Architect Visit: Chris Dyson in Spitalfields

Is Chris Dyson the court architect of Spitalfields, the on-the-rise, artsy east London borough? His clients include neighborhood habitués such as photographer Oliver Chanarin and writer Jeanette Winterston, among others, and Dyson himself has lived in the area since the early 1990s. Dyson worked for James Stirling before founding his own firm in 2003; although he’s worked all over the world, his projects in Spitalfields have won him the most attention. “Living and working in a neighborhood that has the most powerful sense of place in London, we’re able to skillfully draw out the innate character of the capital’s buildings,” he says. His own home and studio, carved from one of the early 18th century Georgian townhouses that typify the area, is a prime example of sensitive restoration and bold modernization. Go to Chris Dyson Architects for more information.

Above: Dyson restored a 1720 Georgian house in the Fournier Street conservation quarter of London for his own family, creating a home, studio, and the Eleven Spitalfields gallery. At the back of the house, across a paved courtyard, Dyson and his team work out of a renovated studio.

Above: A modern resin chandelier by Jim Howatt, from Marianna Kennedy, illuminates the living room; the ceiling is painted a pale sky blue shade from Farrow & Ball.

Above: Throughout the project, Dyson mixes modern elements with historic, as in the sleek kitchen.

Above: Dyson restored a 1720 Georgian townhouse for his neighbor, photographer Oliver Chanarin, creating (above R) a Western red-cedar-clad addition to the rear of the property as a studio space.

Above: The paperback monograph Chris Dyson Architects: Eight Projects/Five Years is available through RIBA Bookshop for £12.