#312 - VICTOR MEZHVINSKY, President and Founder of FORMA Construction
SUMMARY
This week Victor Mezhvinsky, President and Founder of FORMA Construction joins David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design to discuss his story of working for his father’s company; the impact his father had on his career; developing projects; the risks and struggles of starting a construction company; the importance of working with architects as a contractor; and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT VICTOR
Victor Mezhvinsky is as passionate about building relationships as he is about homes. Founder and president of FORMA Construction, he attributes the firm's success to its continual development of people and processes. Through this foundation lens, FORMA creates lasting relationships built on integrity, partnership, and craft.
Victor started his career working summers in his father's machine shop and eventually joined full-time working in the Supply Chain Management department. After years spent mostly dreaming about real estate, Victor founded FORMA Construction over a decade ago to turn his passion into a reality. As a native San Franciscan, Victor has a deep appreciation for the city's architectural history and character. His passion for construction and real estate has led FORMA to become an award-winning, nationally recognized builder with projects spanning from Carmel to Lake Tahoe. As the founder of FORMA, Victor's ultimate goal is to build meaningful relationships with all project collaborators through an ethos of trust, friendship, and quality.
FORMA's work has been published in Interior Design, Luxe, Dwell, and Elle Décor, among others.
FORMA Construction is a homeowner's best partner. Our commitment to transparent business practices, proactive project management, superior construction, and unparalleled craftsmanship ensures distinctive projects – from custom homes to major remodels and historic rehabilitations – for our discerning clients.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Background.
(32:18) The value of high-quality construction.
“It's like anything, everyone has something that they're interested in or really passionate about, and the more you dive into that thing, the more you're willing to pay for it, or the more you're able to discern what each additional level of value is.” (34:34)
(40:54) Developing his own projects.
(51:11) The principles behind FORMA.
“It's very important that everything that you do is the best that it can be because it all builds on something else. As architects, you know that better than anyone else. Your work is inspired, it’s iterative, and it's based on something else that you then wanted to make your own take on.
[When I started FORMA], I understood that I'm in one of the oldest industries out there, so I'm certainly not going to reinvent the ‘construction wheel’. I was really interested to learn from someone who had had those ups and downs, built something of significance, and wanted to see how I could try to take the best parts, update them for the current time, the current technology.” (54:34)
(01:03:28) Collaboration between contractors.
(01:14:07) FORMA's areas of focus.
(01:20:36) Why FORMA is not a design-build company?
“The best architect or designer is not doing ‘design build’ at some company… they have their own shop, they're doing their own work, and they're being highly sought after for it. I enjoy the diversity of people we get to work with. I don't want to narrow our potential pool or opportunities. If we want to do the most interesting work, if we want to be sought after for the most complicated and interesting projects, it's only going to be because we specifically do architecturally or design driven work, and not design-build.” (01:21:04)
