an agreement.
I'm sure we will.
Gil and Hilary's Spanish build
is in its eighth month.
The rendered external walls
are still waiting for their
first coat of paint,
but negotiations on the choice
of colour have become complicated.
Paco has told Gil that
if he decides to paint his house
a strong colour, he'll be defying
not just tradition, but a recent
local ruling that states
that all new builds in the region
must be painted white,
and only white.
But Gil has decided to ignore
what Paco says
and has started working
on his colour schemes.
We think it could do with
a little bit more interest,
so we're moving now and saying,
"Well, what if we paint this wall,
like, brown?"
And again,
it's supposed to be an earth colour.
And then we said,
"Well, what happens
if we paint the main building
"a grey, sagey green, bluey green?"
We're still playing with that.
What's next?
This is the internal courtyard.
Looking at the end house.
And there's the blue, isn't it,
so that kind of strong,
Yves Klein ultramarine blue,
whatever.
The white's the glue
and the colour's the articulation.
Gil is hoping that
because the new ruling was passed
AFTER he got planning permission,
these colours will be acceptable.
You've still got to sort of persuade
Paco, or at least appease him.
I'm not going to worry
about having to fight Paco.
No? No, I'm taking a very arrogant
stand here.
I think they should look at knocking
down some of the illegal buildings
before telling me what to paint.
Yeah, that's a very fair point.
I hope you're going to make that
to Paco.
I've already subtly made that
to Paco, yes. OK.
Having stood their ground
for so long,
Gil and Hilary finally decide
to paint their house white.
And minty green.
And red ochre.
And vanilla.
And of course, blue.
Gil hasn't made a single concession,
and even as the paint is drying,
the Spanish builders
are voicing their opinion.
And it's unanimous.
Gil's tactic was deliberately
confrontational,
because he believes strongly
that he's doing the right thing
for the building.
We've painted it the right colour.
Yes. That's a nice colour, isn't it?
Yes.
It's a massive difference
since we were here three weeks ago.
I was quite surprised. Yeah.
That's your blue wall.
My blue wall, it's fantastico.
It articulates the chimney stack
so well.
I know, it does that.
It's beautiful. It really is.
I like the idea
of what Gil's done here.
He wanted to use colour to reinforce
the separate identity
of each building,
so that the site as a whole
resembles his idea
of a hilltop village.
But other people might not
see it like that.
We haven't had any enormous
backlash personally,
but we're not here long enough
perhaps to know.
Gil and Hilary
may not be aware of it,
but in the surrounding villages,
the locals have taken against
their colour scheme.
So, that's unanimous then!
The locals don't like it, the
builders don't like it, and Paco,
who Gil really needs on his side, is
very uncomfortable about the blue.
Look at that.
I do like that earth-coloured one
on the left-hand side,
that building looks really good.
I'm not so sure about
the minty green, though,
on the right-hand side.
The thing is, around here,
everything, every building
is traditional.
I mean, look at this place here,
this is a brand-new house.
Look, just been put up, it's got
a traditional tiled roof,
it's been painted white.
Not only that, but the people
round here are also traditional,
they're conservative,
they're all Spanish.
Gil and Hilary
are the only Brits here for miles.
And look what they've done,
it's a real statement.
Hello. Kevin. Tiptoeing.
How are you? I'm very well, and you?
Nice to see you again.
Very, very well. Hi, Hilary,
how are you? Hello. Very well.
You look very brown and happy
and content,
and the pair of you look very well.
I'm glad you think we do!
Do you not feel that way? No!
LAUGHTER
But the place is coming on, isn't
it? Yeah, it's coming on lovely.
I stopped just down there
and looked up at it
and these colours look extraordinary
from down there.
They do, don't they?
I did wonder
whether it looked like a hotel.
Yeah. Well, somebody thinks
it looks a bit like a discotheque,
but there we are. Yes.
Oh, yes, a nightclub!
A nightclub, yes.
That did come to mind. Yeah.
Last time I was here,
you were saying that the next thing
that would happen would be
the glass, but that hasn't happened.
No, that hasn't, mainly because of
production problems in Seville,
and now that Paco's started
putting the floor down...
Which is lovely.
..he doesn't want anybody here
until he finishes,
and we reckon
that's about three weeks.
Although the glass has been delayed,
the solution to the problematic
second staircase has just arrived.
Paco took responsibility
and commissioned a local
metalworker to make it.
So here it turns up on site,
absolutely superb.
A big piece of rolled
helical flat bar...
Absolutely, it's stunning, isn't it?
It's nice, isn't it nice?
And that'll get painted white, will
it? Painted white, yes. Not blue?
LAUGHTER
I don't know yet!
We'll see how we get on.
HE SPEAKS SPANISH
It is so near the end,
and it has gone so well and you
don't want anything to ruin that.
The closer we get, I think...
The stakes are higher.
Yes, and the more stressful.
I'm sure that's right.
I'm anticipating disaster. Every
detail, I'm anticipating disaster.
And I cannot relieve that
until I see it.
Gil is wise to fear the worst.
Not five minutes later,
Paco delivers some bad news
about the blue wall.
They say they won't write the house
off and they won't sign it off
if we don't change the colour.
What? They won't sign the house off
if we don't change the colour
and they won't give us electricity.
SHE LAUGHS
It is fundamental.
Here's me saying...
Un problemo politico.
Here's me saying that
they were much better than at home,
and we seem to have
the same idiotic ideology here
that we have at home, and I thought
I was escaping from it.
There's no escape from luddites,
is there? Absolutely no escape.
There's no refuge
for an architect anywhere.
Absolutely nowhere, there's no
refuge for imagination, is there?
Gil and Hilary believe
any threats to withhold
electricity are totally hollow.
They think that if they're patient,
the problem will just disappear.
With Gil refusing to budge,
Paco is left to deal with the issue.
He invites the Mayor to site,
in the hope that by seeing
the colours close up,
he may change his mind.
So, the Mayor
sort of accepts the blue.
That means that Gil and Hilary
might be able to keep their colours.
It's April,
11 months into this build,
and the glass has still not arrived.
The aluminium factory in Seville
that is providing the window frames
keeps letting Paco down
and for the first time,
work on this project
grinds to a halt.
It's not until May that
the aluminium window frames
finally turn up. Gil has spent
a whopping 45,000 euros on glass.
Once manufactured,
it can't be re-cut,
so when it arrives, it will need
to fit flush into these frames.
