Corporate identity is expressed through workplace design. At Formcraft, our architecture and interior design experts work with customers to envision functional and aesthetic office space. By working directly with customers to learn leadership’s vision for the new space, Formcraft’s talented team takes a TAILORED approach to architecture and interior design.

Our Architecture and Interior Design Philosophy

As a design-led integrated project delivery firm, our architecture, interior design, and construction teams work as one. Close collaboration between an integrated team of architects and interior designers results in a workplace design that harmoniously brings together all design elements of a project.

At Formcraft, we believe architects and designers working together bring more innovation, perspective, and greater opportunity to the design process and project. Our interior designers and architects collaborate via work sessions during which we review plans, sketches, product cuts and materials. We coordinate the exterior, architectural features, surface materials, lighting, furnishings, and other design elements of the physical space in a cohesive manner creating the best overall design outcome. The integration of both practices creates more opportunities for the best use of natural light and artificial light, the best ties to nature, the best overall flow of the space, circulation and common space in ways that maximize the dollars spent.

Drummond is a Registered Architect (RA), with LEED Building Design + Construction (BD+C) certification. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and his Master of Architecture from Kent State University. 

As Formcraft’s Design Principal, Drummond is responsible for design leadership, vision, and mentorship. He brings an honest and thoughtful approach to leadership that encourages a transparent and collaborative environment. 

Throughout his career, Drummond has managed award-winning, transformative projects. Drummond has worked across several market sectors including financial, legal, professional services, pharmaceutical, and technology.

Formcraft’s Tailored Approach to Architecture

At Formcraft, architecture informs design. Our architecture team helps you make the most of your space and your budget with practical, intentional office designs tailored to your requirements and workflows.

Formcraft architects maximize the utility of space through open floor plans. They help companies transition from traditional office offices to more modern layouts. Skilled with expanding the usable space, spaces once lacking practical use take on new life. At FMC, architects identified potential in the lobby space to become more of an experience. Safety and security are important to FMC, so the lobby is designed so that visitors get an orientation to safety when they arrive.

Our in-house architects carry qualifications such as LEED. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) qualification is a set of rating systems for the design, construction, and maintenance of sustainable buildings. Their demonstrated level of experience in the green building marketplace benefits customers looking to achieve sustainable, biophilic designs.

One way to achieve biophilic design is through increasing natural light. According to Architect Magazine, “Maximizing natural light benefits people as well as energy bills. A lighting system that either naturally or artificially changes throughout the day to mimic our circadian rhythm helps link people to the outdoor environment and, essentially, keep us on track with our natural 24 hour cycle. Maximizing natural light and changes throughout the day also enhances visual comfort.”

Architecture experts also work to identify structural limitations in new build-outs or existing buildings. A benefit to working with Formcraft is that we’re a full-service firm that consolidates design and construction expertise under one roof. When architecture or interior designers identify an issue or opportunity, they directly communicate with clients and Formcraft site superintendents to resolve problems and take advantage of opportunities.

Initial construction timelines are also established by architecture designers. By establishing initial timelines for construction, and communicating with customers, architects build trust at the beginning of the Formcraft process. Our architects give every detail individual attention during the design phase to assure nothing is missed.

Architects are also experts in building and zoning codes. For our client Artesian Water, Formcraft completed additional architectural services extended out to the exterior in order to create an ADA accessible entrance. Similarly, to most projects, a few construction and building issues had to be resolved once in the field. Tackling these challenges like uneven floor levels and creating new window cuts to match the existing with meticulous attention to detail elevated the quality of the project to a new degree.

Combining Form and Function

Formcraft’s architects specialize in commercial construction projects and especially in building new office spaces that combine form and function. We’ve worked in industries such as Finance, Insurance, Industrial, Transport, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Professional Services, Technology, and Communications.

Ways architecture experts combine form and function include:

• Floor plans which highlight ideal uses of space and optional conversions of the space
• Blueprinting beautiful structural pieces without compromising the necessary workspace for employees
• Optimizing layouts to reduce unusable spaces
• Designing for use today but allowing for expansion in the future

At Formcraft, our expert design team understands how workspace impacts performance, motivation, and morale. Formcraft designers tell stories through design. By learning a customer’s vision and leveraging ideas into design elements, interior designers bring concepts to life.

