ALEX THOMMES

Senior Associate Designer & Project Manager

Alex Thommes, a true Keys Conch, was born in Key West and spent his childhood on Big Pine Key. He grew up in an eclectic household, immersed in the artistic community, surrounded by builders, fabricators, and creators of all types. His father was a sculptor who worked from a home studio, allowing Alex multiple chances to learn the process from sketch to wax model to final bronze piece. An interest in architecture and design, combined with a love for plants and the natural world, led him to the University of Florida, where he graduated in 2012 with a Bachelors of Landscape Architecture.

“A person’s surroundings can have a profound effect on their state of mind and overall well-being,” Alex says. “It is incredibly satisfying to create spaces that make people feel comfortable and at ease, while instilling a sense of awe, mystery, and joy.”

“I love designing because so few things are black and white, there are countless possibilities and solutions on any project. Our job is to identify what will work best for our clients,” he says.

Alex lives on Little Torch Key, where his own yard is filled with an ever-changing collection of rare plants and palms – a combination nursery/secret laboratory/Garden of Eden, where he can surround himself with different forms of vegetation and watch how they thrive in the landscape. When not practicing full-contact gardening, Alex likes to free dive, spearfish, kitesurf, sail between the distant islands of the South Pacific, and practice personal expression through radical forms of facial hair grooming.

Favorite Plant?

I love rare and unique palms in general, however there are few that really catch the eye more than the vibrant red crownshafts of a specimen Lipstick Palm. They can thrive in almost any light conditions, and can survive totally submerged in a body of water.