Oh, I say. Oh, it's nice, isn't it?
Yes.
This is a crucial time for Gil.
He may always fear the worst,
but he can now see all his beloved
details
finally going into the building.
Oh, fantastic!
They've got the right locks in.
That was your main worry, was it?
Yeah, fantastic.
They've got the right locks in.
The glass finally makes
an appearance in June,
a year into the build.
Each pane is double-glazed
and specially coated to reduce
the transmission of heat.
If it fits, all the major work
will be finished.
But no-one, not even Paco and Gil,
yet knows whether this glass
will be able to stand the fierceness
of the Spanish summer sun.
After 14 months of construction,
Gil and Hillary's glass box
is nearly built,
but will it deliver them
the retirement experience
that they're looking for?
I have to say,
coming up this hill, you know,
this wall is extraordinary.
It's lovely, isn't it?
It reveals absolutely nothing.
Except for the door.
Except for the door.
Which draws you in.
It says, "Come to me,"
rather than, "Go away."
Let's see it.
It's a great moment.
Wow! This is extraordinary.
Oh! You like that?
I feel as though I've died
and gone to heaven. Wow!
Look at that! Isn't it just
blissful, spectacular?
Are you pleased?
Absolutely. Absolutely.
You bloody must be!
Very pleased, yes.
It would be very difficult to say
you weren't pleased, wouldn't it?
Well, it would, with this.
Gil wanted drama and excitement
out of this building,
and he's certainly got it.
The house sits right on
the edge of the hill,
so the land just falls away.
It's as if it's floating
in the sky above Malaga.
This is clever.
That's very beautiful.
It's a swimming pool that suddenly
turns into a water feature
and cascade.
It's lovely, isn't it?
I like it very much.
It's very good to see the glass box
finished, and in, isn't it?
Well, we were kept waiting a bit,
weren't we?
I know, I know.
But it's finally come.
What's it like inside? Is it hot?
It's cool, man.
"Cool, man."
I bet it's a blinking sauna.
It's not bad. Not bad.
It's a bit warmer here.
Well, it's had the sun on it
since seven o'clock this morning.
It's not bad, but it's not,
it's not chilled, is it?
No. No. It's warm-ish.
But then, I suppose
we must talk about the benefits
of the glass box, which is
the view, isn't it?
Yes. Which is fantastic. Yes.
It is a room with a view. It's
a corny phrase, but there we are.
So this is your kind
of public wing, isn't it?
This is kind of where guests
and you meet.
That's right.
In your big, public glass box,
but this is your...
Bedroom wing.
Private wing, is it?
Private wing, with its own utility,
minibar, bathroom, everything.
This is lovely, you just slide these
right back in the morning.
Yeah, and just open it up,
there we are.
'Gil and Hilary's private
wing in itself would satisfy most
'people's ambitions
for a home in Spain.
'Hilary craved outdoor living,
and with all the glass and the
'access to the pool, this master
bedroom certainly delivers that.'
For ?300,000,
Gil and Hilary have got something
worth much more.
But only time will tell
if this building, which still feels
like it's landed on its hillside
from outer space,
will eventually come to sit
in harmony with its landscape
and become accepted by the locals.
So, now, on a scale
of one to 100, Gil,
how does this building rate?
100. Are you that happy with it?
Definitely.
What about you, Hilary?
Yes, I think so.
101? 101. Yeah. Really? Yes.
It strikes me that you
do have a very large house.
Sitting room...
It's a three bedroomed house.
It's a three bedroomed...
It's a three bedroomed house.
It's a very, very luxurious
three bedroomed house.
It is an experiment, we don't know
how it's going to work out.
How do you mean, an experiment?
I think retirement's an experiment.
A new country's an experiment.
A great house, it's all part
of not getting bored, I think.
So, Hilary, did your son
get this design right?
Yes, I think he did. He got it
absolutely bang-on right.
It surprised me.
There's one corner behind me
which just, just over the pool.
I have to stop and look. It stops
me. I have to stop and look.
And this is what I like.
It's nice to do that.
Fancy waking up every day with
that experience ahead of you
and not getting bored with it.
I don't think you can say
that of a lot of houses.
It's sad to think that in the end,
Gil only had the last two years
of his life to live in
and enjoy the experiment
that he and Hilary had built.
Well, nine years have now passed
and I've now come back to see
how Hilary is getting on without
her irrepressible husband, Gil, and
also to see whether the building's
softened into the landscape
and whether the local attitude
has softened towards the building,
and I guess, most importantly,
to find out whether or not that
building really has delivered
that life-enhancing experience
that Gil wanted Hilary to enjoy.
Oh, look, there it is, look, look!
Locals haven't knocked
it down, then!
This is all extremely, um...
What's the word? Lush.
Hello. How are you?
Very well.
Hello, Matt, how are you?
Not too bad, thank you!
Good, good.
I've brought the weather with me.
You have, yes!
Oh gosh, that reveal coming through
there - do you ever tire of that?
No. That moment of surprise coming
though there.
It's different every time.
Is it?
And the sun is coming out?
I'm sorry Gil isn't with us.
Yes, it's a shame.
It is a shame.
They were two great years.
We had a lot of fun settling in.
'It's seems unfair that Gil didn't
'have longer to enjoy the unfolding
experiment of living abroad in
the extraordinary house he created.
'But despite the absence
of his large personality,
'I can see Hilary has made
this place her own.
'Her first battle, of course, was to
win over the locals who were
'upset that the building wasn't
Andalucian white.'
I'm trying to
remember in terms of colour,
whether it's exactly the same?
That block was mint green
and I didn't like it at all.
Ah, yes. No, I like it in white.
'I think we are all glad to see
the back of the minty green
'but it was an example
of the playfulness of Gil's ideas.'
It's not too serious.
There are some cliches here,
the door in the wall,
the steps from the bedroom
to the pool.
All those cliches are here
but it's about not taking
architecture too seriously, I think.
He never had a serious
thought in his head, really!
And inside? How's it in there? Can
we have a look? Yes. See you later.
'Inside the glass box,
Gil and Hilary's first steps towards
'decoration have now matured into a
room that has been fully furnished.'
Enormous sofa!
Yes, it is, it's quite large,
isn't it?
But all the colours in this
are the colours in the building
outside, aren't they?
The terracotta is almost the colour
of the soil here -
things get
stained with that colour.
