Testimonials

"It is an important site for the London Borough of Harrow as it provides a range of facilities for stakeholders in the borough, ranging from arts, culture, leisure, keep fit and community cohesion… [Chris Dyson Architects] creatively designed a building to complement the historic agricultural part of the land and the adjacent brick buildings, whilst being sympathetic to the site and allowing for future-proofing. They worked well with a wide range of stakeholders, ranging from community meetings, the internal department, Design Review with the LPA, and meetings with the GLA. They delivered the project in a rapidly-changing, dynamic external environment that was challenging, with a fixed budget. [We] found the architects at CDA responsive, creative and solution focused."

"Chris Dyson trained as a modernist at Oxford Brookes University and the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow, then worked first for James Stirling and Michael Wilford and from 2000 to 2003 for Terry Farrell.  But having lived and worked in Spitalfields since 1990, originally with an office in his house in Princelet Street, he has an equally good feel for the texture and materiality of historic buildings.  This book explores, explains and illustrates the range of his work as an architect over the last twenty years."

"To me, Chris Dyson is the pencil and the brick… his buildings are human."

"Chris Dyson dovetails ancient and modern with a sleight of hand that makes the viewer unable to imagine one without the other...  wood, stone and rust consort with steel and glass in a marriage made in heaven. This architecture is ergonomically correct from the ground up but where space can be stretched and formed and where there is counterpoint and pace as well as silence and noise but the user is always considered whether walking past these buildings on the street or opening the door and walking in..."

"You have this way in your work of uniting beauty and form with strategy and intelligence.  "

"This is a most elegant book, chronicling Dyson’s timeless architecture that consistently sits so comfortably with its neighbours and reflects the eclectic tapestry of everyday life as well as the magpie mind of Jim Stirling, Chris’s mentor and first employer.  "

"I came to read your Practice and Projects book (v enjoyable!). It talks of CDA's… - rich, inclusive architecture - being both rooted in – and a means of expressing – an intellectual curiosity, a warm humanism and a love of life - identifying the beautiful in the ordinary - a playful approach - collaborative - simultaneous enjoyment of contradictory aspects - eclectic tastes - a vocabulary which is enriched and informed by historical enquiry - comfort with a gentleness of touch and consideration - an architecture of everyday generosity. There's colour here, warmth, curiosity, openness, an appreciation of art, and history, and things beyond architecture, and a wearing of learning lightly… these aren't attributes that many architecture practices have!"

"Chris Dyson Architects have been incredible in every aspect of every project we are working on together. The entire team is responsive, endlessly creative and have such an eye for detail! You know you couldn't ask for more when even the council's planning department love everything Chris Dyson sends their way!"

"We hired Chris Dyson Architects (CDA) to design our new build private residence. The team have been professional, creative, and diligent in their approach. We came to the team with a tight budget, high design aspirations, a difficult site, and a challenging planning environment. They have dealt with and responded to each with alacrity and intelligence. During the design phase we had to undertake a series of pivots to comply with local planning guidelines. CDA developed alternatives that synthesised our core needs with the external environment to in the end deliver a robust and thoughtful design with which we are very pleased. Complementing their design chops is their political/administrative nous. Their interactions with the myriad players/interests involved in developing a building have been exceptional. We feel that their efforts have smoothed and lightened what could have been a frustrating process had it have been handled by another less qualified organisation. We lucked out having CDA as a partner and highly recommend them to anyone looking for an architect with whom to work."

"Chris Dyson [Architects] has been working as part of a multi-disciplinary team delivering improvement projects throughout Crystal Palace Park. As part of this they have led on the new park cafe. Their approach to the design of the cafe was extremely well considered and took into consideration the historic landscape, connections and views, as well as improved access to the dinosaur lakeside. They supported us through the planning permission process, and have worked constructively and pragmatically with the works contractor. Cost control was a priority for Bromley, and Chris Dyson ensured that the building worked hard to bring the scheme within budget. They adopted a pro-active approach to cost analysis and material selection, and had a good awareness of the cost implications of design decisions. Their understanding of the builder's requirements has resulted in a great space for park visitors and the local community, enabling the cafe to contribute to the park's future sustainability. The building is a beacon in the landscape and their approach to design and materiality has resulted in a building that is not only handsome, but sets the quality standard for future capital works within the park."

"I doubt this would ever have been approved by LBTH without your reputation and the brilliant design and work put in by your team so far."

"Chris Dyson Architects have been engaged by me on several projects. The most recent is Clapham Road and Sekforde Arms. In both cases, the firm showed considerable ingenuity in saving money and completing the projects well within my budget. Clapham Road involved adding two storeys to a building opposite Stockwell underground station and thereby creating 5 additional flats. The two additional storeys consisted of prefabricated insulated lightweight panels which were delivered at the crack of dawn. This innovation proved much quicker, easier and cheaper than conventional bricklaying and just as resilient and attractive. The flats were let very quickly after construction. The Sekforde was a remarkable project of restoration and development which won two RIBA awards, was shortlisted for a Civic Trust award (the only pub in the country) and is one of two pubs that have been highly commended by CAMRA for the quality of the refurbishment. Chris Dyson saved a great deal of money by identifying the appropriately skilled contractors to assist and finding the correct historical materials. This is a firm of the highest order - brilliant, knowledgeable, hardworking, fair, completely honest, unflappable and good humoured. I intend to instruct them again soon."

