Architecture
08/07/2026
Over the years, we have sold our fair share of listed buildings, from a Grade I Christopher Wren in the City to some of the great, seminal modernist homes of the 1930s through to the 1970s
To the uninitiated, the subjectiveness of these protective statuses can provoke a completely understandable degree of uncertainty and nervousness in buyers around what can and cannot be done from a renovation or extension standpoint.
For almost a decade, Chris Dyson, principal of his eponymous Spitalfields architectural practice, has been our first port of call to provide our clients with clarity, reassurance and guidance through the seemingly opaque landscape of conservation.
A glance down Dyson’s ‘hit list’ shows an incredibly varied career with a wealth of international exposure under the practices of James Stirling Michael Wilford & Partners and Terry Farrell & Partners. The scale, ambition and sensitivity required of these contemporary designs, for both buildings and public realms, during those formative years before establishing his own practice in 2004, have undoubtedly contributed to that signature of his work; the contemporary approach to heritage conservation.
Hemingway+K are currently marketing Chris Dyson’s own home in the heart of Spitalfields Conservation Area. Princelet Street and its immediate neighbours make up one of the most atmospheric and transportive parts of London. It’s a place where you witness the layers of history and feel like you’re experiencing it in real time. Roman elements have lasted through Dickensian times and into the present. The area has a transportive quality to it; when you glimpse the steeple of Hawksmoor’s church across the weavers’ lofts on misty mornings, or in the haze of late summer evenings when the varieties of brick or stucco frontages take on a painterly quality.
This house was brought back from the brink of the unrecognisable by Dyson, whose work has become synonymous with the renaissance of the area. It’s a contemporary reimagining in the sense of its workings: plumbing, electrics, insulation. But to look at it and to experience it from within, you wouldn’t know. Its floors, fireplaces and panelling are faithful to the Georgian origins. It’s a sensitive disguise through almost 4,000 sq ft, retaining the old-world charm of a shop-front reception but successfully incorporating a contemporary gallery space beyond a courtyard garden.
We have many Chris Dyson favourites, but will highlight a handful. The renovation of Hexagon House, former home of Monty Python’s Terry Jones, is certainly one. Bordering Hampstead Heath, the house is one of a collection of mid-century houses built in the 1960s and designed by Leonard Michaels. The interventions of Dyson and team were steeped in confidence; knowing what to preserve, where to nod to the past, and where to usher into the 21st Century, including its connectivity with its outside spaces.
We also see that careful balance between old and new in the renovation of Farringdon’s favourite, The Sekforde pub. Here restoration of the Regency turret and panelled bar within was met with a contemporary mixed-use structure linked by glazing. When walking past, it encourages a double-take. The dramatic brick point at the link and the even fenestration of the facade are so successful as a contemporary take on the Georgian aesthetic, and won the practice two London RIBA awards. Architecture you can enjoy over a Guinness!
We also loved the reinvention of a substantial Canonbury villa, which included restoration of the front facade alongside the ever-symbiotic use of Petersen Tegl bricks for a striking rear extension. It displays a great balance of conservation, craft and innovation, giving new life to an historic building and encouraging modern life within it. If only houses could speak, I’m sure they’d say how grateful they are for the finer makeovers!
