'Our buildings are our national treasure' - an interview with George Clarke

The Englishman's home is his castle and television's Restoration Man, George Clarke, wants to honour every castle in the country. Whether lauding the people who influence him, lamenting crises caused by recession - or celebrating the great design it has induced - his passion is infectious...

Maybe it is that shared enthusiasm that inspired the architect to give iVillage the exclusive on his 2012 design project set to break down all manner of walls and create a new level of sustainable living...

You recently co-hosted Grand Designs Live in Birmingham, how involved were you?

George Clarke: It's a brilliant brand, I'm more than happy to help out as much as possible. I did VIP meet and greet, design consultations for competition winers and held seminars about Restoration Man and The Empty Homes Campaign - which is all about bringing empty homes back into use.

Is empty housing a problem in the UK?

George Clarke: There are 350 thousand permanently empty homes in Britain. They get caught up in all sorts of red tape or private landlords own them and then don’t have the funds to do them up… every empty home has got an individual story behind it and in the TV series I'll try to get beneath the skin of those stories.

It's shocking to think of all those empty homes...

George Clarke: The biggest scandal is the government regeneration schemes which started in the late ‘90s which were all about clearing people out of old terraced homes to build new ones for them...

They cleared them out and then didn’t have money to buy new ones so absolutely wrecked communities - the pubs closed, the shops closed - because, basically, they created ghettos all over London and the north.

For the homes that are inhabited, has the reccession inspired owners to be more creative?

George Clarke: Definitely. Most people are staying where they are and doing up what they’ve got and the best design that I see in the world - no matter what it is - comes about when there are the tightest constraints and limited budget.

Is it possible to create sustainable living on a budget?

George Clarke: Absolutely. The idea is that you’re investing in the future of your house. One of the biggest steps the government has made is introducing the Green Deal which is hopefully going to come into effect autumn 2012.

The Green Deal means that if you put a sustainable product in your house - cavity wall insulation, solar panels, whatever - you basically get that installation for free. So you get an assessment done, they recommend what you can have and the company will install it and then they do a deal with your energy supplier so it will reduce your energy bill.

You are a big fan of sustainable housing design, do you have any big projects coming up?

George Clarke: Here's a mini exclusive - I’m designing a house type that is fully compostable! Every single part of it can be reused, reclaimed or recycled. I’ve never told anyone. I’m developing it now and launching it next year. Its going to be fully compostable so everything from it can be re-used. I can’t tell you too much but I think it’s going to be absolutely brilliant, and it’s going to be affordable as well.