But I think it's Mediterranean
colours as well.
When you're here by yourself,
does the place feel too large?
It really doesn't.
Do you use the whole site?
Yes, I really do, everywhere.
If I have any work to do
then I work in the study.
I actually like my
little laundry room where I sew.
So I spend a lot of time in there.
The evenings I spend in here.
This big hole in the wall
between the kitchen
and the sitting room, is that
about the capturing the view
or is it about socialising -
what was it for Gil
that he wanted there?
I think it was both, Kevin.
He enjoyed socialising
and he really enjoyed cooking.
And he'll have enjoyed this!
He did.
This is pure him, isn't it?
It's a kitchen designed
by Billy Smart's circus this, look.
It's great! It's fun.
Can you...?
Is that a piece of tomato?
No, it's not, that's the glass!
It's very post-modern,
it's very Gil. It's very Gil.
Do you like it?
Not an awful lot, no!
'The one thing that has evolved
'and changed here
in ten years is the garden.
'Hilary has implemented
all the plans that she and Gil had
'to soften
the building into its landscape.'
It looks absolutely tropical,
you know. That's very kind.
And gates, what's that about?
Is that security or what?
Um, it's partly security.
There is a lot
of petty theft around here
now as a result
of the economic situation.
Do you feel threatened or unsafe?
No, never.
I don't feel vulnerable here at all.
I'm well looked after by my
neighbours. That matters, doesn't it?
Going to college, I met
a lot of Spanish people in Malaga,
some of whom have become really
good friends, and they come
to my house and they're mostly
really flattering about the house.
THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
'Hilary's new language school
buddies don't just like her house
'they admire her courage.'
'It's impossible to overstate
just how much Hilary's life changed
'when Gil died.'
He was a very extrovert
sort of person
and so he really took over
all the talking and the driving
and all the living, really, and
I just enjoyed a very relaxed time.
Learning Spanish has been
a necessity forced on Hilary by her
independence but it's enabled her
to properly integrate into this
Andalucian community.
And while the locals might have
found the colour of her house
foreign at first, many
of the individual elements of the
building were in fact inspired by
the regional architectural language.
So, Matt, the idea of this
little courtyard, this secluded
space, it's about more than just
providing privacy, isn't it?
It's called a cold sink so
the air is continually moving down
and round
so it's always cooling as it falls,
and so it's an Arab
device for cooling houses.
Gil was from Egypt and he loved
North African architecture and
this whole house has cues of Arab
architecture and as does Andalucia.
And have you used any more
Arab/North African ideas
in the building?
I think there are some, there's
the kasbah wall which we know!
The kasbah wall,
you mean the curved...
The big citadel wall
that you arrive at. I love that.
There's the flat roofs,
they're very Andalucian.
Do you feel as though you've been
living, to an extent, Gil's dream
while you've been here?
No, not at all.
It was always a shared thing?
It was a very shared thing
and it has changed.
It's changed dramatically into
a very positive experience for me.
It's quite extraordinary.
This was a sort of
a ten-year adventure, yeah?
In order not to get bored.
I certainly haven't been bored.
But how long does the adventure
go on for, do you think?
Well, I've been here eight years, so
I think it will be another two years.
So you really do think this
ten-year plan you had is what you
intend to commit to?
Yes, I think so.
I want to go onto another project.
OK. Another house design? Yes. Oh!
Something like that.
I can't live here
when I can't drive as I get older
and I want to make the decision
when to go.
And another building,
another vision, another...
Smaller... ..refreshing kind of...
Yes. ..adventure? Yes.
Does he get to design it?
Not this time, no.
I think so!
No pressure there! Yeah.
'This whole place cost
Gil and Hilary
nearly 450,000 euros to build.
'To take on another project,
Hilary will have to sell.
'But this place has held its value
in a collapsing market
'and that's a testament to the
quality of the original design.'
At its peak
it reached a million euros
and now it's
worth possibly 850 euros.
Well I'm told, that's what
I should be expecting. 850,000.
But you've made a real good
go of this place.
You've made friends,
you've integrated.
The mad woman on the hill!
I think is pretty well what
they think of me!
You've done well,
you've done very well.
People do think it's very strange
that I should be living up here.
So what happens to this place?
I'd like someone to come here
and live their life
in their own way here. Yes.
I think it's remarkably determined
to make a go of something
that was conceived under completely
different circumstances.
You know when you're faced
with bereavement you don't have many
choices. Do you carry on?
You have to carry on and why not
carry on here in this paradise?
It's a lovely place to be,
it really is.
So, when it comes to our homes,
what should architecture do, eh?
It should protect us,
it should nourish us
and perhaps even excite us.
It should of course respond to
a place, frame a view perhaps
and allow us to enjoy that view.
But it should also in a way
alter that place
and even make a contribution.
It should also be autobiographical,
it should reflect the spirit
of the maker, maybe even their
personality, their sense of humour.
And it should repay all the love,
all the commitment that
goes into making it in dividends.
And of course,
it should really outlast us -
I mean a good building usually does
last longer than we do.
To do more of the same,
for the people that come after us.
I first met Lucie Fairweather
and her partner Nat McBride
five years ago,
however Nat was diagnosed
with cancer,
and sadly six months later,
he died.
But Lucie carried on with
their project.
I have to ask, Lucie,
why you're doing this?
Because actually,
I couldn't bear not to.
God, it looks really big, doesn't it?
It's been 3 and a half years, and
I have no idea what I'll
find on coming back.
in Andalucia nine years ago,
in slightly better weather,
to meet Gill and Hillary Briffa,
who were leaving their architectural
practice in St Albans
in the hands of their son, Matt,
to come and retire here.
Their parting gift to him
was the job of designing
their retirement home - a rather
confrontational, bold, glass box
that was really quite challenging
in terms of form, style and colour.
Not exactly the most sensitive way
of integrating yourself
into a rural, isolated community.
Are you not going to be, you know,
the Brits who built the weird
glass box on top of the hill?
I don't think anybody here's
got a clue what this thing's
going to look like.
The builder has,
and he's laughing at us,
quite openly saying,
"You're nuts doing this."
They won't sign the house off
if we don't change the colour
and they won't give us electricity.
I'm taking a very
arrogant stand here.
Very sadly, Gill died in 2008.
I was last here in 2005,
eight years ago.
