This section is about the Big Brother House in the United States. For more houses, check out Big Brother House.
The American Big Brother House plays an important role in the series as it's the place where houseguests live together for a certain period of time.
The house is actually located within a sound-stage studio lot inside the CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles near the Los Angeles River.
The original one-story Big Brother House that appeared in the first five seasons was specially built on an empty back-lot. It then moved a few blocks away to CBS' Stage 18 and a specially-built backyard was added adjacent to the sound stage. The current house is a two-story house and has been in use starting from the sixth season up to the present.
Original House
The original Big Brother house was used from Season 1 until Season 5. It had a similar layout seen among early seasons of Big Brother internationally, and was based on the original Dutch house layout in the Netherlands.
In contrast to the current house used in the show, the original house was slightly smaller in size and was a one-story house. In Season 2, the house introduced a Head of Household bedroom adjacent to the Diary Room and Living Room. The HOH room has since become an important area in the American Big Brother house due to its format.
Season 1 - Basic
Season 2 - Modern Contemporary
Season 3 - Modern Contemporary
Season 4 - 70's Retro
Season 5 - Art Nouveau
Current House
The current Big Brother house was first introduced in Season 6 has been in use since. The house is comparably larger than the original house and is now a two-story house, with the second floor dedicated for the Head of Household suite and a small sitting area. Unlike the original house, the current HOH room has special access to certain cameras around the house through a small television screen.
The current house is located in Studio 18 of CBS Studio Center and a backyard with a similar size to that in the original house is an added structure specially built for the series. The current house follows the similar U-shaped layout of the original house, but the rooms were laid out differently. Unlike the original house with windows overlooking the backyard, this house only has a large sliding door that leads to the backyard and a small kitchen window that has since been removed. The backyard door can be closed off when preparing for challenges.
Since its first appearance in 2005, the house layout remains the same, with only minor modifications made throughout the years. In 2014, the house was refitted with all HD cameras.
Civilian
Season 6 - House of Secrets
Season 7 - All-Stars/House of Extremes/Heaven vs. Hell/Good vs. Evil
Season 8 - Alice in Wonderland
Season 9 - Lake House
Season 10 - Generations in American History/Contemporary
Season 11 - Southern California/Green
Season 12 - South Beach/Miami
Season 13 - Venice Beach/Inside Out
Season 14 - Tokyo Pop/1980s
Season 15 - Mid-Century Modern/Planes
Season 16 - Urban Treehouse/The Elements
Season 17 - Steel Wave/Modern Beach
Season 18 - Around the World
Over the Top - Autumn
Season 19 - Summer of Temptation
Season 20 - Interactive Technology/Gaming/Silicon Valley
Season 21 - The Great Outdoors/Summer Camp/Camp BB
Season 22 - All-Star Loft/Big Brother History
Season 23 - BB Beach Club/Casino/Las Vegas/Monte Carlo
Season 24 - Desert Motel/Festivals
Season 25 - BB Multiverse
Reindeer Games - Santa's Lodge
Celebrity
Season 1 - Los Angeles Skyline/Golden/Sophisticated
Season 2 - 1940s New York City
Season 3 - Ski Lodge
Trivia
- Since the house's major upgrade in Big Brother 6 (US), there were minor changes that took place in the Big Brother House:
- Host Julie Chen received a new front of house stage starting with Big Brother 6, which changed for Big Brother 10 (US), Big Brother 15 (US) and Big Brother 22 (US).
- Since Big Brother 17 (US), the roof-like ceiling was removed and the ceiling was expanded all the way to the side, which enabled them to build a skybridge over the foyer.
- In Big Brother 18 (US), they turned the entrance of the house from one door to two, but later reverted back to the single door for Big Brother 21 (US), while on Julie's stage it is still two doors.
- In Celebrity Big Brother 1 (US), the backyard was nearly entirely removed in favor of a covered-court like activity area for competitions. Only the sitting area remained as the house's backyard area. The original backyard size was brought back in the twentieth civilian edition.
- In Celebrity Big Brother 2 (US), the reduced backyard are returned, this time with a specialized swimming pool in place for Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte. Once again, the original backyard size and pool returned in the following civilian season.
- Also in Celebrity Big Brother 2, a second Diary Room was added in the hallway connecting the balcony and the gym.[2]