Development Speed Dating

Architects and developers. "Fall in love they must, for what is a building project if the developer - who has found the land and organised most of the scheme - does not get along with the architect, who must design the edifice of wonderment that will sit on it? Rubble, that's what."

"So no wonder the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and the Royal Institute of British Architects felt the need for a speed-dating night in central London recently that aimed to have architects and developers snuggling up to one another."

"For those readers unfamiliar with speed-dating events, the structure is simple: one group sits at tables, and the other moves around. So every five minutes, a bell rang and the architects had to move on and chat up another developer. They were meant to discuss things such as "Is our relationship lost in translation?" and "How better can we bridge the divide?""

"What happened, however, was a fascinating revelation of power play, during which the architects tarted themselves around ruthlessly to get work - or the vague promise of it - from the money men."