Now I'm quite excited
to see Hillary again
to see whether or not the building
has settled into its landscape,
whether it's still multi-coloured,
and to find out just how life
is for her as a British widow
living up in the Andalucian hills,
in a house that was so controversial
when it was built.
But first, here's the story
of the construction of this sleek,
modernist retirement home
that dared to turn local
architectural wisdom on its head.
In 2005, 100,000 Brits
relocated to Spain.
But the couple I was about to meet
had rejected the coastal
sprawl around Malaga.
Instead, they'd found a virgin plot
of land up in the Andalucian hills.
This place had so far managed to
escape the grasp of the developers.
What you get here are traditional
old fincas and white-washed villas.
It's as though nothing has changed
for the past 50 years.
And it's here that
a British architect and his wife
have decided to build themselves
a retirement home,
but one the likes of which
no-one here has ever seen.
Hola! Hola, you found us!
How are you? Very well.
Nice to see you. Nice to see you.
I'm afraid that's
the sum total of my Spanish.
Well, that's not too bad, then.
It's a start.
How did you find this place?
We didn't know this area at all.
We did a recce one February,
one year,
and we passed through it
and we realised how quiet it was
and how underdeveloped it was.
'This is a great find.
'Sitting in a prime location
above the valley,
'this eight-acre site cost
Gil and Hilary just £35,000.'
So, you're going to build
on this terrace, then?
Absolutely, all the way down there.
Wow! What a view.
Yes, it's lovely, isn't it?
It's fabulous. Yeah.
So, how would you
describe the house?
Is it going to be modern,
or traditional, or what?
It is going to be modern.
It is going to be different,
visually, from other houses,
but it will have a lot
of similarities with houses
in this part of the world.
We'll do a lot of living
outdoors, I hope,
and so we'll have courtyards,
because I love courtyards.
Because of the view, our main
living space is a glass box.
Wow. So we've got a lot of shade.
So the room, although glassy,
has got overhanging canopies
that actually do shade it
from the fiercest heat
in the middle of the day.
So, you're an architect,
did you design the house? No, no.
Hilary and I wrote the brief,
and then we passed it to
our poor son to solve the problem.
He's also an architect? He's also
an architect, and is a partner.
Oh, in your practice? Yes.
So he's designed this house
for you, as clients?
For his mum and dad, yeah.
I have to say, when I first saw his
design, I thought it was amazing.
It wasn't at all what I anticipated.
It was absolutely amazing.
Just how amazing is difficult
to see at first.
A giant citadel wall
will tease you with mere glimpses
of what lies behind.
Only a small door
offers you any way in.
And the view it reveals is amazing.
This is a really clever design,
ruthlessly modernist,
but broken up to look
like a little hamlet of houses
curving around the side of the hill.
To the west will be the guest block.
In the middle, the glass box
sitting room and kitchen.
And to the east,
Gil and Hilary's private wing
with a first floor study
and master bedroom suite below.
Every linking space
in the building will be open-air,
forcing you outdoors.
In theory, shelter from the sun
will come from the high pergola
and the broad concrete overhang
above the transparent living room.
This south-facing glass box
is an experimental idea
in such a hot climate,
and a surprising place to put
an open-plan kitchen.
The guest block will have
two double-bedroom suites.
Next to it, an outside staircase
will take you to the enormous
first floor roof terrace -
a very usable outdoor living space.
This promises to be the coolest
retirement home I've ever seen,
and at a total cost of only £250,000
something Gil and Hilary could
only dream of getting in the UK.
I can see that what you're going
to build here is going
to hug the landscape, but it is
still going to be a modern building,
with a big glass wall,
which is very unusual.
And here you are, in the middle
of an entirely Spanish community,
two Brits, you know?
Are you not going to be, you know,
the Brits who built the weird
glass box on top of the hill?
I think it'll cause interest.
I don't think anybody here's
got a clue what this thing's
going to look like.
The builder has,
and he's laughing at us,
quite openly saying,
"You're nuts doing this," you know.
Really? Yes, absolutely.
I'm not surprised that the builder
thinks they're mad.
If you look around here,
all the houses have got thick walls
and tiny windows,
in order to keep the heat out.
And here's Gil and Hilary,
and they want to build a house
with a glass box at its centre,
which, in the middle of summer -
I mean, that could
just be a greenhouse.
I just hope that they can get this
project to work, technically,
cos I love that design.
I also hope they can get it to work
aesthetically here.
I tell you what -
Gil's a brave man to try.
With Gil and Hilary back in the UK,
work starts on site
at full throttle.
The concrete foundations
are shallow,
but reinforced with steel, as is
the main framework of the building.
This is because all
of southern Spain
is considered an earthquake zone,
and the steel gives the concrete
added strength and flexibility.
This top floor flat
becomes quite massive...
In St Albans, Gil and his son, Matt,
work full-time
at the family practice,
which means Gil and Hilary
will only be flying out to Spain
once every four weeks.
Considering this is
a very demanding design,
once a month doesn't seem
like a lot to me.
And, what's more,
Gil is putting all his trust
in a local Spanish builder,
Paco Montanez,
who speaks no English
and has never seen -
let alone built -
a house like this before.
HE SPEAKS SPANISH
Oh, dear.
With such an unusual design
and Gil 1,000 miles away,
he really needs a builder
who, at the very least,
shares his vision.
This is a highly ambitious project.
It's also the house
that Gil and Hilary
want to spend
the rest of their lives in.
I just hope Paco can deliver.
It's the end of June,
and after a month of work on site,
Gil and Hilary Briffa are making
their first scheduled visit to Spain
to see the layout of their
mountain-top retirement retreat.
Flipping heck.
It is always nerve-racking,
you know,
wondering what the hell
the builder's got up to.
Hoping he's done it right.
That's the problem.
Gil can't wait to get involved.
His Spanish is basic,
but he's not afraid to get stuck in.
The thing is,
as both client AND architect,
he can't resist the temptation
to make changes,
and he's just decided
he wants the pool heated.
So now they need to build
a machine room.
If I was the architect and
the client had asked me to do it,
I'd have probably
gone through the roof.
But as I'm the client
and the architect, it's containable.
We're fighting each other
and we've both won.
This means Paco's got to lay
ANOTHER set of foundations.
First thing next morning,
Paco's concrete order
for the new foundations arrives
and the builders are digging
the trenches to receive it.
That's not manana culture.
That is today.
But Paco's been a little
too efficient.
The cement lorry has arrived
earlier than expected.
