From Blueprints To Lattes: Serving The Community, Ft. Common Ground Workshop

In this Architecture Social CPD, Stephen Drew is joined by Mark Sciberras, founder of Common Ground Workshop, an architecture practice in Bethnal Green, East London. Recorded as a live session of roughly 41 minutes, the conversation explores how a small studio runs alongside a community café and a development arm, and what that hybrid model teaches architects about entrepreneurship, community and becoming your own client.

Who this is for

Part 2 architectural assistants, recently qualified architects, and practitioners curious about hybrid or entrepreneurial models of practice. It will also suit anyone weighing up self-initiated development, running a parallel business, or building a more community-facing studio.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session you will be able to:

1. Describe how Common Ground Workshop combines an architecture studio with a community café and a development arm.
2. Explain why a practice might choose to become its own client and the risks that introduces.
3. Identify the operational demands of running a hospitality business alongside design work.
4. Recognise how a public-facing front of house can support a studio's reputation and network.
5. Outline practical lessons on financing, procurement and co-managing construction on a small site.
6. Reflect on how a diversified business model affects time, risk and focus for a small practice.

A hybrid model from the start

Common Ground Workshop opened in 2014 with the intention of running a commercial business alongside the studio. Mark leased a space on Old Bethnal Green Road, fitted out a café known as The Common E2 and set the design studio within it, testing whether architecture could be practised in a public, community setting.

The café as front of house

The café became the studio's front of house and a place to meet clients, with a dedicated studio space nearby in Durham Yard. Mark is candid that working in a busy public space has limits, particularly for confidential projects, and the layout evolved as the café grew busier at weekends.

Becoming your own client

On a warehouse-to-house conversion in South East London, the original client decided to sell during construction. Mark and his business partner set up a development company, acquired the property and completed the build to the existing planning permission, acting as both architect and developer.

Lessons in finance and procurement

To control cost, the team co-managed the build with the contractor and sourced much of the material themselves, including external cladding, doors, windows and the heating system. Mark describes the realities of development finance, staged valuations and exit strategy, and the pressure of selling a property while still under construction.

Running a hospitality business

Mark is open about how demanding hospitality is, from hiring and retaining skilled staff to managing reviews, costings and food hygiene. He frames a well-run café as every bit as professional and parameter-driven as an architecture practice.

The value of a strong team

Mark credits the practice's range to a committed team and partners with genuine buy-in, which lets different parts of the business run without his constant involvement. His advice for anyone branching into multiple businesses is to build partnerships where people have a real stake in the outcome.

Community, creativity and a small gallery

The studio added a small project gallery, Common Edge Projects, in a basement space, running changing exhibitions. Mark sees the café and gallery as an incubator that draws in a creative community and keeps the space genuinely useful to local people.

Looking ahead

Mark wants to share responsibility for the café, grow the commercial side of the studio through clients such as Ballymore, and develop the practice's knowledge of high-spec kitchen and hospitality design, while approaching further development work carefully given its higher risk.

Key terms

• Hybrid practice: a model that runs design work alongside another business, here a café and property development.
• Front of house: the public-facing part of a space; for Common Ground Workshop, the café that hosts client meetings.
• Becoming your own client: acquiring and developing a project yourself rather than working for an external client.
• Co-managed build: sharing construction management with the contractor, often to control cost and procurement.
• Exit strategy: the plan for selling or refinancing a development to repay finance and realise value.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. Where could a more public or community-facing space change how your practice meets clients and builds a network?
2. What would you need to understand about finance and risk before becoming your own client on a project?
3. If you ran a second business alongside design, how would you protect your time and focus?

About the guest

Mark Sciberras is the founder of Common Ground Workshop, an architecture practice he established in Bethnal Green, East London in 2014. Originally from Melbourne and trained in architecture in Brisbane, he runs the studio alongside the community café The Common E2 and the practice's development arm, working across residential, commercial and hospitality projects.