FORM DESIGN + BUILD - Key Persons
Chris Dorman, AIA, Design Principal, from his earliest interest in architecture has coupled a fascination for the aesthetic of buildings with a penchant for solving the practical problems of how they go together. If you can't actually build something in which a client can take pleasure, and do it within the client's budget, an impressive design is suitable only for paper. As a result, he has always related to clients and contractors as full building partners in the belief that this is the best way to achieve the best results. He has also sought out the widest possible range of experience, and on the residential side has designed everything from small-scale remodels and starter homes to numerous multi-million dollar custom homes for individual clients as well as custom home communities. His collaboration with Mike Slater began in 2002 shortly after Dorman opened his own firm.
Dorman received a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters in Architecture from the University of Oregon, and he is a licensed California architect and member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He began his career in 1996, when he joined the San Rafael firm of Chris Lamen and Associates because of its focus on affordable housing, and he achieved Associate status three years later. Since starting his own firm in 2001, among other assignments, he has served as Architect and Construction Manager on a residential community with 18 custom homes, as well as acting as the builder for a 3,000 square foot custom home in Mill Valley, Ca.
Mike Slater, Licensed Contractor, was born in San Diego, and grew up under his father's tutelage, a third generation contractor. Working alongside his brother and his father, Slater built custom homes before moving on to commercial work, building gymnasiums, schools and a 72-bedroom mountain lodge. But the creativity involved building projects for others wasn't the same as the unique design experience of undertaking his own ventures. So, in 1996 Mike moved to El Dorado Hills to rekindle this interest in design and building. After completing a few speculative houses he teamed up with Chris Dorman to collaborate in the design and construction of a contemporary interpretation of a Prairie Style house. This collaboration led to several others, which finally drew Slater to the Bay Area and resulted in the formation of this company, Form Design Build.