They've been caught on the hop,
I think,
they've ordered the concrete and
they haven't prepared enough for it
and they've just got to make
the best they can out of it.
The builders have no choice
but to fix the steel reinforcements
in place
AS the concrete is being poured.
And in this heat,
concrete sets fast.
He is a control freak, he does
like to control what's going on.
He's quite a volatile person, so
I've learned not to worry too much.
SHE LAUGHS
It usually works in the end.
The problem is, I'm here.
It could have happened on Friday
and I wouldn't have seen it
and it wouldn't have mattered.
They're coping very well.
MEN SPEAK SPANISH
This last process
may have been chaotic,
but Paco has at least
got all the foundations in.
Gil and Hilary are now
three months into the project.
Their Spanish builders are already
working on the concrete roof.
With a surface area
of 500 square metres,
this is going to be
an enormous single slab.
Gil is worried that the project
is going too fast
and he's finding long distance
communications with Paco
frustrating.
I'm anxious only because
I'm not there, you know.
I just can't toddle down the road
and have a look at it,
if I was concerned, you know.
You've got to plan it
a few days in advance
and it takes some time
to get down there.
Paco is used to working in concrete,
but this roof is tricky.
Over 300 tonnes of wet concrete
has to be poured in one go
to avoid it cracking.
Throughout the day,
18 lorry-loads of concrete
are craned onto site and levelled
to a perfect flat finish.
Paco and his team
work 14 hours flat-out,
and I have to say,
I've rarely seen a British team
achieve so much in just one day.
Bloody hell!
It's a huge house you've got.
Frightening, isn't it?
Cor, look at this.
That's some mass of concrete,
isn't it?
Yes. Nice view that way.
Nice view that way.
And you keep on walking...
Above the glass. And now here we're
above the living room glass box.
And you've got, above here,
you're going to have this sunshade.
Downstairs, the wide roof
will stop the direct sunlight
from over-heating the glass box.
So it's quite a big overhang now,
isn't it?
It's about a two-metre overhang,
yes.
Well, you can see the shadow
it's casting already.
It's what, it's just gone
nine o'clock in the morning.
About half of what would be
the glass box has got
some sunshine in it,
at this time of day.
Yes. It's gratifying to see
actually, there's quite a shadow,
as you say, at the moment.
And I can see this sort of crank
shape of this pool now.
That makes sense to me now.
Very often you find
that pools are built
away from the buildings,
as though they're another facility
that you use when you fancy,
whereas this, we believe,
is part of the whole thing,
not just an event or an incident
that happens somewhere else.
Now that the first phase
is complete,
the builders can celebrate with
a customary topping-out ceremony,
just like in the UK,
only here the food's better.
THEY SPEAK SPANISH
Paco's invited everyone involved
with the project.
All the builders,
the registered Spanish architect,
Jaime Garcia Jaramillo, and special
guest, the original architect,
Gil and Hilary's son, Matt.
Designing a house for another
architect is a nightmare, right?
Designing a house
for another architect
who happens to be your dad...
Yes. It's a responsibility,
you know?
They're retiring in this place and
I have to make sure that, you know,
we're comfortable
that they can live in it.
So you've got a good working
relationship with your dad?
I think so, yeah.
I'm going to ask him that. Gil!
Listen, I was asking your son
about your working relationship.
Our working relationship
is an excellent one.
You know, to say,
"Design me a house"
is such an amazing thing of trust.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a great gift.
I just wanted to blame him
when it went wrong, you see.
And he'll take the glory
when it's all fantastic.
When it doesn't work,
I'll be there to take the flack.
Listen, it's a classic situation.
You design it and we pay for it.
ALL LAUGH
After a short break to allow
for the summer's hottest month,
it's September by the time
they begin infilling the walls
with lightweight hollow bricks.
And once again, it's all happening
far too far away for comfort.
You do feel remote from the build,
I have to say,
and the fact that we can't get there
more frequently.
And it doesn't worry me too much,
but I know that Gil's getting
really sort of quite uncomfortable,
in case, just in case
something irrevocable gets done
that we can't redress if it's wrong.
He is,
he's getting quite worried about it.
So that's, yeah,
we do think about that a bit.
SHE LAUGHS
But in the event, the first mistake
is British, not Spanish,
when Paco spots a problem
with the drawings for the stairs
that lead up to the study.
HE SPEAKS SPANISH
We can't get the staircase in,
in the way that we wanted,
so we're having to reform
the geometry of the stairs.
But it gives us problems
in the appearance of it up there.
It's the plans that are at fault.
So together, Gil and Paco
try to iron out the problem.
GIL SPEAKS SPANISH
We've found three solutions and they
all have aesthetic implications.
I want to go down and sit down
quietly with a large Scotch,
or something, and work it out.
Gil returns to the UK to try
and resolve the staircase issue.
Details like this are increasingly
becoming a priority.
It's November and time
for the next important phase,
the application of the render.
Gil knows that the Spanish builders
are used to applying rough,
rustic finishes to buildings
and that they might not be able
to meet his demands
for a modernist crisp-edged render.
I'm going to be very fussy
when it comes to detail,
because simple buildings
need meticulous detailing
and need meticulous skill
in putting things together.
If things don't meet exactly
where they should, not just me,
but other people will see it,
and it will be a pity.
And I've got to lock up because
I've got the key, is that right?
Gil can't keep away from this build,
and he and Hilary are now flying out
every two weeks.
Six months in, they've already spent
almost ?4,000
travelling to and from Malaga.
And with every trip,
their expectations grow.
It is becoming a reality,
and you do think
more positively about...
"We're actually going
to be living here."
It takes an entire month to render
the external walls,
but the transformation
is astonishing.
It's fortress-like. Can we go in?
Yeah. You've got pipework in.
Yes, we're starting the heating
and the air conditioning.
The pool is all...
Look at those shapes. Mm!
The structural elements
of this build are almost complete.
The overhanging concrete roof
appears to float
over where the glass box will be.
And the huge steel-framed pergola
that shades the upper terrace
and pool is being built today.
How's your main space?
It's beautiful.
I thought there was going to be
a fireplace here, wasn't there?
What's the deal there?
Yes, there was.
And we stood here
and we couldn't see the view.
And we thought, "We were wrong".
LAUGHTER
I'm not going to say anything.
So at the moment you're on your way
up onto the roof...
With the render on, this building
is looking nice and sharp.
