House of Design is committed to following a sustainable design philosophy. This philosophy sometimes manifests itself in the introduction and specification of technologies that reduce the energy demand on a building, but more frequently manifests through a careful approach to design that maximises reuse of old materials and retrofits existing buildings to enable them to support new or extended uses for a longer period of time.

The construction of a building embodies a huge amount of energy and a reckless demolition of old buildings that are no longer fit for purpose is wasteful. Where possible we try to retain existing built form and celebrate existing architectural details and materials, crafting new spaces that fit seamlessly into the existing fabric. A robust knowledge of traditional building techniques and details gives grounding to the development of our more modern details and streamlines the successful integration of modern energy saving technologies such as air source heat pumps and heat exchange systems into existing or historic settings.