Have you ever been speed dating? Last week was my first time. The event was organised by the RIBA to allow small and large practices to meet for five minutes to see if they had enough in common to take the relationship further.

As a large practitioner I know several firms approached the whole idea with some scepticism. The large practices were asking themselves, ‘Why do we need to collaborate with these smaller companies, we can do everything, can’t we?’ The small practices were probably thinking, ‘Can we trust these bigger firms not to take our opportunities?’ – reinforcing a common misconception that large practice can make any money out of a multitude of small projects.

I had already asked myself what a good reason for collaboration would be when we encouraged a start up company, Sustainable By Design, to occupy a studio in our offices six months ago.  They avoided the burden of costs associated with starting a business – rents, rates, computers, furniture etc – while we receive a refined expertise in sustainability to supplement our in house experts. With this positive experience in mind, I straightened my tie, fastened the top button of my jacket and prepared for dating. The event kicked off with a hooter, like the start of a 24 hour road race. It seemed to raise expectation and adrenalin in the room.

As one of 17 large practices there we quickly assumed our familiar guise of competing with each other to secure the most advantageous collaboration. As prospective partners arrived at our position, one company every five minutes, I began to realise this was more than just a good idea. We were meeting incredibly talented individuals whose main handicap seemed to be that they had no route to market. They felt others considered them too small to undertake a large project, or without sufficient capability, or they just didn’t have access to a credible network. What a successful evening it turned out to be. We met experts in sports facilities, parametric modelling, schools and housing as well as practices that offered us geographic breadth both in Wales and Scotland.

For me it was an incredibly positive occasion. I went home with a warm glow and a number of promising ‘first dates’ pencilled in the diary.

Phil Holden is managing director of Pascall + Watson Architects