The hard lines and geometric shapes
are already working
in the way Gil and Hilary wanted.
To get this consistency in England
would be very difficult.
Seriously? Absolutely.
You don't mean that.
You couldn't get that straight line
out of a British builder?
You couldn't get the consistency
that he's getting.
I always assumed that Gil and Hilary
would paint their house white,
like all the other houses
in the area.
But they've got other,
more adventurous ideas,
and they've asked Paco
and their Spanish architect Jaime
to help them
choose their colour scheme.
I think that would make a gash
in the hillside from where we are.
We either go for one strong colour
in one area
and then the lighter colour
in front of it.
Or we go for a collection of
colours, which break the building up
even more.
I want to ask Paco what he likes.
Paco?
That sounds to me like he's saying
that all the houses round here
are white,
in this region, in the territory,
and consequently,
the town hall's view
is that all houses should be white,
therefore, this should be white?
Yeah. I'm sure,
I'm sure we'll arrange something.
We'll arrange something, yes.
Yes, we'll come to an agreement.
I'm sure we will.
Gil and Hilary's Spanish build
is in its eighth month.
The rendered external walls
are still waiting for their
first coat of paint,
but negotiations on the choice
of colour have become complicated.
Paco has told Gil that
if he decides to paint his house
a strong colour, he'll be defying
not just tradition, but a recent
local ruling that states
that all new builds in the region
must be painted white,
and only white.
But Gil has decided to ignore
what Paco says
and has started working
on his colour schemes.
We think it could do with
a little bit more interest,
so we're moving now and saying,
"Well, what if we paint this wall,
like, brown?"
And again,
it's supposed to be an earth colour.
And then we said,
"Well, what happens
if we paint the main building
"a grey, sagey green, bluey green?"
We're still playing with that.
What's next?
This is the internal courtyard.
Looking at the end house.
And there's the blue, isn't it,
so that kind of strong,
Yves Klein ultramarine blue,
whatever.
The white's the glue
and the colour's the articulation.
Gil is hoping that
because the new ruling was passed
AFTER he got planning permission,
these colours will be acceptable.
You've still got to sort of persuade
Paco, or at least appease him.
I'm not going to worry
about having to fight Paco.
No? No, I'm taking a very arrogant
stand here.
I think they should look at knocking
down some of the illegal buildings
before telling me what to paint.
Yeah, that's a very fair point.
I hope you're going to make that
to Paco.
I've already subtly made that
to Paco, yes. OK.
Having stood their ground
for so long,
Gil and Hilary finally decide
to paint their house white.
And minty green.
And red ochre.
And vanilla.
And of course, blue.
Gil hasn't made a single concession,
and even as the paint is drying,
the Spanish builders
are voicing their opinion.
And it's unanimous.
Gil's tactic was deliberately
confrontational,
because he believes strongly
that he's doing the right thing
for the building.
We've painted it the right colour.
Yes. That's a nice colour, isn't it?
Yes.
It's a massive difference
since we were here three weeks ago.
I was quite surprised. Yeah.
That's your blue wall.
My blue wall, it's fantastico.
It articulates the chimney stack
so well.
I know, it does that.
It's beautiful. It really is.
I like the idea
of what Gil's done here.
He wanted to use colour to reinforce
the separate identity
of each building,
so that the site as a whole
resembles his idea
of a hilltop village.
But other people might not
see it like that.
We haven't had any enormous
backlash personally,
but we're not here long enough
perhaps to know.
Gil and Hilary
may not be aware of it,
but in the surrounding villages,
the locals have taken against
their colour scheme.
So, that's unanimous then!
The locals don't like it, the
builders don't like it, and Paco,
who Gil really needs on his side, is
very uncomfortable about the blue.
Look at that.
I do like that earth-coloured one
on the left-hand side,
that building looks really good.
I'm not so sure about
the minty green, though,
on the right-hand side.
The thing is, around here,
everything, every building
is traditional.
I mean, look at this place here,
this is a brand-new house.
Look, just been put up, it's got
a traditional tiled roof,
it's been painted white.
Not only that, but the people
round here are also traditional,
they're conservative,
they're all Spanish.
Gil and Hilary
are the only Brits here for miles.
And look what they've done,
it's a real statement.
Hello. Kevin. Tiptoeing.
How are you? I'm very well, and you?
Nice to see you again.
Very, very well. Hi, Hilary,
how are you? Hello. Very well.
You look very brown and happy
and content,
and the pair of you look very well.
I'm glad you think we do!
Do you not feel that way? No!
LAUGHTER
But the place is coming on, isn't
it? Yeah, it's coming on lovely.
I stopped just down there
and looked up at it
and these colours look extraordinary
from down there.
They do, don't they?
I did wonder
whether it looked like a hotel.
Yeah. Well, somebody thinks
it looks a bit like a discotheque,
but there we are. Yes.
Oh, yes, a nightclub!
A nightclub, yes.
That did come to mind. Yeah.
Last time I was here,
you were saying that the next thing
that would happen would be
the glass, but that hasn't happened.
No, that hasn't, mainly because of
production problems in Seville,
and now that Paco's started
putting the floor down...
Which is lovely.
..he doesn't want anybody here
until he finishes,
and we reckon
that's about three weeks.
Although the glass has been delayed,
the solution to the problematic
second staircase has just arrived.
Paco took responsibility
and commissioned a local
metalworker to make it.
So here it turns up on site,
absolutely superb.
A big piece of rolled
helical flat bar...
Absolutely, it's stunning, isn't it?
It's nice, isn't it nice?
And that'll get painted white, will
it? Painted white, yes. Not blue?
LAUGHTER
I don't know yet!
We'll see how we get on.
HE SPEAKS SPANISH
It is so near the end,
and it has gone so well and you
don't want anything to ruin that.
The closer we get, I think...
The stakes are higher.
Yes, and the more stressful.
I'm sure that's right.
I'm anticipating disaster. Every
detail, I'm anticipating disaster.
And I cannot relieve that
until I see it.
Gil is wise to fear the worst.
Not five minutes later,
Paco delivers some bad news
about the blue wall.
They say they won't write the house
off and they won't sign it off
if we don't change the colour.
What? They won't sign the house off
if we don't change the colour
and they won't give us electricity.
SHE LAUGHS
It is fundamental.
Here's me saying...
Un problemo politico.
Here's me saying that
they were much better than at home,
and we seem to have
the same idiotic ideology here
that we have at home, and I thought
I was escaping from it.
