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It鈥檚 not a secret that the relationship between architects and developers is not always sweetness and light. So as I made my way to the Cabe/Riba speed dating Valentine event for designers and planners, I wasn鈥檛 exactly expecting the sparks to fly.

But then again... as soon as I entered the New London Architecture centre I sensed romance in the air. There were heart-shaped balloons and jelly beans and the participants seemed nervous and excited about meeting their potential dates.

To fit into proceedings I assumed the identity of a well respected developer to find out the state of the architect/developer relationship - is it love or hate?

鈥淪ure I鈥檇 date a developer, why not? They tend to make good money鈥�, my first architect date, Niel Pratt from architecture plb, says. His colleague Rupert laughs, 鈥淲e have a real relationship with our developers, including the shouting and occasionally we share a pint.鈥� Love: 1, hate: 0.

In genuine speed dating style a bell rings after five minutes and the next architect couple joins my table. Sarah Featherstone and her colleague Karen Scurlock from Featherstone Associates cannot share the love for developers their predecessors showed. 鈥淭hat guy over there just told us he only uses high-profile architects to get planning permission and then drops them鈥�, Featherstone complains. 鈥淒evelopers feel they are needed and abuse that position鈥�, she continues. Back to a 1:1 draw.

David Cox from PKS Architects is my next date. 鈥淢y father-in-law is a developer, and these people really know how to make their money work鈥�, he says. 鈥淏ut architects and developers will always have different agendas, you almost need that friction to make projects interesting.鈥� Here鈥檚 one who鈥檚 sharing the love within the family, that鈥檚 a 1:2 lead for love.

End of round one. The half-time break gives me a chance to get a new drink and to reassess my prejudices. Maybe it is just the Valentine鈥檚 flair, but architects and developers don鈥檛 seem to be on such bad terms as everyone assumed.

Architect Walter Menteth initiates my next round and confirms my half-time assessment. 鈥淒evelopers are alright, they鈥檙e people like you and me鈥�, he says. I think that鈥檚 a fair comment on the loving side, 1:3.

For young practitioners Julia Feix and Tarek Merlin, however, the hate part of the relationship presides. 鈥淏ig developers aren鈥檛 interested in practices like ours because we don鈥檛 have very high project volume鈥�, Merlin says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also very hard to get change into the industry because developers always think that new equals expensive鈥�, Feix adds. Hate makes a comeback, adjusting the score to 2:3.

Luke Tozer from Pitman Tozer finishes off the speed dating showdown. Will hate manage to equalise or will love grow deeper? After some hesitation, Tozer decides that he could date a developer, depending on what they were like. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 operate without them, even though all they think about is finance,鈥� he says.

Tozer has also started taking a liking to developers because they tend to enjoy a good lunch and a nice bottle of red. What more could you ask for on a Valentine鈥檚 day?

With these bon mots he puts an end to the will big they/won鈥檛 they question. Judging by our 5-3 scoreline it seems that developers and architects have the potential to be loving bedfellows. And if this feisty bunch can manage to find their love for each other, then that鈥檚 certainly a great omen for the rest of the world on Valentine鈥檚 day.