Contestants in for a challenge on The Block Glasshouse

Contestants in for a challenge on The Block Glasshouse
Jessie RichardsonDecember 7, 2020

On the debut of The Block Glasshouse, host Scott Cam described the series' Prahran office block as "the worst house on the best street".

While that would be a good position to be in for most renovators, the five teams will be in a tough spot this season.

With 3,300 square metres of floor space over five floors, the building is almost double the size of Dux House, the site of The Block Fans v Faves.

The television show is milking the offbeat location for all it's worth, with contestants entering the building to meet Scott Cam, apparently believing the site to be Channel 9's headquarters. While the ruse was less than convincing, given the location was known by the media fairly early on, the show's set designers were certainly earning their keep, dressing the space as a sad but still functioning office.

After the true nature of their location was revealed, contestants went about choosing their respective apartments at random.

Queensland couple Karlene and Michael, a communications manager and construction manager, picked Apartment 1. Though stuck with a lesser position, with a southerly aspect, the apartment has one of the largest terraces. Their pick has a total of 236.8 square metres of floor space.

Chris and Jenna have Apartment 2, the only apartment of the five with no external windows. To make up for the significant setback, the apartment is the biggest on The Block, with 277 square metres of floor space. Theirs is also the only apartment with a rooftop terrace, a secret Jenna spilled but quickly downplayed.

Karsten and Maxine of Newcastle, who met online and are now engaged, have put their own renovations on hold to take on The Block Glasshouse. They picked Apartment 3, the third largest in the building with 237 square metres of floor space. The apartment has a northwesterly aspect, with city views.

Tasmanian brothers Simon and Shannon have Apartment 4, the second largest of the bunch. Located on the front right side of the building, looking over High Street, the apartment has 249 square metres of floor space.

Former AFL footballer Darren and his wife Deanne picked Apartment 5, which has the most desirable aspect, facing north. Unfortunately, it's the smallest apartment of the bunch, with just 186.7 square metres of space.

Each apartment will also have 70 square metres of private storage and two car spaces.

However, armed with just floor plans with no orientation details, the contestants struggled to figure out where their apartments would sit in the space. They also were treated to junk and debris all across the top level of the building, and rippling metal sheets on the roof coupled with strong winds kept them awake in their new accommodation in the office space downstairs.

With free cars, vouchers to sponsor-suppliers and $100,000 in their bank accounts, each team is tasked with renovating their apartment, to sell at the end of the season. Their first task was to find a builder, with each team but Chris and Jenna somehow finding a builder within a single day.

The first episode of The Block Glasshouse attracted 1.37 million viewers  - however, much as been made of Channel 9's "roadblocking" strategy, with the network airing the premier across its flagship 9 platform, Gem and GO! simultaneously, despite previously advertising different shows for that slot on GO! and Gem.

Picture courtesy of Channel 9.

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