There's no escape from luddites,
is there? Absolutely no escape.
There's no refuge
for an architect anywhere.
Absolutely nowhere, there's no
refuge for imagination, is there?
Gil and Hilary believe
any threats to withhold
electricity are totally hollow.
They think that if they're patient,
the problem will just disappear.
With Gil refusing to budge,
Paco is left to deal with the issue.
He invites the Mayor to site,
in the hope that by seeing
the colours close up,
he may change his mind.
So, the Mayor
sort of accepts the blue.
That means that Gil and Hilary
might be able to keep their colours.
It's April,
11 months into this build,
and the glass has still not arrived.
The aluminium factory in Seville
that is providing the window frames
keeps letting Paco down
and for the first time,
work on this project
grinds to a halt.
It's not until May that
the aluminium window frames
finally turn up. Gil has spent
a whopping 45,000 euros on glass.
Once manufactured,
it can't be re-cut,
so when it arrives, it will need
to fit flush into these frames.
Oh, I say. Oh, it's nice, isn't it?
Yes.
This is a crucial time for Gil.
He may always fear the worst,
but he can now see all his beloved
details
finally going into the building.
Oh, fantastic!
They've got the right locks in.
That was your main worry, was it?
Yeah, fantastic.
They've got the right locks in.
The glass finally makes
an appearance in June,
a year into the build.
Each pane is double-glazed
and specially coated to reduce
the transmission of heat.
If it fits, all the major work
will be finished.
But no-one, not even Paco and Gil,
yet knows whether this glass
will be able to stand the fierceness
of the Spanish summer sun.
After 14 months of construction,
Gil and Hillary's glass box
is nearly built,
but will it deliver them
the retirement experience
that they're looking for?
I have to say,
coming up this hill, you know,
this wall is extraordinary.
It's lovely, isn't it?
It reveals absolutely nothing.
Except for the door.
Except for the door.
Which draws you in.
It says, "Come to me,"
rather than, "Go away."
Let's see it.
It's a great moment.
Wow! This is extraordinary.
Oh! You like that?
I feel as though I've died
and gone to heaven. Wow!
Look at that! Isn't it just
blissful, spectacular?
Are you pleased?
Absolutely. Absolutely.
You bloody must be!
Very pleased, yes.
It would be very difficult to say
you weren't pleased, wouldn't it?
Well, it would, with this.
Gil wanted drama and excitement
out of this building,
and he's certainly got it.
The house sits right on
the edge of the hill,
so the land just falls away.
It's as if it's floating
in the sky above Malaga.
This is clever.
That's very beautiful.
It's a swimming pool that suddenly
turns into a water feature
and cascade.
It's lovely, isn't it?
I like it very much.
It's very good to see the glass box
finished, and in, isn't it?
Well, we were kept waiting a bit,
weren't we?
I know, I know.
But it's finally come.
What's it like inside? Is it hot?
It's cool, man.
"Cool, man."
I bet it's a blinking sauna.
It's not bad. Not bad.
It's a bit warmer here.
Well, it's had the sun on it
since seven o'clock this morning.
It's not bad, but it's not,
it's not chilled, is it?
No. No. It's warm-ish.
But then, I suppose
we must talk about the benefits
of the glass box, which is
the view, isn't it?
Yes. Which is fantastic. Yes.
It is a room with a view. It's
a corny phrase, but there we are.
So this is your kind
of public wing, isn't it?
This is kind of where guests
and you meet.
That's right.
In your big, public glass box,
but this is your...
Bedroom wing.
Private wing, is it?
Private wing, with its own utility,
minibar, bathroom, everything.
This is lovely, you just slide these
right back in the morning.
Yeah, and just open it up,
there we are.
'Gil and Hilary's private
wing in itself would satisfy most
'people's ambitions
for a home in Spain.
'Hilary craved outdoor living,
and with all the glass and the
'access to the pool, this master
bedroom certainly delivers that.'
For ?300,000,
Gil and Hilary have got something
worth much more.
But only time will tell
if this building, which still feels
like it's landed on its hillside
from outer space,
will eventually come to sit
in harmony with its landscape
and become accepted by the locals.
So, now, on a scale
of one to 100, Gil,
how does this building rate?
100. Are you that happy with it?
Definitely.
What about you, Hilary?
Yes, I think so.
101? 101. Yeah. Really? Yes.
It strikes me that you
do have a very large house.
Sitting room...
It's a three bedroomed house.
It's a three bedroomed...
It's a three bedroomed house.
It's a very, very luxurious
three bedroomed house.
It is an experiment, we don't know
how it's going to work out.
How do you mean, an experiment?
I think retirement's an experiment.
A new country's an experiment.
A great house, it's all part
of not getting bored, I think.
So, Hilary, did your son
get this design right?
Yes, I think he did. He got it
absolutely bang-on right.
It surprised me.
There's one corner behind me
which just, just over the pool.
I have to stop and look. It stops
me. I have to stop and look.
And this is what I like.
It's nice to do that.
Fancy waking up every day with
that experience ahead of you
and not getting bored with it.
I don't think you can say
that of a lot of houses.
It's sad to think that in the end,
Gil only had the last two years
of his life to live in
and enjoy the experiment
that he and Hilary had built.
Well, nine years have now passed
and I've now come back to see
how Hilary is getting on without
her irrepressible husband, Gil, and
also to see whether the building's
softened into the landscape
and whether the local attitude
has softened towards the building,
and I guess, most importantly,
to find out whether or not that
building really has delivered
that life-enhancing experience
that Gil wanted Hilary to enjoy.
Oh, look, there it is, look, look!
Locals haven't knocked
it down, then!
This is all extremely, um...
What's the word? Lush.
Hello. How are you?
Very well.
Hello, Matt, how are you?
Not too bad, thank you!
Good, good.
I've brought the weather with me.
You have, yes!
Oh gosh, that reveal coming through
there - do you ever tire of that?
No. That moment of surprise coming
though there.
It's different every time.
Is it?
And the sun is coming out?
I'm sorry Gil isn't with us.
Yes, it's a shame.
It is a shame.
They were two great years.
We had a lot of fun settling in.
'It's seems unfair that Gil didn't
'have longer to enjoy the unfolding
experiment of living abroad in
the extraordinary house he created.
'But despite the absence
of his large personality,
'I can see Hilary has made
this place her own.
