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Journal

Grow Your Home, Grow the Future: How Timber Can Help Us Rebuild the Planet

Timber-lined interior gallery with closely spaced rafters and columns, a circular roof oculus open to the sky, and a tree growing through a planted floor opening beneath it. Full-height glazing looks onto a courtyard, with pale timber shelving and a bench along the right wall.

Most of us have made our peace with the idea that a building can be less bad for the planet. Better insulation, fewer draughts, a smaller heating bill. But there is a more interesting question underneath all of that. What if a home could do more than tread lightly? What if it could ac …

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Underfloor Heating: Choosing Between Water and Electric

Interior of a minimalist loft designed by RISE Design Studio, featuring timber-clad walls, built-in storage steps, and a skylight. The uncluttered space highlights how hidden systems like underfloor heating enhance comfort, efficiency, and sustainable living while freeing design possibilities.

At RISE, we often remind clients that the way we heat our homes is not just about comfort - it’s about legacy. A heating system is part of the long-term fabric of a building, influencing running costs, carbon impact, and daily wellbeing. Underfloor heating (UFH) - whether water-based …

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Crafting Legacy in the Landscape → Building a Paragraph 84 Home

Contemporary Paragraph 84 countryside home beside a reflective natural pond, featuring timber cladding, expansive glazing and low-energy architecture integrated into the English woodland landscape.

A Conversation with Planning Consultant Sally Arnold Most planning policies are written to control development. Paragraph 84 exists to challenge it.

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Project Architect at RISE Design Studio

Architect and Director Sean Ronnie Hill with a client in RISE Design Studio clay plaster studio discussing a residential project

London | Full-time | Permanent

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More Than a Clubhouse: A Place to Belong, Built for the Next 50 Years

Exterior view of a sustainable tennis clubhouse designed by RISE Design Studio, featuring timber cladding, deep overhangs, glazed walls, and a shaded outdoor social space integrated into a natural setting, reflecting Passivhaus-inspired design and long-term environmental care.

At RISE, we don’t just design buildings. We design catalysts. Spaces that unlock potential. Places that bring people together—across generations, backgrounds, and abilities. Our work with Sutton Churches Tennis Club is about more than bricks and timber. It’s about creating a legacy. A …

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How a Small Shed at Chelsea Is Inspiring Big Ideas at RISE

Exterior view of the Intelligent Garden pavilion at Chelsea Flower Show, designed by Studio Weave with Tom Massey and Sebastian Cox, featuring a fluted mycelium facade, woven ash panels and lush planting that inspires RISE Design Studio’s sustainable architecture.

Nature’s Quiet Genius This year at the Chelsea Flower Show, we were captivated by the Intelligent Garden pavilion designed by Studio Weave, with landscape designer Tom Massey and furniture maker Sebastian Cox. Their careful craft and material curiosity sparked ideas that continue to s …

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A Thousand-Year Responsibility: Lessons from Japanese Carpentry

traditional-japanese-carpentry-ceremonial-robe-exhibition-japan-house

During the bank holiday weekend, I visited Japan House in London and stepped into a world shaped by hand, heart, and humility.

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A New Age of Timber: Why the Future is (Lab-Grown) Wood

Electron microscope image of super wood: a dense, aligned cellulose nanofibre material derived from wood pulp, shown at the nanoscale, representing a sustainable and ultra-strong alternative to steel for future construction and design.

In a quiet lab in Kyoto, a group of scientists are shaping the future – and they're doing it with wood.

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Breathing New Life into Old Walls: Sustainable Refurbishment of Listed Buildings

There’s something deeply grounding about working on a listed building. You’re not just altering a structure - you’re continuing a story. A story etched in hand-forged nails, lime-washed walls, and timber beams that have withstood centuries. But let’s be honest - these buildings were n …

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Small Sites, Big Thinking: How Small-Scale Developments Can Transform Our Cities

Front view of three sustainably designed homes by RISE Design Studio on a backland site in London, featuring soft red roofs, curved bay windows, arched entrances, and wildflower planting, showcasing a thoughtful response to constrained urban infill.

☉ The Untapped Power of the Forgotten Plot

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