In this article for the Post-Gazette, architect Eric Fisher (www.fisherarch.com) talks about the design of his home.

To view a slideshow of the home, select 'START HERE' in the column to the left.

ON CONTEXT

I love Pittsburgh. I tell people when they ask (and sometimes even when they don't) that my wife, Mary, and I could live anywhere in the world, yet we chose to live here, in the neighborhood where I grew up. Pittsburgh truly is livable. Yet more often than not, our homes do not reflect the character of our city. They do not possess a sense of place.

Buildings become richer if they express the conditions of their surroundings. Pittsburgh craftspeople have fantastic skills and can produce marvelous work if given the chance. Pittsburghers deserve buildings that suggest our unique spirit! We clad the walls of our house with copper and supported a portion of the living room by a single column to suggest a connection to Pittsburgh's industrial roots. We added the green (planted) roof and Grassy Paver driveway to take advantage of Pittsburgh's lush summer greenery. Then we poured our concrete counters on site, and worked indoors with skilled local carpenters, metal workers and artists to give the house its unique look.

ON STYLE

Pittsburgh buildings do not reflect our times. Construction techniques and materials have evolved. Even the way people live within their homes has changed. Despite that fact, new Pittsburgh homes tend to look like homes that were built a century ago. This makes no sense. All around the world, young(ish), forward-thinking homeowners can purchase homes that reflect their idea of themselves. At our house, we incorporated coil drapery systems, resin panels, polycarbonate walls, recessed shading systems, and "rain-screen" construction into an architecture of folded surfaces, one that is clearly not the status quo. Even so, the building does not shout, fitting into its surroundings with a surprising quiet grace and modesty.

ON LIGHT

How do you want to feel when you enter your home? Going into your house does not have to resemble going into a cave. Pittsburgh is a gray city in the winter and light is hard to come by. Yet, most homes are built with the same tiny windows that houses featured more than a century ago. My thought is that a successful house design connects the indoors to the outdoors. In our house, we eliminated entire walls and substituted glass instead. Two things happened immediately. First, daylight flooded the home's interior surfaces, adding drama and warmth. Second, the home became bigger, as rooms expanded outdoors beyond their physical boundaries.

Yes, you lose a bit of privacy, but we lead un-private lives (and we have blinds). It used to be that kids played with the kids next door while the parents chatted on the front porch. I disagree with the notion that you have to wall yourself off from your neighbors.

ON OPEN PLANNING

In the past, it was necessary to separate rooms from one another. For one thing, heating an entire house was difficult. For another, family roles were defined more clearly.

Today, a fluid, open arrangement of room suits the way we live. Dad (or Mom) may be cooking dinner while working on a work presentation on the laptop and overseeing the kids. We need visual control and flexible spaces that can be used for many different purposes.

An additional advantage of this sort of planning is that it makes a house look bigger. I cannot tell you the number of people who have come into our house and been surprised by its (relatively) small size. Combining the dining room, the living room, the study and the kitchen into one room allows one to see the full length and width of the house at once.

ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Employing strategies that minimize energy costs is a no-brainer. Thanks in part to the work of people at Carnegie Mellon University and the Green Building Alliance, Pittsburgh has in recent years become a center for 'green" technology. As oil costs soar, architects here can employ affordable means to reduce resource consumption. At our house, we incorporated earth-sheltered construction, radiant floor panels, low-flow toilets, high-efficiency water heaters, Energy Star-rated appliances, recycled newspaper insulation, sustainable bamboo flooring, and of course, the green roof, which acts as an effective heat shield from the hot summer sun.

ON RENOVATION

In the past, it was possible to buy a clear, unused space in the city and to build a house. The new American dream must include recognition that land is not infinite. Greater attention must be given to recognizing the previously unrecognized potential of already developed land. The architects of the next century must learn to recycle space in the same way we recycle our garbage, finding value in waste.

Developers who looked at our property before me concluded that the lot was unbuildable. Not only was it not connected to the street, it was exceedingly long and narrow. With considerable effort, we figured out how to build a full-sized home in this difficult place.

Most urban Pittsburghers live in older homes. I want to make this clear: With care, all of the strategies I have been discussing can be put to use in older homes without destroying their character. I applaud the efforts of various Pittsburgh organizations to preserve and restore old buildings. Our shared history defines who we are as a community. Our old warehouses, churches, public buildings, and homes reveal this history. We are the richer for their presence.

ON SPATIAL EXPERIENCE

How many people can say that their homes are an extension of who they are? A skilled architect will listen very carefully to you, the client, as you describe what you want. The architect will then bring your ideas to life in ways you may never have expected. Our house's design resulted not only from our need for certain rooms, but also from our desire to live in a calm place that counterbalanced the stress of our hectic lives.

I design buildings that evoke emotion. The best thing about the green roof is that it elevates the natural environment to the second floor. The best thing about the grass driveway is that it evokes memories of country walks. The best thing about the open plan is that it results in a place where I can be together with my family.

I don't believe architecture is about the way buildings look. It's about the way they make you feel. In our house, I've tried to manifest the design principles that I hold dear. You are welcome to stop by for a visit some time, just call first. Then you can be the judge of the extent to which I have succeeded.