"Delighted with the design stage and finished product. The team was great and very patient with us. Love the flow of space and balance of exposed brick/plaster, and the woodwork throughout esp. vertical stair bars and door frames."

"We have worked with Chris Dyson Architects on several projects and would strongly recommend them to discerning private and commercial developer clients. Their architecture is very sensitive to the surrounding buildings and they have been very successful in introducing modern architecture to more traditional as well as conservation areas. CDA were lovely, hospitable and accommodating. We felt very comfortable working with them and will no doubt continue to do so on our future projects."

"We live in one of oldest dwellings in Matlock, Derbyshire, dated 1667. Our London home is in Wapping on the river Thames. We watched Chris Dyson's architectural practice work on a stunning house restoration and extension at Pierhead, which has won several awards, including the AJ Small Project Award. The house at Pierhead has been described as a "subtle, thoughtful yet mischievous" addition to a Georgian-style terrace in East London and described as "architecture for architects, yet a building the public would walk by and equally enjoy." Indeed, I did walk by, and simply had to use this firm of architects for the proposed work at Wellfield Cottage. Chris and Gideon spent a day with us looking at the site and garden, listening to what we wanted to achieve. We anticipated planning would be difficult and the site has presented many challenges. CDA painstakingly worked with planners and we were truly amazed that we achieved planning in its submitted form. The design has integrity, its well thought out and completely satisfies our brief. It is also aesthetically pleasing. All I can add, is that Chris, Gideon and their team at CDA are a joy to work with. They are professional, hard- working, honest and indeed highly creative. They have designed something very special for us, it's not just architecture for architects, but architecture that meets client's needs and exceeds expectations. We hope to start building very soon. Furthermore, we may have another exciting project for CDA. Watch this space."

"CDA joined the Bishopsgate design team in 2010. The practice then played a leading role in exploring the reuse of the historic structures on-site and the public spaces of the proposed new mixed retail, commercial and residential district. The team has always come up with the most innovative and imaginative design and architectural solutions to a complex scheme on a very constrained site and within a historically sensitive environment. It was also very useful to have Chris providing a local’s view of the project and having close personal connections to the local interest groups. It has always been a pleasure working with the CDA team."

"CDA were extremely professional yet personable and excelled with a good understanding of the client's design needs."

"Thank you so much for all your efforts and architectural and artistic skill on this - you've been marvellous, and we love how all the design parts have worked out. The old 'renovators' delight' has been turned into a home we know we will absolutely love living in - thank you."

"Dear Chris and Gideon, we would like to thank you for both for providing us with a great family home. It was a complex project but has ended up quite close to the first hand drawings and we are very happy with the result. Thanks for all your help and advice and we hope we can work again together."

"The service was very professional and efficient. Particularly happy with the team’s attention to detail and ability to source items that are appropriate, tasteful and within budget."

"We worked closely with Chris Dyson Architects on a number of projects and always been impressed by the attention to detail and the sensitivity shown to both the buildings and the local environment. Their understanding of how to best utilise glazing systems to create light-filled spaces has always been first-class and we are happy to recommend them to any of our customers."

"Changed our grade 2* listed un-modernised house into a fabulous family house with space for all six children while retaining the house's charm. We are delighted with the house, it’s like living within a work of art. Our kitchen, in particular, gives me great joy as I stumble down in the early mornings."

"We commissioned Chris Dyson Architects to work on an extension to our home. As creative professionals ourselves we had a clear understanding of our aim, but relied on CDA to interpret that into a house design. They very quickly came up with a scheme sympathetic to our needs and brought their experience and skill to the design to create a sense of space, treatment of light and material selection that is very successful. Their sensitivity to the existing structure and surrounding buildings led to a design that, far from being different for the sake of it, is everything it needs to be and feels comfortable with itself. We are very pleased with the result."

"We have worked with Chris Dyson Architects on several stages of the Bishopsgate Goodsyard development and we would gladly recommend them to any potential clients. We have found that their designs are bold and intelligent whilst remaining sensitive to the heritage assets and their surroundings. Chris and his team are a pleasure to work with. They listened to our aspirations for the site and used their excellent understanding of the local area and historical context to produce designs that fulfilled both our needs and those of the local community, helping to unlock the potential of this neglected site. We look forward to continuing to work with them as this project develops."

"We absolutely love living at Calvin Street and feel lucky every day to live in such a space that you guys created. Thank you!"

"We are a local developer and were recommended to use Chris Dyson Architects by the agent who sold us a warehouse in Spitalfields, as they have good local knowledge and have done many contemporary and period conversions. We found them to be a very amiable bunch with some excellent ideas for both modernising the turn of the century warehouse we were developing into three apartments, as well as providing some excellent ideas for retention and restoration of the interesting elements. We found the working relationship very easy and their response time to problems and changes throughout the job was excellent. Their ideas were both exciting and cost-conscious and there wasn't a feeling of just designing something to spend money or because they wanted to - everything just worked. We would recommend CDA to any prospective developer or home owner and in fact are currently using them on another scheme in WC1."