Inside IONIC

When Aidan Brown joined the IONIC team at the start of the summer, we knew she was in for a unique internship experience! Our culture and approach to clients and the work is unique, but Aidan hit the ground running and fits right in. We recently asked her a few questions about her experience at IONIC and as a budding architect.

What is your favorite thing about IONIC?

My favorite thing is the variety. I feel like nobody that works here is tied to a specific role or function. Everyone makes the construction documents. Everyone picks materials. Everyone talks to the clients. It feels like a holistic approach that nurtures an employee’s full breadth of the discipline. Likewise, anyone office can help me with any questions I might have. It’s such a healthy working environment.

Why did you decide to pursue architecture?

For whatever reason I thought my love of the visual arts and my decent skills at math would make me the perfect architect. Turns out I was wrong. The struggle to get my projects up to the level of my peers was embarrassing, but it molded and taught me the true beauty of architecture as an artistic discipline. It’s not about how something looks physically. It’s about the collaborative spirit that a project manifests and how a piece of art transforms into a vessel to serve a community.

What’s one thing you think should be in every project design?

I feel like there must always be an understanding of space in the third dimension. Sure, the structure might be correct, and the square footage assessment is correct, but how do these elements play into how someone lives and breathes in that space. How would someone feel when they open the door and walk into that room? How do they feel when they approach the building or when they drive into the parking lot? Understanding an individual’s experience is the most important factor in any design. Either that or having an accessible portal to another dimension.

What’s the hardest thing about architectural design?

Learning how to trust your feelings and intuition. It’s something that I struggle with daily. I always assume that my design sensibilities are wrong or stupid, so being able to trust the little voice that tells you that something looks right or wrong is integral.

Let’s talk about how ShoreBreak Pizza and Taphouse in Pungo came to be. Let us show you how we designed this local’s favorite pizza place:

More than two decades have passed since IONIC’sFounder and President, Eugene Thompson, left his corporate job to pursue doodling in his living room and to ultimately begin Ionic DeZign Studios. Rather than another run-of-the-mill corporate culture, Eugene knew that IONIC would be different. In addition to other Core Values such as Teamwork and Innovation, Eugene wanted to establish a company that supported the important balance between work, family and community while still being successful on a national scale.

That’s why FAMILY was designated to be of particular importance when IONIC’s Core Values were created.

Since then, Ionic DeZign Studios has really become a family affair! That’s because Gideon Thompson, Eugene’s son, is also part of the IONIC team as Director of Operations.

As a Senior Architect in addition to the Founder, Eugene is an active and face-forward participant in planning and building the unique spaces that IONIC is known for. On the other hand Gideon works behind the scenes in collaboration with not only his father but the rest of the IONIC team to ensure that IONIC’s financial, administrative and human resources needs are met and delivered upon daily. This father/son duo works in tandem to ensure that the IONIC brand continues to successfully drive forward and that Family remains an important part of the company culture.

When Ionic DeZign Studios began and it’s Core Values established the goal was to cultivate a company of people who enjoy their jobs. The best way to do that, is to make it more about the people than the job. By having Family as a Core Value, and family making up the company itself, the importance of spending time with the people we care about will always be present.