RISE Design Studio Blog: Modern Architecture & Design Insights (3)

11 Things We Always Consider When Designing an Eco Home

by Sean Hill on Jul 14, 2025

Modern eco home by a pond in a woodland setting, designed with Passivhaus principles including deep eaves, timber cladding, solar orientation, and full-height glazing for energy efficiency and comfort year-round.

At RISE, we believe the homes we build should quietly work for the planet—while beautifully serving the people who live in them.

Read Story

Topics: Passivhaus Sustainable Design

Stone, Time and Legacy: A Conversation with Artorius Faber

by Sean Hill on Jul 11, 2025

Sean Ronnie Hill of RISE Design Studio and Edward Smith of Artorius Faber standing in front of large natural stone blocks, highlighting their conversation on stone, time, and legacy in sustainable architecture and material longevity.

At RISE, we’ve always believed that the materials we choose tell stories — about place, about time, about how we value what we build and who we build for.

Read Story

Topics: Sustainable architecture Stone Architecture Designing with Stone

Reinventing Timber: A New Chapter in Sustainable Building

by Sean Hill on Jul 9, 2025

A detailed view of three stacked Superwood planks in varying warm tones, showcasing the fine grain and engineered density of this sustainable, high-performance timber alternative developed for low-carbon architectural applications.

At RISE, we believe in material honesty. In designing buildings that respect the earth they rise from, and the future they help shape. So when a material like Superwood enters the conversation—a bio-based innovation that challenges concrete and steel—it catches our attention.

Read Story

Topics: Building materials natural materials sustainable materials

Beyond Repair, Built for Tomorrow: Crafting a Contemporary Rural Home near Faversham

by Sean Hill on Jul 4, 2025

Visualisation of a modern barn-style replacement dwelling near Faversham, Kent, designed by RISE Design Studio. The sustainable home features natural timber cladding, a pitched metal roof, open-plan living spaces and large openings connecting to the rural landscape.

Hidden behind a screen of wild grasses and hedgerow just outside Faversham sits a plot that tells a story many know but few want to face: a house that once served its time, now left to the elements, a shell clinging to life it no longer has. When we first stepped onto this patch of Ke …

Read Story

Topics: Sustainable Design Rural New Build Replacement Dwelling

How to Find the Right Architect for Your London Home

by Sean Hill on Jul 2, 2025

Sean Ronnie Hill and Imran Jahn of RISE Design Studio discussing a sustainable residential project with their team in the studio, with a computer screen showing a 3D design for an energy-efficient London home, reflecting collaboration and low-energy architecture

Sean Ronnie Hill and Imran Jahn from RISE Design Studio collaborating with their team on a sustainable residential design for a low-energy London home. Designing or renovating a home in London is more than just a project - it’s a chance to shape how you live and how lightly you tread …

Read Story

Topics: London Architecture Sustainable Architect

Do I Need Planning Permission for a Shed or Garden Office? A Guide to Building Sustainable Outbuildings

by Sean Hill on Jul 1, 2025

A modern garden office studio designed by RISE Design Studio, built with sustainable timber, natural light and a green roof, sitting quietly in a London back garden — showing how a permitted outbuilding can add purposeful, low-impact space to your home.

At some point, many of us outgrow our homes — not in spirit, but in space. A quiet garden office, a sturdy shed, a timber studio for work, play or simply to sit still. These aren’t just buildings — they’re small revolutions in how we choose to live, lightly and purposefully.

Read Story

Topics: Garden studio Sustainable Design

Why an Architectural Feasibility Study Matters

by Sean Hill on Jul 1, 2025

Section drawing of Douglas House in Kensal Rise showing sustainable features such as external blinds, green roof, lowered floor, winter sunlight path, cross ventilation and dual aspect layout, used to support early-stage feasibility studies and passive design strategies.

Every project begins long before a spade touches soil. It starts in that hazy, hopeful place where ideas spark and dreams form — and where the wise pause to ask: Is this really possible?

Read Story

Topics: Sustainable Design Feasibility Study

Mews Houses: Breathing New Life into London’s Best-Kept Secrets

by Sean Hill on Jul 1, 2025

Interior of a renovated London mews house designed by RISE Design Studio, featuring a minimalist staircase in warm timber, marble kitchen surfaces, and brass fixtures—blending sustainable materials with elegant, modern detailing in a compact, efficient layout.

London holds many stories. Some are loud and proud—shouted from rooftops and mansion façades. Others whisper. Hidden behind elegant squares and leafy crescents, the mews house belongs to the latter. These back-lane buildings were never designed to impress, and yet today, they quietly …

Read Story

Topics: Mews House Retrofit Sustainable Mews House

A New Standard for Living: Why Passivhaus Matters

by Sean Hill on Jul 1, 2025

Exterior view of a sustainable low energy London home designed by RISE Design Studio, featuring high-performance insulation, triple-glazed windows, and a contemporary aesthetic aligned with Passivhaus principles.

At RISE, we believe that architecture has the power to restore balance—between people and planet, cost and comfort, purpose and performance. The buildings we design must rise to meet more than just today’s needs. They must lead. They must inspire. They must work.

Read Story

Topics: Passivhaus Passive house Sustainable architecture