Architect Eric Fisher
Eric Fisher pulls elements of architecture from a mixed bag of learning and experience.
The Shadyside resident has designed commercial sites and homes from Butler County to the South Side. There is a sense of artistry in his work that probably stems from a visual-art degree from Dartmouth College, but a sense a practicality from the engineering degree he got there at the same time.
Fisher, 52, got his architecture degree at Harvard University, but that was after he bicycled across the country, worked in a cannery in Vancouver, and then spent two years as a civil engineer in Alaska.
The architect lives with his wife, Mary, in a Shadyside home he designed and built in 2007-08. It happens to be next door to where he grew up.
The star who would play me in the movie version of my life and why:
People tell me I have more than a bit of the unrelenting upbeat, energetic optimism of Rob Lowe's “Parks and Recreation” character; and on a good day, I look a little like him.
Pick one:
A. Go-Gos
B. Goo Goo Dolls
C. Lady Gaga
D. Yo Gabba Gabba
Girl Talk, since we're going with G's. And the DJ, Gregg Michael Gillis, is from Pittsburgh. Check out the “girlwalkallday.com” dance videos if you haven't seen them yet.
The superpower I wish I had in real life and why:
It would be cool to have “super-architect” abilities: I would like to be able to draw a construction drawing in an hour and type minutes in a minute.
Childhood hero and why:
When I was a kid, Roberto Clemente seemed the epitome of grace, strength and honor. And, he autographed my Sports Illustrated poster before a game.
The piece of memorabilia from my childhood I wish I still had:
The signed Sports Illustrated poster of Roberto Clemente
I can't live without my: iPod, cellphone, DVR or laptop?
Cellphone: When you have your own business, you need to be in touch with your clients and contractors 24/7.
My favorite reality show:
Our own: My wife, Mary, and I feel as though we are living in one.
App I wish I could invent:
My interns would like an app that showed the actual location of PAT buses.
The last book I read:
“Outliers: The Story of Success,” by Malcolm Gladwell
Favorite brunch food:
The spinach-and-salmon crepes at Crepes Parisiennes on Filbert Street in Shadyside
Something I would do over if I could and why:
I probably shouldn't have planted allium (chives) on the “living roof” of our house. They are gorgeous, but invasive.
Pick one:
A. Pirates
B. Penguins
C. Steelers
D. Other
E. I hate sports
B. Penguins: Every time a player steps onto the ice, he knows he has to give 110 percent until his shift is over.
Best mistake I've ever made:
I hired an inexperienced contractor to build our home because he was cheap. When he didn't work out, I was forced to build the house myself with the help of my Carnegie Mellon University interns, my highly skilled subs and my 21-year-old foreman, Erik Wingard.
Favorite lunchtime spot:
Cappy's Cafe in Shadyside. Their outdoor tables feature Walnut Street's best-people watching.
Top thing on my Bucket List to do before I'm gone:
Design and build a home for a client (or, for Mary and me) on one of Pittsburgh's rivers
In five years, I'd like to:
Devise a five-year plan
My most treasured fashion accessory is:
My Pepperdine Rowing T-shirt, which my Pepperdine rowers gave me as a gift after I coached them to victory against their arch-nemesis, UCLA.
My favorite thing about Pittsburgh is:
The people. Like many clichés, the one about Pittsburghers being friendly happens to be true.
I'm deathly afraid of:
Not knowing yet how to program “Grasshopper,” the parametric-modeling plug-in to Rhino, my 3-D visualization software of choice, although my CMU intern, Mike, has pledged to teach my entire staff, including me, by summer's end. This answer definitively proves that I'm still a nerd.
In high school, I was:
The biggest nerd ever
My childhood nickname was:
“Fish”
Three people I'd love to have dinner with:
Frank Lloyd Wright, Renzo Piano and J Lo. Actually, I'm just kidding about Frank and Renzo.
My quirkiest inherited trait:
“Honestly,” my mom once said to me, holding tightly onto her rubber chicken, “You have the oddest sense of humor of any of my children.” Actually, I'm not telling the truth about the chicken.
My first job:
The summer of ninth grade, I lived with my grandparents and earned a dollar an hour working as a beach boy in Ocean City, N.J.
My worst job:
Working on the “slime line” of an Alaskan salmon factory and living in “Tent City,” in the woods on the hill behind the plant for 10 weeks, where it rained an average of an inch per day.
Life would be better without:
Mortgage payments, 6 percent commissions and people who say “nucular” instead of “nuclear”
The first band I saw in concert (when and where):
ZZ Top, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, my sophomore year in high school
People would be surprised to know that I:
Make my interns listen to the French punk song, “C'est Comme Ca,” by Les Rita Mitsouko on their first day of employment.
Favorite guilty pleasure:
Long solo bicycle rides: I rode by myself across the United States in the ‘80s. It makes me feel free, and in touch with nature's power.
