Chris Dyson Architects has added a soot-washed brick extension with a curved wall to a Georgian terraced house and former nunnery in east London (+ slideshow).

London-based Chris Dyson Architects was asked to replace an old two-storey extension, creating a new family living space that would be more in-keeping with the traditional nineteenth-century style of the property located at Wapping Pierhead.

"The curved end of the extension was inspired by the banks of the Thames elevation that rises on either side of the property and has curved bay windows overlooking the river," Chris Dyson told Dezeen.

"It was an interesting local vernacular that we wanted to include and the curved extension bookends the environment well," he said.

The architects worked with London bricklaying company Beckwith Tuckpointing to ensure the brickwork remained authentic. Locally sourced Coleridge yellow bricks were stained using an eighteenth-century soot-wash technique and an old penny was rolled between the brick joints, leaving an indent in the mortar.

"The use of brick helped to achieve a balance between the contemporary and the original period style of the house," said Dyson.

Slate copings protect the gauged brick arches and bronze casements that have been added to the windows, helping to distinguish between the old and new.

An original listed dock wall offers privacy for a sheltered garden, while the curved wall at the back of the extension completes the terrace.

The garden offers another route into the basement and ground floor level of the extension, where a minimal dining room, library and kitchen offer living space for the family.

Built by British architect Daniel Asher Alexander in 1810, the Grade II listed building formerly housed a dock authority officer, before being repurposed as a nunnery in the 1940s.

Many of the period features have been restored, including the original staircase, architraves, floorboards and fireplace surrounds.

"The original property was very run down and hadn't had much spent on it. This meant much of the house was preserved and we were able to bring back many of the period features," Dyson explained.

Upstairs, the master bedroom and bathroom continue with the Georgian style, with pastel green panels concealing extra storage space and a large antique-style bathtub.

A rainwater-harvesting system and improved insulation have also been added to make the property more environmentally friendly.

Chris Dyson Architects recently won the AJ Small Projects Award for its extension of Wapping Pierhead. The award celebrates architectural projects built with a budget of less than £250,000.

Photography is by Peter Landers and Georgina Mann.