RISE Design Studio Blog: Modern Architecture & Design Insights

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

How to Retrofit a London Home to the EnerPHit Standard

by Imran Jahn on Jul 30, 2025

Rear view of a Victorian London home featuring a contemporary timber-clad extension with triple-glazed sliding doors, designed to EnerPHit standard for low energy use, airtightness, and sustainable performance while respecting the original architecture.

How EnerPHit retrofit principles are shaping London's low-carbon future

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Topics: Building energy Sustainable architecture enerphit

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

How to Design an Eco House That Works With Nature, Not Against It

by Sean Hill on Jun 12, 2025

Interior view of a sustainable, open-plan living space designed with Passivhaus principles, featuring natural timber finishes, high-performance glazing, a suspended fireplace, and seamless indoor-outdoor connection for energy-efficient, low-carbon living.

Building for Tomorrow Starts Today At RISE, we believe that the homes we create today shape the way we live tomorrow. The old model of building - extract, consume, discard - has had its day. In its place is something quieter, more considered, and far more urgent: a need to design home …

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Topics: Passivhaus Sustainable architecture enerphit low carbon low energy home Sustainable Architect

Not Quite Passivhaus? Not Quite Enough.

by Sean Hill on Apr 9, 2025

View of a sustainable timber-clad extension to a traditional stone cottage, demonstrating certified Passivhaus principles with large triple-glazed windows, airtight detailing, and low-energy design in a rural English setting.

☉ The Illusion of Almost In today’s built environment, there’s a growing trend to dress up underperformance. Phrases like “inspired by Passivhaus” or “Passivhaus principles applied” may sound like progress. But they are often just that – sound. Hollow echoes of a standard that only de …

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Topics: Passivhaus enerphit

Old Bones, New Life: How One Mews House is Leading a Low-Carbon Future

by Sean Hill on Apr 9, 2025

3D Digital cross-section rendering of a retrofitted mews house on Bathurst Mews, showcasing sustainable design features such as solar panels, MVHR, super insulation, and modern interior upgrades by RISE Design Studio, aimed at meeting EnerPHit low-energy building standards.

In the heart of W2, nestled behind the grand stuccoed avenues of Bayswater, sits one of London’s best-kept secrets: Bathurst Mews. A cobbled street once home to horses and hay carts, it's now a serene pocket of heritage homes where ivy climbs brick walls and life hums quietly behind p …

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Topics: Sustainable architecture Sustainable Design enerphit low energy home Heritage