Before Gus and Charlotte bought their house in Bow they had investigated every local extension in their notoriously strict conservation area. Since their first meeting in Damascus they had dreamed of a home with a riad plan and colours reminiscent of experiences more exotic than their normal routine. We gained planning consent to demolish a garage and worked with tireless builders to make a new kitchen, hall, and bedroom staggered round a blue tiled courtyard sunken in stages below the street. This court has become a miniature cloister that is overlooked by a bedroom balcony and framed through evocative arches.