Huf Haus By: David Howard - CC BY 2.0

Huf Haus, Grand Designs – As seen on TV

Four years ago Kevin McCloud met David and Greta Iredale, whose Huf Haus was built in a factory in Germany and put together on site.

HUF Haus bungalow similar to the one featured on Grand Designs
HUF Haus bungalow similar to the one featured on Grand Designs

It was one of the most striking and efficient processes Grand Designs has ever seen. But four years on, is the Huf Haus still delivering perfection?

David and Greta Iredale are seasoned builders. They built their first house in 1956; their second, nine years later. Having lived in it for 40 years, the timber house they designed themselves began to rot away so they decided to pull it down and replace it with a prefab. But this was no flimsy post-war prefab. This was a solid, German built, precision engineered Huf Haus.

Built in a factory, each part was constructed by a different team of skilled workers, very much like a car production line. The kit house, complete with doors, windows, fixtures and fittings was then shipped to site and put together like some gigantic jigsaw. And with a schedule tighter than a pair of lederhosen, the Germans promised to put the entire house together in just six days.

True to their promise, the German construction team arrived at the crack of dawn but were delayed by the British crane driver, who arrived five hours late after being given the wrong address. Working late to make up for lost time, the German team succeeded in erecting the house in just six days as promised.

Impressed by the German’s efficiency, designer David and Greta’s next challenge was to personalise the inside of their stark home through intelligent interior design.

Four years on, Kevin is back to see if David and Greta have been able to stamp their own identity onto this distinctive building.

Catch up tonight on Channel 4

Or for more information visit the Huf Haus website – or go and visit the new Huf Haus village as featured in the video below (audio in German):

Huf Haus Village