About Us

Ecospheric is an award winning sustainability consultancy supporting projects to achieve ambitious targets for decarbonisation. We develop innovative solutions for complex passive house certified buildings, exceptional Paragraph 84e country houses, and integrated and holistic energy strategies for large-scale developments.

Research is at the heart of our mission to reduce the human impact on the environment and we believe the solutions we specify must be tried and tested. That's why we also build and develop properties which incorporate the latest low energy technologies and methodologies. Ecospheric's current property developments include 5 new build passive house premium certified dwellings, the zero energy retrofit of an Elizabethan-era grade II* listed manor house and the conversion of a 300-year-old Yorkshire barn to off-grid group accommodation.

We're also passionate about sharing our knowledge so that everyone in the building sector has the skills to reduce carbon in the built environment. Our team members advise on industry and public sector committees as well as speaking at universities and offering CPDs for architectural practices.

Team Members

Kit Knowles

Founder/Director, MEng

Kit's enthusiasm for driving sustainability in the built environment is seamlessly combined with a deep technical understanding. Unrivalled in his ability to scope, define, and passionately deliver innovative, engaging strategies for bids and planning applications.

Kit serves on the board with the AECB, is a member of BEEF, Technical lead with the GMCA (domestic and commercial retrofit streams) and advises the National Retrofit Hub. He guest lectures at a number of universities, underscoring his commitment to knowledge-sharing and advancing sustainability within the industry.

Ben Riddle

Technical Director, MEng, CEng

Ben spearheads our technical team, delivering energy modelling, optimisation, building services, and renewable energy solutions. He ensures our market leadership through comprehensive understanding and application of emerging standards, software, and sustainable technologies.

A chartered engineer and one of the country's most qualified sustainability consultants, Ben epitomises our commitment to excellence.

As one of the leading experts, Ben also serves as one of the Passivhaus & AECB Carbonlite official certifiers.

Niels Bezuijen

Architectural Engineer, MEng

Niels is a skilled problem-solver who looks for opportunity to optimise sustainability throughout the architectural design process.

Fuelled by a passion for sustainability his innovative design and technology solutions render even the most improbable projects genuinely sustainable. Supported by Bens team, he is able to use the latest building modelling information to optimise and ratify possibilities during an in-depth optioneering process.

Niels' particular expertise lies in reducing embodied carbon through mass and lightweight timber solutions.

Nuala Flannigan

Passivhaus Designer & Certified PHPP Expert, MSc

Nuala is a certified Passivhaus designer and PHPP expert with experience certifying Passivhaus projects. She provides expert advice on optimising energy in buildings.

Luke Dickens

WUFI Expert & Heritage Building Materials Specialist, MSc (PhD)

Luke oversees Ecospheric's construction team and is completing an industry-based PhD researching the sustainable application of lime in the repair of sensitive masonry for historic buildings

Neil Buttery

Accounts & Administration, PhD

Neil manages finance and accounts for Ecospheric in addition to his other career as a food historian and author.

Dave Wiles

Plastering and Stonework

Dave leads the on-site construction team in plastering and stone repair.

Oleksandr Katrenko

Site Construction

Oleksandr provides general on-site support for the construction team.

Rethu Rathinam

Building Modelling & Building Services, MSc

Rethu is an architectural assistant supporting projects by carrying out energy modelling and carbon calculations, building services design, and optimisation.

Ellie Knowles

Business Development & Procurement, MCIPS

Ellie manages strategic operations for Ecospheric's developments overseeing the planning process, heritage considerations, and project management .

Russell Selby

Passive House Consultant, MSc

Russell is a certified Passivhaus designer and CITB site manager. He currently supports our consultancy team with research specialising in low carbon buildability.

Freddy Blackman

Architectural Assistant / Joiner

Freddy supports the site team on joinery and other trades.

Gleb Katrenko

Site Construction

Gleb provides general on-site support for the construction team.

Likhita Karanam

Building Modelling & Building Services, MSc

Likhita is an architectural assistant supporting projects by carrying out energy modelling and carbon calculations, building services design, and optimisation.