Two mates, Tim Ross — comedian, broadcaster, and self-described design nerd — and Kevin McCloud — pundit, writer and celebrated host of Grand Designs — have teamed up for a new podcast: Tim and Kev’s Big Design Adventure.
In this audio escapade, the architectural enthusiasts embark on a rollicking (and occasionally shambolic) journey, sharing their love of design by visiting buildings that inspire them, meeting the people who create or inhabit them, and diving deep into the places that shape and spark their imaginations.
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To kick off the big design adventure, Kevin heads to the Sydney suburbs to visit Tim in his 1950s modernist home. Plonking themselves at the table, they launch into a wide- ranging conversation covering the trials and tribulations of kitchen renovations, the folly of our before-and-after culture, and just how much Tim tidied up the house for Kev.
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects (@nziarchitects) in New Zealand.
Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)
Tim and Kev head to London to explore a radical 1960s housing development where prospective residents must pass an interview before moving in. But will they make the cut?
Winscombe Street consists of five terrace houses in Camden, London, England, designed by the architect Neave Brown for himself and a collective of four other families in the mid 1960s.
To view images from this episode, head to our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure
And be sure to follow Tim Ross ) and Kevin McCloud ()
S1 Ep 3 - Thunderbirds Are Go!
Season 1 · Episode 3
Tuesday, August 26, 2025 • Duration 57:27
Tim and Kev delve into the weird world of science fiction string puppets from the many iconic TV series produced by Gerry Anderson. From Thunderbirds to Space 1999, Stingray, Captain Scarlet and not forgetting UFO. Stand by for Supermarionation.
For behind the scenes stories of Anderson’s work and how the puppets never could walk properly, visit the brilliant YouTube collection of Century 21 films here: www.century21films.co.uk
Here’s an explanation of the Ondes Martenot, the early keyboard synthesiser, used by Oliver Messiaen, Daft Punk and Radiohead - but also by Barry Gray to evoke the menace of the Mysterons in Captain Scarlet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondes_Martenot
As a treat you can watch the 90 minute full-length feature film Thunderbirds are Go! here: https://youtu.be/uNx7AR_j31Q?si=k5DVY-lvf7fvhJD_ The opening sequence of airport architecture and aircraft is inspirational. The Martian Exploration Centre interior is magnificently 1960s. The Swinging Star sequence with Cliff Richard and the Shadows (as puppets) is hilarious.
S1 Ep 4 - 24 Hours in Wrexham
Season 1 · Episode 4
Tuesday, September 2, 2025 • Duration 54:35
Tim drags a reluctant Kevin to the Wrexham, the Welsh town that shot to fame when actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought their struggling football team in 2020. How has it really changed? They gave themselves 24 hours to find out.
Wrexham, a historic market town in North Wales, was once best known for brewing and coal mining, with its football club, Wrexham AFC, quietly toiling away in the lower leagues since 1864. That changed in 2020 when Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the club, sparking a global wave of attention. Their ownership and the hit documentary Welcome to Wrexham, turned the town into a cultural phenomenon and gave its proud community football team a place on the world stage.
Photos of Tim and Kev in action at Wrexham can be found on their Instagram page - @big_design_adventure
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects () and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation () in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects () in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects () in New Zealand.
S1 Ep 5 - Flying High
Season 1 · Episode 5
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 • Duration 37:09
On a mid afternoon flight from Copenhagen to Heathrow, Tim and Kev pull out the microphones to discuss their favourite airplanes of all time, trade helicopter stories, reveal the worst plane food of all time…and a whole lot more.
Plus this coming Friday they prove that there can never be enough jet fuel propelled plane talk when they unleash their very first bonus episode full of all the air chat that they couldn’t fit in the first episode.
You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1) We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on hello@bigdesignadventure.com Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects (@nziarchitects) in New Zealand.
Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media Video Production: Ned WilliamsMusic: Kit Warhurst ()
S1 Ep 5 - BONUS CHAT - Flying High
Season 1
Thursday, September 11, 2025 • Duration 49:56
In this very first bonus episode, Tim and Kevin continue their deep dive on the evolution of airplane design, revisit some of their favourite plane movies and hatch a plan about taking their own Spitfire and Harrier Jump Jet for a test flight.
