Howard T. Fisher

Howard T. Fisher (October 30, 1903 – January 24, 1979) was an American architect, city planner, and educator.

Early life Howard Taylor Fisher was born October 30, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Walter Lowrie Fisher and Mabel Taylor. He graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in 1926. He attended the School of Architecture, Harvard University, from 1926 to 1928.

Work in architecture

Fisher started his career as an architect in 1931 with a solo practice in Chicago, which continued until 1943. The company's system included eight types of prefabricated steel-framed modular panels: solid, small window, large window, glass, entrance door, kitchen door, double doors, and a fireplace. Panels were typically four-feet wide by nine-feet high - except the fireplace panel was taller, and the garage door panel was twice as wide. The panels could be assembled in a wide variety of configurations to suit individual clients' needs and specific sites. For example, one General Houses house that was built on a hillside had three stories with the living room on the top floor to best enjoy the view. The General Houses, Inc. building system was the subject of U.S. patent 1,969,125 issued August 7, 1934.

A marketing slogan of the company was "A house that's twice as good at half the price."

During the Century of Progress, Fisher had two prefabricated houses on display. The first was part of "The Work of the Young Architects of the Midwest" exhibit, which also featured the work of Fisher's rival, Robert W. McLaughlin Jr. Another house, built for Ruth Page was described as an interesting, albeit gloomy, house with an awkward spatial layout.

General Houses, Inc.'s first house was erected in 1933 in Winnetka, Illinois, but no longer stands. Another house, the House of Steel, was built for client Winslow Ames and still survives on the campus of Connecticut College. General Houses, Inc., wound up its business in 1947.

In 1943, Fisher established Howard T. Fisher & Associates in Chicago to practice architecture and city planning. The firm wound up its business in 1965. It is given annually to both undergraduate and graduate students at Harvard University. The prize is co administered by the Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA) and the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), funded by a gift from Jack Dangermond (MLA 1969), President of Environmental Systems Research Institute.

Personal Fisher married Marion Hall on February 11, 1939. They had three children: Ann Bourne Fisher (deceased), Morgan Hall Fisher, and Alan Hall Fisher.