Living with Nature:Biophilic Design in Notting Hill Homes

by Sean Hill on Mar 18, 2026

Biophilic kitchen extension in Notting Hill with full-height black-framed sliding glazing, timber-clad ceiling, rooflight, and lush fern garden planting. Indoor-outdoor living by RISE Design Studio, London architects specialising in sustainable residential design.

There is a particular quality of light that falls through a well-placed rooflight, catching the grain of timber and the fringe of a fern. It does something to the body - a quiet calibration back to the natural world. This is the promise of biophilic design. And in Notting Hill, where …

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Topics: Notting Hill Architects architect Kensington Chelsea biophilic design London kitchen extension Notting Hill RBKC architects Passivhaus London sustainable home design EnerPHit London

Why We Give Our Time to Architecture That Matters: RISE Design Studio & the Paddington Old Cemetery Chapels

by Sean Hill on Mar 11, 2026

Architectural concept visualisation of a glazed contemporary pavilion designed by RISE Design Studio within the courtyard of the Grade II listed Victorian Gothic chapels at Paddington Old Cemetery, Queen's Park, London

Every year, RISE Design Studio commits a set number of hours to charitable and community projects - work we believe in, offered pro bono. Right now, that commitment is focused on one of London's most compelling heritage and community stories: the restoration of the Victorian Gothic ch …

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Topics: Community Architecture Queen's Park Sustainable Architect Pro bono

What a Sketch Taught Me About Leadership, Sustainability and the Non-Linear Path

by Sean Hill on Mar 6, 2026

A Career Path As It Actually Looks - diagram presented at an IWD lecture showing a winding route with dead ends, a reminder that progress is never linear

Published for International Women's Day 2026

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The Rules Have Changed. Is Your Application Ready?

by Sean Hill on Feb 13, 2026

Architectural site plan with approved stamp showing contemporary sustainable home design with planning permission documentation

What the April 2026 planning appeals reforms mean for homeowners and developers

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Arches House: A West Hampstead Home Extension by RISE Design Studio Architects

by Sean Hill on Feb 7, 2026

Two-storey brick side and rear extension in West Hampstead with arched steel-framed windows opening onto a landscaped garden terrace, designed by RISE Design Studio for contemporary family living.

In much of suburban London, home extensions follow a familiar pattern: white-rendered boxes, oversized glazing, and short-term thinking. They work - technically - but rarely inspire.

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Topics: Residential architecture hampstead

Notting Hill EnerPHit Retrofit - Reimagining Victorian Homes for a Low-Carbon Future

by Sean Hill on Feb 4, 2026

The full rear composition - a social firepit terrace anchors the outdoor space, with the glazed extension drawing the interior and garden into a single continuous environment in Notting Hill

London's Victorian housing stock is extraordinary. Generous proportions. Handmade brick. A civic confidence baked into every facade.

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Topics: enerphit Notting Hill Architects

AI and the Planning System: What Does It Mean for Your Home?

by Sean Hill on Feb 3, 2026

Exterior view of a London home extension with sliding glazed doors, exposed concrete and timber, warm evening light, architectural drawings in the foreground on a garden table.

You may have seen the headlines. The government is introducing AI into the UK planning system. If you are thinking about a home extension, renovation, or retrofit, it is a reasonable thing to wonder about. Here is an honest view of what is changing, what is not, and what it means for …

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Topics: Retrofit Planning permission home extension Sustainable Design AI and Architecture RISE Insight London Architect

Modular Construction & Net Zero: Why Whole-Life Carbon Thinking Is the Future of New Build Architecture

by Sean Hill on Jan 23, 2026

Two-storey modular timber home beside a Sussex lake at dusk, warm larch cladding reflected in still water, biophilic landscaping, designed by RISE Design Studio architects London.

A Sector at a Crossroads There are moments in an industry when direction becomes destiny.

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Topics: Sustainable architecture modular architecture New Build House Whole Life Carbon Net Zero Architecture new build architect Sussex modular architect London

Architects in Notting Hill - understanding place before design

by Sean Hill on Jan 21, 2026

Rear garden view of a sustainable home extension in Notting Hill, combining contemporary curved forms with historic brickwork, designed by architects experienced in conservation areas and low-energy residential design.

Notting Hill is a place where architecture carries memory. Terraces shaped by time, generous streets, and fragments of communal green space give the area its quiet confidence. It is not a neighbourhood that rewards excess. It rewards judgement.

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Topics: Sustainable Architect Notting Hill Architects