Four-hour party people

The long table creaks under the weight of beer, cava and nibbles. Speakers, twin decks and lighting are positioned and poised. Located in a space the size of four badminton courts which looks set to become a green screen studio, tonight is a chance to let the informal bond that unifies Sharp plumb new depths of informality.

Minutes after the music cranks up they start to poke their noses round the opening like curious moles interrupted from their digging. From containers and office space they emerge, some ostensibly finding out what’s going on even though we all know they’ve heard about the song, food and wine on the grapevine.

The tenants start to collect and mingle. Some of the conversations are introductions as the Project, its new phases still gradually opening, has tenants who have been here days or weeks rather than months. These handshakes and card swaps all help to populate the little skill directories everyone has in their head, ready to be drawn on instinctively when pitching uphill.

Just as the room is buzzing nicely we’re treated to a main course – a catering-size delivery of curry with bhajis, samosas, rice and naan. We queue up wedding-style to fill our plates (with spicy delight).

The room awash with curried plates and little fingers dabbing wagging jaws, the bouncing from group to group continues, a human interpretation of the nuclear chain reaction. Ideas are definitely flashing about. It’s obvious from the faces that the smalltalk is about big things. This community is close enough to interact productively but it’s not so intimate as to trespass into gossip.

So what happened next? Debauchery? Plastic antlers? Not a bit of it. Nearly everyone went back to work. A lively, festive Thursday night was going on in the city centre, a special 50th anniversary Corrie was on the box and Luton Town were battling Charlton Athletic in a grudge match that always grips Manchester. Yet despite all this, moderation ruled proceedings and after a few hours people had started slinking back to their day jobs and unfinished business. Sharp really is a 24/7 operation, with late nights and early mornings the norm when there are deadlines to meet and presentations to prepare.

“We should do this more often” registered as a quote several times as people made their way back to their work spaces, and no doubt “we” will. The lights came back on and the in-house DJs slid down their faders, bringing to a close a night of artful mixing and touching bass.

Charlie Hankers