Five Incredible Architectural Landmarks Hidden in London’s East End

Chris Dyson runs a bustling architectural practice on the corner of Fashion Street that he founded in 2004. The studio is housed inside a renovated pub that’s akin to many of his practice’s projects: “Working with existing buildings means you are forced to innovate with ideas that work within that context,” explains Dyson.

Old Spitalfields Market plays a routine role in Dyson’s week; he uses Soma House for fitness, browses the antiques on Thursday mornings, walks his dog there most evenings, frequents the cheese shop Androuet, and if he’s looking for lunchtime inspiration he heads straight into the market, “before you know you have an idea about what you want to eat”.

He’s lived in Spitalfields since the early 90s after graduating from Glasgow School of Art, and moving to London to work for architectural heavyweights James Stirling Michael Wilford. When he and his wife were expecting their first child, they began searching for affordable family-size accommodation, eventually finding an intriguing shell and core building on Fournier Street.

The house was to be divided into two, so Dyson suggested they number one side 11, and the other 11½, honouring its original form. The offbeat address has become a notable doorway, making its way onto many Instagram feeds and making a headline appearance in the televised London 2012 Olympic countdown.

Dyson invested all his earnings and time renovating the Fournier Street property into a family home and quickly fell in love with the area: “The character and grit, the community, the convenience of getting to the West End, doing interesting things… it’s brilliant, I loved it then and still do now.”

A true insider to the area, Dyson shares his list of fascinating and distinguished buildings to visit, each one standing as a great asset to the neighbourhood and London as a whole.