20 Questions with Alex Thomas

Title: Project Designer

Years in the Industry: 1

Been Loving Life at Form Since: Day 1. The energy around the office is palpable; it makes it such an exciting place to work!

Favorite Destination: A tie between Monaco and Paris

Hometown: Fort Myers, Florida – the City of Palms

Currently Living In: Chinatown, DC

Alma Mater: University of Florida – Go Gators!

Couldn’t Live Without: Cheese. My girlfriend and I have started buying Parmesan in bulk because we use so much of it.

If you were a drink you’d be: A margarita. Rocks. With salt.

Hidden Talent: Chef! My girlfriend and I cook together almost every night. I’m pretty good at it…I like to think. Spaghetti Carbonara is my specialty.

If you were a song, you’d be: What’s My Age Again by blink-182. I’m a kid at heart (plus I saw them live in 2009 – that was an awesome concert).

Last Meal: Chicken Tender Publix Sub, with a glass of Strawberry Orange juice from Sun Harvest Citrus in my hometown, Fort Myers, FL. Seriously, if you haven’t tried either of these, put them on your bucket list.

If you weren’t a designer, you’d be: a judge on the Food Network show Chopped. I would love to try all the crazy, delicious dishes they see from episode to episode!

Favorite aspect of design: I excel at and love architectural visualizations. I think it’s  an underrated part of our industry. For designers, lines and shapes on a screen make sense, but sometimes we need to convey that information in a more relatable, visually appealing way to clients. It’s so great to see a client react when their vision becomes a (relative) reality for the first time.

First thing you’d buy after winning the lottery: Meals at Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy; Faviken in Jarpen, Sweden; and Alinea in Chicago – three of the best restaurants in the world. By now you can see a common thread – I’m a bit of a foodie.

Best spot in DC/VA that only the locals know: I’m still pretty new to the area, but my favorite brunch spot so far is La Tasca in Chinatown!

Salty or sweet: Can I vote for sour?

Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter: Fall. I love turning leaves, Halloween, and the return of football!

The one piece of advice you’d share with someone getting into the industry: Embrace the difficult tasks. Investing time in work that is difficult or outside of your comfort zone will help to grow yourself and your design mind in ways you can’t imagine.

The first thing you do when you get to work: Wash my hands. I take the metro, so that shouldn’t need any explanation.

FORM | Family

By: Leslie Baer, Senior Associate

If you hang around the FORM team long enough, you will learn that we are a pretty special group of people. So special in fact, that we consider ourselves family. Over the years, I’ve seen FORM go through some pretty big changes and have been so proud to be a part of it. I’ve been with FORM for over nine years, starting out when FORM was only a few years old and had just a handful of employees. Since then, I’ve watched FORM grow into the boutique, charismatic, fun-loving design based firm it is today.

We call ourselves FORMidables. It’s sort-of like our super hero squad name. I’ve never known a team to have each other’s backs the way we do. Whether it’s a personal struggle that comes up or just a crazy deadline, there is always someone lending a helping hand, no matter how busy they are. It’s our ‘One for all and all for FORM’ approach that truly makes us a, one-of-a-kind, work family.

Over the years, I’ve witnessed and been a part of solidifying the FORM culture we are known for. How many offices do you know of that can turn a lunch-time crab fest into a midnight, bonfire because they genuinely want to spend more time together? I think this comes from a trust, cultivated by hours of creativity and a mutual love of design. The infamous margaritas, inner-office pranks and inside jokes help too.

FORM has a team approach in almost everything we do. This was never more apparent than when we were challenged to design our new office. We gathered for several happy hour design sessions to review plans and share ideas; ideas that were genuinely acknowledged and integrated. The final result is an amazing new space that we love to work in and that inspires us to design equally stimulating spaces for our clients to work in.

It’s no wonder FORM was named one of WBJ’s Best Places to Work. We work long hours because we truly care about the spaces we are creating for our clients. The hours just don’t seem as long when you have great people you enjoy being with in a space that you enjoy working in.

 

 

What’s In Their Bag?

As an architect or designer, you’re constantly running; from meeting to meeting, back to the office and then to more meetings. Your bag becomes an essential vehicle for all the necessities of potentially having to rely on its contents to get through the day. Realizing this, we’ve decided to introduce a reoccurring post that will reveal what our designer’s keep in their bags on a daily basis.

Name: Ronza Youssef
Position: Project Designer

As a Project Designer, Ronza spends about as much time on the go as she does in the office. Whether she is surveying the space of a new project, attending CA meetings, or heading to a happy hour, the contents of her bag always ensure that she’s prepared.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• “I always carry hand sanitizer. Especially for those moments when I have to eat on the go or right before a meeting”
• “I never leave home without my cell phone and charger; that way I am constantly accessible, I can check emails and I can schedule meetings”
• “Mini Nutella, the perfect pick-me-up and my favorite flavor!”
• “I have a mini tape measure on my keychain. You never know when you’ll need to take a quick dimension!”
• “You [or one of your friends] can always use a spare hair tie. Especially for a long [or dusty] field survey.
• “Makeup + perfume. To freshen up after a rough day”