Dykes was an interior designer, trained at East Sydney Technical College and registered as an architect in 1958. He was a founder-member and President, Society of Interior Designers of Australia, 1967-1968. Dykes and Don Johnston designed the original interiors of Sydney's QANTAS building by Rudder Littlemore and Rudder. He also worked with Peddle Thorp and Walker and became a principal of Edmund Dykes, Coward and Partners.