Tim and Kevin chat about a few movies during this episode including The V.I.P.s (1963) Mortadella (1971) The First of the Few (1942) The Dam Busters (1955) Battle of Britain (1969)
And the book about the making of the film, Battle of Britain is by Leonard Mosley (published 1969, ISBN 0297179098)
You can find pictures and videos on our Instagram page - @big_design_adventure And be sure to follow Tim Ross (@modernister) and Kevin McCloud (@kevin.mccloud1) We’d love to hear from you, reach out to us on hello@bigdesignadventure.com Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects () in New Zealand.
S1 Ep 6 - Modernist Love
Season 1 · Episode 6
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 • Duration 56:34
What’s the best way to save our 20th Century architecture? Tim and Kev travel to Manchester to meet the charasmatic Eddy Rhead, from The Modernist, part of a group who believed they’ve found the secret.
The Modernist is a bookstore, publisher and exhibition space which is part of The Modernist Society, a Manchester organisation “dedicated to celebrating and engaging people with twentieth-century architecture and design through publishing, events, exhibitions, and creative collaborations.”
It was created in 2009 by Jack Hale, Maureen Ward and Eddy Rhead. Since then they’ve published a regular magazine, books, hosted events, run tours and opened a shop front that also holds exhibitions.
You can visit The Modernist on their website here (https://the-modernist.org) including signing up for their newsletter on the bottom on their homepage. And follow them on Instagram here (@themodernist)
Is it worth paying for an architect? Are pre fab houses a solution for the housing crisis? What buildings should be demolished to build new homes? Just some of your questions we tackle in our very first question and answers episode.
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects (@nziarchitects) in New Zealand.
Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud
Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia.
Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp
S1 Ep 7 - Cutlery Town
Season 1 · Episode 7
Tuesday, September 23, 2025 • Duration 41:07
What’s the real story of the Splayd? Australia’s greatest contributions to eatingutensils…Tim has the answer. Then Kevin whisks us off to Sheffield to explore the legacy of David Mellor, one of Britain’s finest designers, whose cutlery from the mid-century is still in production today.
Yes, welcome to Cutlery Town.
Invented in Sydney in 1943 by Bill McArthur, the Splayd combines the spoon, fork and knife and became one for the most popular wedding gifts in the 60s and 70s.
David Mellor, celebrated British designer and silversmith, revolutionised cutlery design with elegant modernism. You can find out more about his work and how his son Corin is continuing his legacy here: https://www.davidmellordesign.com/about
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
S1 Ep 9 – Living In An Iconic New Zealand House
Season 1 · Episode 9
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 • Duration 48:39
Can you imagine finding out online that your grandfather wanted you to live in his iconic house after he was gone? That’s what happened to Frances Martin, the granddaughter of legendary New Zealand ceramicists Bruce and Estelle Martin. Tim and Kev take a trip to Napier to visit the Martin House and chat with Frances about living in her 1960s John Scott home in Hawke’s Bay.
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects () in New Zealand.
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects (@nziarchitects) in New Zealand.
Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud Guests: Jo McCafferty and Declan McCafferty Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects (@nziarchitects) in New Zealand.
Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)
Hosts: Tim Ross and Kevin McCloud Big Design Adventure is produced by Modernister Films on Wallumedegal land, Australia. Executive Producer: Shelley Kemp Audio Production: Madeline Joannou – Mylk Media Video Production: Ned Williams Music: Kit Warhurst (@kitwarhurst)
Know someone who would love this podcast? Please help us share this exciting new adventure.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects (@nziarchitects) in New Zealand.
Big Design Adventure is proudly sponsored by Space Furniture (@spacefurniture), the Australian Institute of Architects (@institute_architects_aus) and is produced with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation (@alastairswaynfoundation) in Australia, Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) in the UK and New Zealand Institute of Architects (@nziarchitects) in New Zealand.
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