The exhibition contains drawings, photographs and models of eight built projects in the first five years of practice as Chris Dyson Architects.

And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lin’d, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part.

The fifth age of man, according to the famous monologue in Shakespeare’s As You Like It is ‘The Justice’, possessed of both wisdom and prosperity. In their fifth year, if not their fifth age, most Architect’s Practices probably only aspire to the latter, and might well lay claim to the former, but more likely better resemble those earlier ages of man, the remorseful Lover perhaps, ‘Sighing like furnace’, or the hot headed Soldier; ‘seeking the bubble reputation’. The works illustrated here however do indeed speak of the Justices’ gravitas, created not only out of 5 years of hard graft, or even of 25 years of experience, but from the centuries of history which inform them and with which they engage. And they do engage, not in a passive sense, but with an assuredness that makes sense of their history while asserting their modernity. In a world of fashionable distractions these are accomplished productions in the traditional sense, employing craftsmanship and craftiness in the modelling of space, surface and light.

Visitors to the exhibition at 11 Princelet Street may be surprised to be greeted by a gurning life-size terracotta warrior set against a backdrop of trompe l’œil stonework, a playful act of scenography in a 21st century Georgian vestibule. It gives no real clue of the nature of contemporary interventions beyond, but does indicate a promise, duly delivered, of an architectural experience, a specifically Spitalfields experience, presented with wit, skill, and no short measure of historical commentary. This same sense of ‘engagement and experience’ perhaps best characterises the work of this team which produces astute works of architecture in context, much like The Justice:, ‘full of wise saws and modern instances’. Keith Brownlie, director Wilkinson Eyre architects.

The projects described in this exhibition are also featured in a book ‘eight-five’ to be launched at the opening of the exhibition the book is designed and produced in house. All the featured projects are for central London based clients, some of whom live abroad. It is interesting that the notion of heritage is constantly being challenged and as we are all encouraged to work with existing buildings old with new - not just in terms of shallow stylistic concerns but also in terms of use, a new more intellectually challenging activity comes to mind, perhaps more so than when given a green field site.

The Architects clearly take pride in delivering a very high standard of design that is presented in a form which is easily accessible to professionals and lay people alike. They aspire to an imaginative combination of technology and tradition, Sequential space and the making of Places is clearly their joy. Chris Dyson Architects are eminent as ‘Design Architects’, fully involved in all phases and aspects of the work. Excellence requires integrity and control of the design process from concept through detailing and construction. This practice has considerable experience working in small, large and complex design projects, having designed and managed projects at a variety of scales. The practice has won a number of design awards.

‘We see here an architecture that values the past without erecting it into an ideology, that can work with the past while correcting its idiosyncrasies. It is an architecture that is at the same time modern and perennial: to use my favourite adage it combines ancient wisdom and modern know-how.’
— Robert Maxwell