How UK House Designs are Evolving in Response to a Hotter Climate

The number of UK homes overheating in summer has drastically increased over the past decade due to climate change. Therefore change is required to adapt homes in the UK to the hotter temperatures predicted. As it has been projected that the UK will experience 30% more uncomfortably hot days if the planet warms up by 2 degrees. As UK homes are designed to keep heat in the rise in hotter temperatures will result in architects having to  combat this in building design. [1,5]

How House Designs Are Changing

To prevent homes from overheating, architects are increasingly incorporating the following design techniques:

• External Shading: Brise-soleils (sun breaker), shutters, canopies and external blinds can be utilised to prevent sunlight entering and heating up a room;
• Enhanced Natural Ventilation: Homes are being designed with improved cross ventilation (windows/openings on opposite sides of the room/building to allow airflow through) and passive stack ventilation (using basic thermodynamics i.e. hot air rising vents), using well-placed windows, vents, and rooflights to allow hot air to escape and cooler air to enter;
• Smarter Material Choices: Using materials that absorb and release heat slowly (like stone) will help slow down heat build-up, while using lighter colours will help the material reflect sunlight rather than absorbing it;
• Digital Simulation of Heat and Airflow: The use of digital twins (virtual replica of the building using real time world data) and thermal modelling to predict overheating risks and test solutions is implemented to ensure the house will perform well once built.

Retrofit and Adaptation of Existing Homes: Since most UK homes were designed and built before overheating was a major concern. Retrofitting (updating/changing existing buildings) adding shading and improving ventilation is becoming essential to allow older houses to stay cool in summer and stay warm in winter. [2,3,4]

Conclusions

Architects are having to adapt new and old building designs in order to account for a hotter climate. They are responding by incorporating shading, ventilation, material choices, and digital modelling to ensure new houses wont overheat. Retrofitting older homes is also crucial to adapt to the hotter climate, ensuring old and new houses wont overheat and can adapt to the changes in the environment.

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References

[1] Carrington, Damian. “Number of UK Homes Overheating Soars to 80% in a Decade, Study Finds.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 16 Apr. 2025, www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/16/uk-homes-overheating-soars-study.

[2] Highfield, Anna. “Handling the Heat: How Architects Are Designing for a Hotter Climate.” The Architects’ Journal, 1 Sept. 2023, www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/handling-the-heat-part-1-an-aj-mini-series-on-designing-for-a-hotter-climate.

[3] Hill, Sean. “London Homes Are Overheating — but We Can Design Our Way out of It.” Risedesignstudio.co.uk, RISE Design Studio, 16 Aug. 2025, www.risedesignstudio.co.uk/blog/london-homes-are-overheating-but-we-can-design-our-way-out-of-it.

[4] Marraum Architects. “HOW ARCHITECTS CAN ADDRESS OVERHEATING in YOUR HOME.” Marraum.co.uk, Marraum Ltd, 2019, www.marraum.co.uk/blog/how-architects-can-address-overheating-in-your-home. Accessed 12 Dec. 2025.

[5] Miranda, Nicole D, et al. “Change in Cooling Degree Days with Global Mean Temperature Increasing from 1.5 °c to 2.0 °C.” Nature Sustainability, 13 July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01155-z.

[6] staff, Paula Melton and AIA. “Four Ways Architects Can Fight Climate Change.” Www.aia.org, 29 Nov. 2023, www.aia.org/resource-center/four-ways-architects-can-fight-climate-change.

Image accreditation: Jay Skyler (February 2023) from Unsplash.com+. Last accessed on 16th December 2025. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-white-house-with-a-black-roof-and-two-chimneys-xL57Vdsh1a0