'Her first battle, of course, was to
win over the locals who were
'upset that the building wasn't
Andalucian white.'
I'm trying to
remember in terms of colour,
whether it's exactly the same?
That block was mint green
and I didn't like it at all.
Ah, yes. No, I like it in white.
'I think we are all glad to see
the back of the minty green
'but it was an example
of the playfulness of Gil's ideas.'
It's not too serious.
There are some cliches here,
the door in the wall,
the steps from the bedroom
to the pool.
All those cliches are here
but it's about not taking
architecture too seriously, I think.
He never had a serious
thought in his head, really!
And inside? How's it in there? Can
we have a look? Yes. See you later.
'Inside the glass box,
Gil and Hilary's first steps towards
'decoration have now matured into a
room that has been fully furnished.'
Enormous sofa!
Yes, it is, it's quite large,
isn't it?
But all the colours in this
are the colours in the building
outside, aren't they?
The terracotta is almost the colour
of the soil here -
things get
stained with that colour.
But I think it's Mediterranean
colours as well.
When you're here by yourself,
does the place feel too large?
It really doesn't.
Do you use the whole site?
Yes, I really do, everywhere.
If I have any work to do
then I work in the study.
I actually like my
little laundry room where I sew.
So I spend a lot of time in there.
The evenings I spend in here.
This big hole in the wall
between the kitchen
and the sitting room, is that
about the capturing the view
or is it about socialising -
what was it for Gil
that he wanted there?
I think it was both, Kevin.
He enjoyed socialising
and he really enjoyed cooking.
And he'll have enjoyed this!
He did.
This is pure him, isn't it?
It's a kitchen designed
by Billy Smart's circus this, look.
It's great! It's fun.
Can you...?
Is that a piece of tomato?
No, it's not, that's the glass!
It's very post-modern,
it's very Gil. It's very Gil.
Do you like it?
Not an awful lot, no!
'The one thing that has evolved
'and changed here
in ten years is the garden.
'Hilary has implemented
all the plans that she and Gil had
'to soften
the building into its landscape.'
It looks absolutely tropical,
you know. That's very kind.
And gates, what's that about?
Is that security or what?
Um, it's partly security.
There is a lot
of petty theft around here
now as a result
of the economic situation.
Do you feel threatened or unsafe?
No, never.
I don't feel vulnerable here at all.
I'm well looked after by my
neighbours. That matters, doesn't it?
Going to college, I met
a lot of Spanish people in Malaga,
some of whom have become really
good friends, and they come
to my house and they're mostly
really flattering about the house.
THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
'Hilary's new language school
buddies don't just like her house
'they admire her courage.'
'It's impossible to overstate
just how much Hilary's life changed
'when Gil died.'
He was a very extrovert
sort of person
and so he really took over
all the talking and the driving
and all the living, really, and
I just enjoyed a very relaxed time.
Learning Spanish has been
a necessity forced on Hilary by her
independence but it's enabled her
to properly integrate into this
Andalucian community.
And while the locals might have
found the colour of her house
foreign at first, many
of the individual elements of the
building were in fact inspired by
the regional architectural language.
So, Matt, the idea of this
little courtyard, this secluded
space, it's about more than just
providing privacy, isn't it?
It's called a cold sink so
the air is continually moving down
and round
so it's always cooling as it falls,
and so it's an Arab
device for cooling houses.
Gil was from Egypt and he loved
North African architecture and
this whole house has cues of Arab
architecture and as does Andalucia.
And have you used any more
Arab/North African ideas
in the building?
I think there are some, there's
the kasbah wall which we know!
The kasbah wall,
you mean the curved...
The big citadel wall
that you arrive at. I love that.
There's the flat roofs,
they're very Andalucian.
Do you feel as though you've been
living, to an extent, Gil's dream
while you've been here?
No, not at all.
It was always a shared thing?
It was a very shared thing
and it has changed.
It's changed dramatically into
a very positive experience for me.
It's quite extraordinary.
This was a sort of
a ten-year adventure, yeah?
In order not to get bored.
I certainly haven't been bored.
But how long does the adventure
go on for, do you think?
Well, I've been here eight years, so
I think it will be another two years.
So you really do think this
ten-year plan you had is what you
intend to commit to?
Yes, I think so.
I want to go onto another project.
OK. Another house design? Yes. Oh!
Something like that.
I can't live here
when I can't drive as I get older
and I want to make the decision
when to go.
And another building,
another vision, another...
Smaller... ..refreshing kind of...
Yes. ..adventure? Yes.
Does he get to design it?
Not this time, no.
I think so!
No pressure there! Yeah.
'This whole place cost
Gil and Hilary
nearly 450,000 euros to build.
'To take on another project,
Hilary will have to sell.
'But this place has held its value
in a collapsing market
'and that's a testament to the
quality of the original design.'
At its peak
it reached a million euros
and now it's
worth possibly 850 euros.
Well I'm told, that's what
I should be expecting. 850,000.
But you've made a real good
go of this place.
You've made friends,
you've integrated.
The mad woman on the hill!
I think is pretty well what
they think of me!
You've done well,
you've done very well.
People do think it's very strange
that I should be living up here.
So what happens to this place?
I'd like someone to come here
and live their life
in their own way here. Yes.
I think it's remarkably determined
to make a go of something
that was conceived under completely
different circumstances.
You know when you're faced
with bereavement you don't have many
choices. Do you carry on?
You have to carry on and why not
carry on here in this paradise?
It's a lovely place to be,
it really is.
So, when it comes to our homes,
what should architecture do, eh?
It should protect us,
it should nourish us
and perhaps even excite us.
It should of course respond to
a place, frame a view perhaps
and allow us to enjoy that view.
But it should also in a way
alter that place
and even make a contribution.
It should also be autobiographical,
it should reflect the spirit
of the maker, maybe even their
personality, their sense of humour.
And it should repay all the love,
all the commitment that
goes into making it in dividends.
And of course,
it should really outlast us -
I mean a good building usually does
last longer than we do.
To do more of the same,
for the people that come after us.
I first met Lucie Fairweather
and her partner Nat McBride
five years ago,
however Nat was diagnosed
with cancer,
and sadly six months later,
he died.
But Lucie carried on with
their project.
I have to ask, Lucie,
why you're doing this?
Because actually,
I couldn't bear not to.
God, it looks really big, doesn't it?
It's been 3 and a half years, and
I have no idea what I'll
find on coming back.