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鈥淎nonymity is a strange factor of cities,鈥� muses Tim. 鈥淧eople just disappear after work in London. There鈥檚 so many places to go and such a nice mix of things to do.鈥�

Not that Neil had any problem bringing four of his colleagues to the Three Kings on a few hours鈥� notice. 鈥淥ne of our clients wanted to join in,鈥� he adds.

鈥淏ut we refused.鈥�

Metropolitan Workshop spun off from MacCormac Jamieson Prichard in April 2004, and in just over two years the architect and urban designer has grown from seven to 28 staff.

There are up to 15 languages spoken in the office, including Finnish, Serbo-Croat, Afrikaans and Mandarin. So it puts more effort into socialising than more established practices.

The staff celebrated their first birthday with a party in the cobbled courtyard behind the office. 鈥淚t was a feast for the senses 鈥� unbelievable,鈥� says Marko. 鈥淚t was a kind of theatre piece organised by Shunt Events. There were yellow balloons that flew off and messages on a pulley system. You had to write down your greatest wish and it was pulled around by the pulley, then someone else read it out.鈥�

At Christmas, they organised gingerbread decorations in the office window, which overlooks the street. 鈥淲e got work colleagues, friends and clients to join in,鈥� says Marko.

鈥淚t was great fun. We made the ginger dough and handed out lumps to people to mould their own models and bake it. The only rule was that it had to be edible.鈥�

鈥淥ne person made a gingerbread bike,鈥� adds Emmet. 鈥淲e covered it in chocolate sauce and ate it.鈥�

鈥淚t got us quite a reputation in the area,鈥� adds Edward. 鈥淧eople came in off the street to ask if they could buy pieces of gingerbread.鈥�

The practice is a tenant of structural Alan Baxter Associates and shares a five-storey Victorian building with 20 other small practices. 鈥淏eing on the ground floor, we鈥檙e always on display,鈥� says Tim.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e working in the office until 11 at night, people bang on the window and tell you to get a life and go home,鈥� adds Emmet.

鈥淲e鈥檙e bursting at the seams now,鈥� says Tim. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e expanding from upstairs in the daylight to downstairs with the mushrooms.

As it expands, the practice is making a conscious effort to live up to its name. 鈥淚f you join you鈥檙e buying into the workshop ethos,鈥� says Marko. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a collective, a team effort.鈥�

鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 difficult to recruit the right people,鈥� says Tim. 鈥淪ome people are well qualified but don鈥檛 fit in at a personal level. They can be very precious about their ideas.鈥�

Heaven forbid.