Prior to founding ThinkForm, Russell DiNardo and Michael Crackel collaborated in the studio of world-renowned architect Michael Graves. As the Project Architect/Project Manager for the U.S. Department of Transportation Headquarters project, Michael led the design team as the Project Manager during the protracted solicitation and procurement phase. He sustained this role during all design phases and throughout construction period services. This project is distinguished as the first post-9/11 era cabinet-level building for the Federal Government incorporating the latest security measures. It is also a major and successful PPP project which spurred development in a depressed Southeast Federal Center area of Washington, D.C., and it replaced a brownfield site with a building incorporating many sustainable and environmental design features. Like most large-scale GSA projects, it was subject to the GSA’s Design Excellence program. The GSA’s high standards of design are particularly steeped in a commitment to social consciousness and responsibility. This requirement elevates architecture as a social art. This view is not only apparent in the collaborative processes required to complete a work of architecture, but also in recognition of the social purpose of a building’s use afterwards. Michael also complied with the procedures of innumerable multi-agency stakeholders and reviewers for design approval and securing permits.

ThinkForm respects the voices of all Stakeholders engaged in the collaborative design process and strives to reach a consensus culminating in the success of each project.