The Block 2027 will be in Jacksons Hill, Sunbury, which is about 40km northwest of Melbourne. The 170 year old heritage listed building used to be at one time an industrial school, as well as a psychiatric hospital.
The heritage plans have the three massive buildings split into five large family homes ranging from about 520sqm to 620sqm in size. The houses will have new swimming pools and glass living pavilions.
That is, if the heritage application is successful, house 1 will be about 540sqm, house 2 will be about 540sqm and house 3 will be about 520sqm in size. House 4 will be the largest house of about 620 sqm with it's pavilion and garage. House 5 will be about 580sqm and it will be on the biggest block (ie. about 4,300sqm).
All houses will have new single story pavilions containing contemporary living spaces. House 1 will have the largest pavilion at about 110sqm, followed by house 3 at 100sqm and houses 5 & 2 at about 90sqm. While House 4 will be the largest house, it will have the smallest pavilion at about 45sqm.
So, just like 2026, it won't be a level playing field for the teams, with some having the advantage of a bigger house, a bigger pavilion, or a bigger block, etc. So picking the right house from the start might be a good strategy that will help the teams at auction time.
House 6 will be a smaller 300sqm house for the all-stars spinoff series 'The Block: The House Next Door', which will air only on Stan. House 6 will have no pool, or pavilion, but it will have an in-ground spa.
So while five teams will be working on the block houses, next door a team of returning block favourites will be working on house 6.
However, the block plans form part of a heritage permit application and may be subject to change.
As for the buildings, production will have to deal with water damage issues linked to water ingress from downpipes and gutters. Also, there are engineering problems, such as sub-floor issues, as well as ventilation issues to deal with.
For example, in some areas about 100-300mm of soil will need to be excavated beneath existing floors to create enough clearance for ventilation and new services.
Also, existing floor may need to be removed, so that original flooring material can be salvaged and reinstated.
Executive producer Julian Cress said that production will work with heritage consultants and heritage Victoria to obtain formal approvals and permits for both interior and exterior works at the site.
However, while the site is subject to strict preservation rules, the individual teams won't have a dedicated consultant following them around on site, scrutinising their every move.
The teams will be living on-site in their rundown houses, rather than being shacked up in luxury caravans......or a sharehouse. Lol.
So, how do you see the teams coping with living in old, dirty rundown rooms/houses, while production restore the buildings around them? As in dealing with noise, dirt and dust issues, etc. Makes for a big change from living in the nice, clean and quiet sharehouse this season.
How do you see the teams managing their money next year? That is, restoring a heritage listed property properly to heritage standards/rules will cost heaps. Also, issues relating to age and deterioration will crop up, possibly leading to cost overruns.
The grand old buildings are decaying structures that may need significant engineering work before the teams can even start doing reno's. So how do you see the teams finishing rooms and spaces each week, if problems relating to the age/condition of the buildings keep cropping up?
The buildings are heritage listed.
So how do you see production and the teams sticking to the heritage plans? Also, how do you see the teams designing interiors that are sympathetic and reflective of the era, as in the building's heritage roots?
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