The 1.5 Million Homes Challenge

Why small studios, local builders and agile thinkers hold the key to sustainable housing

☉ Let’s be honest.
Building 1.5 million homes in the UK over the next few years sounds great on paper.
But with today’s structures, policies and workforce?
→ It’s like trying to run a marathon in steel-toe boots.

At RISE Design Studio, we see every project as an opportunity to rethink systems, not just buildings. To imagine better ways of living—and better ways of building. The truth is, there’s no sustainable future for housing unless we rethink who gets to build it and how we support them.

Let’s dig into why small and medium-sized construction companies (SMEs), local architects, and design-led studios like ours are the unsung heroes of the housing crisis—and why unlocking their potential could change everything.

The Numbers Don’t Lie. But They Don’t Inspire, Either.

The headlines say housing completions are slipping. New registrations are unstable. Bungalow builds have dropped to near zero.
← But behind these stats is a bigger truth: we’re still stuck in an old model, trying to solve a new kind of problem.

Large housebuilders dominate the conversation, yet their approach often doesn’t align with sustainable goals or local need. They build big, slow, and for margin, not community. They land bank. They stall. They compromise.

Meanwhile, SMEs are often left out of major procurement frameworks.
☉ That’s not just bad economics. It’s bad design thinking.

SMEs: Small Footprint, Big Impact 🌍

Here’s the part most government papers skip over:
SMEs are flexible. Local. Invested.
They train young talent. They innovate faster. They care about the homes they build because their name is literally on the sign outside.

We’ve worked with some of these brilliant minds. Builders who understand what a Passive House detail looks like. Craftspeople who know how to retrofit with lime plaster and natural insulation. Structural engineers excited by cross-laminated timber.

This isn’t romanticism.
→ This is the future of low-carbon housing.
And it’s happening on small sites. One mews house at a time. One retrofit at a time.

The Skills Shortage Is Real. So Is the Solution.

We’re not going to build anything—let alone 1.5 million homes—without a skilled workforce. And right now, the industry is leaking talent.

🛠 Ageing tradespeople are retiring. Apprenticeships are financially unsustainable for many builders. Mid-level mentorship is vanishing.

But here’s a powerful fix:
→ Fully fund apprenticeships.
It’s not rocket science. It’s what every meaningful profession does—invests in the next generation.

We need real-world training, not just college certificates. Because you don’t learn to build low-energy, high-comfort homes from a textbook. You learn by watching a seasoned carpenter fit airtight details under a cold February sky.

We Need Everyone At the Table 

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a job for 20-something college grads.
☉ We’re talking about retraining opportunities for career-switchers.
☉ Immigration policies that recognise construction as a critical skill.
☉ Flexible pathways for retirees to mentor the next generation.

If we want more homes, better homes, and greener homes, we need to change who we imagine as “the builder.” The future is inclusive. Multigenerational. Cross-disciplinary.

Red Tape ≠ Resilience

Ask any small builder what stops them from bidding for public work and they’ll say it in one word: paperwork.

Bureaucracy is choking delivery. Local authorities default to big players because they can afford the bid process. SMEs, no matter how competent, are often excluded by systems built for scale—not value.

We need:

• Procurement reform that makes room for small firms.

• Long-term project pipelines that give certainty.

• Recognition that quality doesn’t require a corporate badge.

RISE would welcome a public procurement system where innovation, community knowledge, and low-carbon methodology are weighted more heavily than spreadsheet wizardry.

Design Smarter. Build Better. Stay Local. ☉

When you give SMEs the space to lead, something beautiful happens.
Smaller teams listen.
They integrate into communities.
They adapt designs to suit local context and character.

The result?
→ Higher quality housing.
→ Lower environmental impact.
→ Stronger regional economies.

It’s the opposite of the volume-builder monoculture we see sprawling across the UK. It’s design-led, human-centred development.

And it works.

A Green Transition Built by the Small and the Brave 🌱

Let’s talk sustainability. Because none of this matters if we don’t reduce embodied and operational carbon.

Big developers struggle to pivot. Their supply chains are slow. Their specifications are standardised.

SMEs?
→ They’re nimble enough to try new materials.
→ They’re already using MMC (Modern Methods of Construction).
→ They’re building timber frames, adding MVHR, using breathable insulation.

This is how the UK gets to Net Zero:
By backing those already doing the work. Not just funding glossy innovation parks—but supporting real homes, for real people, in real communities.

So What Needs to Happen Now? 

Here’s our shortlist:

☉ Fund apprenticeships fully. Train through doing.
☉ Simplify procurement. Let SMEs through the gate.
☉ Create targeted support for retraining and flexible return-to-work schemes.
☉ Finance SME developments. Access to capital unlocks delivery.
☉ Set long-term goals. Confidence drives investment.
☉ Prioritise sustainability across every new build and retrofit. Design better now, not later.

Final Thought → Build the Ecosystem First.

We can’t deliver 1.5 million homes with press releases.
We need scaffolding that holds up not just buildings, but builders. The entire ecosystem needs to evolve—where architects, contractors, apprentices, planners, and clients are all aligned.

This isn’t just about meeting targets.
This is about shifting culture.

RISE Design Studio is committed to being part of that shift—through every detail we draw, every conversation we have, every young architect we mentor.

We’re not just building homes.
☉ We’re building a more sustainable, more inclusive industry—brick by brick.

Are you in?