Sean Hill

Backland Development - Turning Hidden Plots into Purposeful Places

by Sean Hill on Aug 10, 2025

A modern brick backland development designed by RISE Design Studio in London, featuring sustainable design, generous glazing, and landscaped gardens, showcasing how hidden plots can be transformed into high-quality homes that blend with their surroundings.

In the spaces most people overlook - behind houses, between gardens, down forgotten lanes - there is an untapped opportunity.

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Topics: Sustainable architecture Backland Development

Building Down to Rise Up: Understanding Basement Costs in London 2025

by Sean Hill on Aug 7, 2025

Interior view of a contemporary London basement extension designed by RISE Design Studio, showcasing a copper-toned kitchen, integrated lighting, and a stair-lit lightwell that brings daylight into the space.

In London, space is a luxury. And in a city where growth is restricted upwards and outwards, we often find ourselves looking in the opposite direction - down. Not because it’s easier. But because, done well, it can transform the way a home lives and breathes.

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Topics: Basement Extensions Sustainable Basement Extension

Reimagining the Gaps: How Small Sites Can Deliver Big Change

by Sean Hill on Aug 7, 2025

A street view of a modern small-site residential development in London by RISE Design Studio, featuring brick façades, generous glazing, copper-clad dormers, and landscaped front gardens that integrate seamlessly with the surrounding urban fabric.

☉ In every city, there are fragments—unused corners, forgotten plots, overlooked edges. To us, these are not limitations. They’re untapped potential. Spaces waiting to rise.

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Topics: Backland Development Small Sites Development

Building Within: The Sustainable Potential of Backland Development

by Sean Hill on Aug 6, 2025

Architectural rendering of three contemporary backland homes in Greenwich, designed by RISE Design Studio with curved brick forms, pitched roofs, and wildflower landscaping, showcasing sustainable urban infill development surrounded by mature trees and soft natural planting.

When people talk about development, the conversation often looks outward—towards green fields, new suburbs, and yet more concrete on untouched land. But what if the answers lie much closer to home?

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Topics: Sustainable architecture Backland Development

Bringing Buildings to Life: How BIMx Helps Our Clients See, Understand, and Shape Their Future Home

by Sean Hill on Aug 6, 2025

Architects and clients at RISE Design Studio review a 3D architectural model using BIMx software on desktop and tablet, enabling immersive collaboration, real-time feedback, and clarity throughout the design process.

At RISE Design Studio, we don’t just draw buildings—we tell stories. Stories about how spaces are used, how light travels through a room, how materials feel underfoot, and how the smallest design decision can transform the experience of a home.

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Topics: BIM BIMx 3D Walkthroughs

Quiet Power: Designing with the Japandi Spirit

by Sean Hill on Aug 5, 2025

Japandi interior design by RISE Design Studio featuring natural timber, soft neutral tones, and organic textures that reflect sustainable, low-energy living.

At RISE, we believe that good design doesn’t shout. It whispers. It slows your heartbeat. It invites you to breathe, to feel the texture of a timber handle, the warmth of filtered light.

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Topics: Japanese Archiecture Japandi

Breathing New Life Into Old Walls: Extending Georgian Homes With Purpose

by Sean Hill on Aug 1, 2025

Rear view of a Georgian house with a contemporary copper-clad extension featuring large sliding glass doors, opening onto a minimalist garden terrace designed for low-energy living.

Georgian homes have a quiet kind of confidence. They don’t shout. They simply endure—with their symmetry, tall sash windows, and understated grace. Built during a time of enlightenment and elegance, these homes are more than just bricks and mortar—they are part of our cultural memory.

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Topics: Sustainable architecture Georgian Extension

How to Choose the Right Building Standards for a Low-Carbon Future

by Sean Hill on Jul 30, 2025

Rear view of a sustainable London home extension featuring timber cladding, large triple-glazed openings, and meticulous detailing, designed to meet EnerPHit principles for energy efficiency, airtightness, and occupant comfort.

Every build is a decision. Every decision shapes the future.

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Topics: Passivhaus enerphit BREEAM AECB

Breathing New Life into Homes: Why MVHR Matters in a Low-Energy Future

by Sean Hill on Jul 26, 2025

Interior of a low-energy deep retrofit home by RISE Design Studio featuring natural timber finishes, large skylight, MVHR-integrated design, and garden connection through full-height glazing.

At RISE, we believe homes should do more than shelter. They should nurture. Heal. Breathe. And in our journey to design spaces that tread lightly and live deeply, Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) has become a quiet revolution — quite literally.

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Topics: enerphit mvhr Sustainable Interiors Sustainable Architect Sustainable Extensions