Fans of criticised the latest project featured on the show, following a very ambitious undertaking revealed on Wednesday's episode (March 26). Builders Howard and Sarah joined host Kevin McCloud for the first episode of the new 25th series in a bid to contract a sleek, angled, metallic floating home on a tidal estuary near Worthing. The pair admitted having embarked on several ambitious building designs together, but dubbed this latest project "their most radical yet."

But when the final result was revealed, fans were stunned, dubbing it "the worst in the show's history". "Well just watched new grand designs that is the biggest pile s**t in the shows history," slammed one fan. "Most of the time houses on Grand Designs look decent once finished... this isn't one of those times," another echoed. More chimed in, adding: "The shape of the house on Grand Designs looks very familiar," accompanied by a photo of an old fashion tap faucet, and: "Grand designs. WTF is that."

Designed to look like a boat, and nestled within a houseboat community, the structure sat on an experimental, prefabricated, polystyrene slab to deal with high tides alternating with hours sitting in the mud.

The pair also revealed they would be undertaking the overall project management themselves to cut costs and were seen purchasing their own crane

After three years of construction and a budget of £385,000 for the project, host McCloud described the structure as "Darth Vader's boathouse."

McCloud, known for his enthusiastic descriptions, even likened a large roof window to "something out of a Star Wars episode."

Despite its formidable exterior, the houseboat features innovative interior designs, such as a multipurpose kitchen island that doubles as a ping-pong table and a foldout desk crafted by Sarah in her latest woodworking course.

However, the overall ambiance of the houseboat has been described as uninviting, with even the highly anticipated rear deck overlooking the estuary being criticised as sparse and underwhelming.

Upstairs, the design featured a soaring, open-plan living space complete with an outer deck that offered views of the estuary, while the lower deck was planned to house accommodations for the family and their teenage children, a home office, and a cinema room.

Speaking ahead of the season premiere, Kevin also offered an insight into what viewers can expect from other episodes in the new series:

"It is short, we are making something that is not too lengthy, we are making it snappy.

We have two new revisits which are really meaningful. One of the revisits is with a blended family, a couple who were both bereaved and brought their children together into a house. The house is designed by the husband and honestly, it is sort of one of my favourite projects," he said.