Just as architecture informs interior design, so does design inform architecture. At Formcraft, architecture and interior designers play for the same team. They work closely to ideate and storyboard dynamic workspaces. When most people think about interior design, the way things “look” usually comes to mind. Materials and coatings, colors and textures are all important to the final delivery.

According to Arch Daily, “The specification of coatings and materials constitutes the most visible and superficial part of interior design, but is no less important. This final touch composes the face of the project, transmitting the designer’s vision as well as the desires and needs of the users.”

Interior designers also specialize in layouts, furniture, comfort, and ergonomics. Interior designers use workstation layouts and floor plans to organize movement. Fixtures such as windows and doors, office furniture, lounge areas, and walls also work to divide space.

Interior design elements combine form and function. Recent additions to our repertoire include:

• Mobile workstations
• Huddle rooms and small conference areas
• Glass walls for sound reduction without limiting visibility
• Atypical cubicle design for improved collaboration

Comfort conditions are important to interior designers when selecting furniture, lighting, ventilation, and acoustics. Afterall, in order for your people to be productive, comfort is key. Interior design dives as deep into ergonomics to determine the best dimensions for furniture and objects based on human proportions.

Designing Hurdles and Complications

Formcraft takes a tailored approach to architecture and interior design by anticipating hurdles and complications. With over 25 years in business and hundreds of projects completed, Formcraft’s experience shines through. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Formcraft has helped companies pivot office space through WorkforceDiagnostics™. Our 6-week program provides qualitative and quantitative data to inform better workplace strategies and designs. Learn more about WorkforceDiagnostics™.

WorkforceDiagnostics™ gathers the best and deepest design intelligence via a combination of collaborative work sessions, personal interviews, benchmarking site tours, existing condition tours and online surveys.

Making the Client a Part of the Process

At Formcraft, our team of architects and designers love to get into the minds and hearts of their clients and design exciting environments where people love to work and business thrives.

We start by understanding our customer’s current and future needs. Architects and designers begin the design process by engaging clients as early as possible and by asking all of the important questions to best understand the company’s vision, mission, culture, people, and their work. At your first consultation, meet with our designers and workplace strategists to discuss who you are as an organization, who your people are, and where you’re heading. Getting a clear understanding of your culture and how your people work is key to kicking off your design journey and to providing you with a design strategy that makes your office space work for you both now and in the future. 

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many companies were forced to figure out what business as usual, or more so “business as unusual” would be like for their office. Those companies that allowed work from home, had to distribute their culture amidst scattered homebases. There is the hope of reuniting in the office once again. Your company may have to redesign office space to implement new safety protocols that will boost employee confidence coming into the office. And Formcraft is here to help.

Whether your project drivers are creating a sense of community and safety, balancing work from home, or attracting talent, our design team will work with you to create a unique design solution that results in an amazing work experience with a thriving office space that inspires, engages, and connects your people.

Design Elements To Avoid

✓   Avoid giving valuable exterior window space and daylight to low-occupancy spaces like private offices, storage, or less utilized spaces.

✓   Avoid assigned offices or workstations for employees that may benefit more from working remotely

✓   Avoid building non-flexible workspaces

One way architects and designers make the client a part of the process is by drawing inspiration from company culture. Each company has a unique culture, defined by leadership and lived out through all employees. Define a workstyle, such as traditional, agile, modern, open-concept, or modular, that speaks to how you want your business and people to function.

Architects and designers work as one to infuse your culture into design elements. For example, office designs can include brand names, logos, and corporate mascots if desired.

To learn more about how Formcraft incorporates company culture into design, read our Amerisan case study. A food safety and sanitation company, Amerisan wanted their office to reinforce their values of safe and quality food.

Tying in Amerisan’s company color was important to make the office more personal. Pairing this with a subtle green seat on each chair connected the space and made it their own. Many new features such as modern bench style workstations, collaborative areas, designated focus areas, private offices and the lauded huddle room bring new energy to Amerisan’s office.

While our interior designers and architects are experts and highly skilled, they always heed customer’s feedback. The Formcraft process is rooted in two-way communication, respect, and accountability.