Hamptons Area Guide - City of London & The West End

Tell us a little of the background of your architects practice?

Chris Dyson Architects is based in central London; we work all over the capital and surrounding counties, as well as further afield – last year we even completed our first refurbishment of an Italian palazzo. The studio brings together architects of different backgrounds and ages, young and less young, and it’s wonderful to see our team’s work often recognised with awards.

Do you offer pre-exchange assessments to residential clients?

Yes, we find this can be very helpful. It allows both parties to get to know each other and develop an understanding of the needs and scope of a project, and to highlight some of the opportunities and limitations of a property. As Carlo Scarpa once said, “our duty is to give buildings a new lease of life.”

What are the most popular requests from residential clients?

Our portfolio is a mix of heritage and contemporary buildings, so many clients come to us for the extension or refurbishment of listed

architecture, from Georgian terraces to country estates. We have a lot of expertise in seeing these kinds of projects through planning, which can offer reassurance. Other clients are looking for a contemporary extension or completely new building, and the potential held in the blank page of a sketchbook is equally exciting. Whether existing or new build, we enjoy working with clients to identify the opportunities that their particular property offers – in some cases, this can be a relatively modest intervention to help to create a better sense of flow between rooms, or to extend into the basement or eaves. In others, such as Maison Colbert, it can be removing all the internal walls dividing a row of terraced houses to create a single, spectacular galleried living space.

Is there a project you are most proud of?

All have a special place in the studio, and all feel personal to the team. I suppose our recent work most easily springs to mind: last year we completed Mr Barrow’s House, a very elegant, curved extension to a grand Highgate home. I’m fond of our houses on Wapping Pierhead for the fine detailing of the brick. There’s the endless variety of our work in Spitalfields, and all the ways the area’s Huguenot houses can be adapted. Then there is our house in Suffolk, where we added a contemporary timber garden room to a thatched cottage. As you see, too hard to choose just one! We are proud of all our projects, but we’re always learning and it’s nice to think our best work is ahead of us.

Some words of encouragement to the family who are hesitating to make that first call to an architect.

There is nothing to lose but much to be gained from a conversation. We are a friendly team with a lot of experience, and we’re connected to a wide professional network, able to draw on specialist knowledge if it’s needed. If you trust an architect to support and guide you through design, planning and construction, you can feel confident that you are getting the best out of your property – and can even enjoy the process.

www.chrisdyson.co.uk