Nick Grimshaw leans back in his chair, the afternoon sun glinting on his trademark round spectacles, admiring his new office. He has had the builders in for five months, revamping his practice’s headquarters in Fitzrovia, one of the West End’s traditional homes for creative types, and extending it to accommodate 120 staff under one roof. His desk now faces a 30 ft glass wall, overlooking a floor packed end to end with architects.

“We are going to have a map of the world etched on the glass in frosted film, with markers for all our projects,” he says. The highlights will be many and scattered, including an art gallery in Spain, a 250 m extension to Zürich Airport, a landmark bridge in The Netherlands and a £27m Plant Science Centre in St Louis, Missouri.

The map will also point to the international portfolio that has built up in the 20 years that Grimshaw has been in business. It is typical of him that this gesture of confidence should be expressed in architecture – the language with which he is most comfortable.

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