Why We’re Designing with Swift Bricks: Architecture That Welcomes Nature Home

Written by Sean Hill | May 15, 2025

Every summer, for just twelve fleeting weeks, the skies above our streets are sliced by a flash of black, a cry like laughter, and the unmistakable curve of a swift in flight. They’ve crossed continents to be here. And all they ask in return is a place to stay.

A built-in swift nest brick specified by RISE Design Studio – designed to integrate seamlessly into masonry façades, offering a discreet, zero-maintenance habitat for cavity-nesting birds while enhancing biodiversity in the built environment.

At RISE Design Studio, we’ve always believed buildings should serve more than just their occupants. Architecture is a dialogue with the world outside—its materials, its energy, and yes, its wildlife. Few design decisions are as small, or as significant, as making space for a bird.

Swift Awareness Week Saturday 28 June to Sunday 6 July 2025

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The Architecture of Absence

The modern building envelope is tight. That’s good for energy performance, but bad for neighbours like the swift. For centuries, these birds adapted to live among us, folding themselves into the cracks of timber beams, under slate eaves, and into holes in old brick walls.

But with every soffit and sealed roofline, every tidied-up fascia and thermally efficient wall, we’ve erased those spaces—accidentally evicting one of the UK’s oldest aerial residents.

In sustainability circles, we talk a lot about performance, carbon, lifecycle. But how often do we ask: who else could thrive here?

Custodians of the Sky

Swifts are part of a remarkable lineage—an unbroken chain going back nearly 50 million years. They don’t walk. They barely perch. They sleep on the wing. They arrive in May, find the same hole they’ve returned to for decades, raise their chicks in just a few short weeks, and then vanish again into the African skies.

But today, many find nothing but brickwork and barriers. They smash into blocked nesting holes. Or circle aimlessly, unable to land. In the last 25 years, we’ve lost over half our swift population. They're now red-listed, their future uncertain.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about sentimentality. It’s about stewardship. We’ve taken their forests. Now we’re sealing up their last urban homes. Unless we intervene, their story here ends.

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Enter the Swift Brick

Here’s where the magic happens. A hollow block. A single opening. The price of a decent dinner. Laid by any bricklayer. Invisible to most eyes. And life-changing for a species.

Swift bricks aren’t gimmicks—they’re low-tech, high-impact design elements. They cost little, require no maintenance, and can be woven seamlessly into the language of contemporary architecture. Whether nestled into timber cladding, brickwork, or set behind render, they offer a quiet promise: this home welcomes more than just humans.

And they work. Not just for swifts, but for house martins, sparrows, starlings, tits and wrens. One simple gesture. Multiple species supported.

The Design Opportunity

What if every new home, every school, every retrofit, was required to give back just one small cavity to nature? What if local planning authorities supported these micro-habitats as part of broader biodiversity strategies? What if swift bricks became as standard as wall insulation?

And yes, if you’re asking—these details count towards BREEAM points. They show up positively in planning applications. They turn cold elevations into living façades.

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Building a Wiser Future

At RISE, we embed sustainability from the inside out—both operational and embodied. But sustainability isn't just about carbon. It's about relationships. Between people, buildings, and ecosystems. Swifts remind us that our cities are not islands. They’re part of a network that stretches far beyond the skyline.

We’ve started to specify swift bricks on more of our projects. Not because it’s fashionable. But because it's right. And because we believe buildings can lead with integrity.

When we design with purpose, we shape more than space—we shape stories. And sometimes, those stories include wings.

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Where to Begin

If you’re an architect, a developer, or a homeowner planning a new build or retrofit, this is an invitation. Speak to your design team. Ask for swift bricks. Review your elevations. Rethink your soffits. Look up and imagine what might fly overhead next spring.

For inspiration and practical guidance → www.swift-conservation.org

Your next project could help save a species.

Not by trying harder. Just by designing better.

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Their home can be our home, too.

Designing with Nature in Mind

At RISE, we believe that great architecture doesn’t just shelter life – it supports it. Incorporating swift bricks is one small act that speaks volumes. It’s about designing buildings that quietly give something back – to the air, to the land, to the wild lives that move around us.

Whether you’re planning a new build, a retrofit, or a visionary community space, we’d love to explore how your project could help rewild the skyline.

→ Email us at architects@risedesignstudio.co.uk
→ Or call the studio on 020 3947 5886

Updated 26 June 2025