About Us
— We are a San Antonio based architecture firm who believe in context-sensitive, sustainable design that strengthens and benefits communities.
Our Mission
Since the firm's humble beginnings, our dedication has been rooted in the sense of community and our role as architects has been to collaboratively work with our clients on projects that strengthen and benefit the community. We are more than an architecture firm, we are a family of specialists, specifically chosen to bring a unique set of skills and expertise to every project we touch. We find that this approach allows us to better foster our mission of:
DESIGNING COMMUNITY
Our History
Our firm was established in 1982 by Lewis Fisher and Jim Heck. The two met while working for famed Texas firm O'Neil Ford in the 1970's and eventually joined forces to form their own firm to focus more on religious institutions and revitalizing historic districts across Texas. After 30+ years of nationally recognized projects, Fisher Heck’s leadership has transitioned to three of the firm's principals: Marc Johnson, David Hannan Jr, and Mark Navarro. The three new partners will continue the firm's focus on religious institutions and revitalizing historic properties within urban and rural settings, while also establishing a significant presence within the educational sector.
We are a full service architecture design firm located in San Antonio, Texas. We are recognized for our extensive experience and expertise in the following project types:
Religious
Historic Preservation, Restoration & Rehabilitation
Higher Education
Civic
Urban Development
Adaptive Reuse
Commercial
Museums
Interiors
Residential
Fisher Heck is a certified Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and is a proud member of several local, regional and national organizations. These include the American Institute of Architects, Texas Society of Architects, Partners for Sacred Places, Keep San Antonio Beautiful, Society for Design Administration, Preservation Texas, Downtown Alliance San Antonio, San Antonio Conservation Society and Texas Public Radio.
Our Experience
Our Core Values
We believe in context-sensitive, sustainable design that respects the land, its natural features and surrounding entities. When you work with us, you will not find any preconceived notions or aesthetic criteria your project must conform to. We do not design for ourselves, but rather for our clients and the community they live in, work in, play in, learn in and pray in. We also understand people will probably never recognize our buildings because we don’t have a particular style. It is not about us. It is about who our clients are and we want to design buildings that are unique to them. This entails that our most important quality must be to listen intently to our clients in order to draw out of them the deeper meaning of what they want or need, beyond just the numbers. We recognize our responsibility in transforming communities, businesses and personal success in the most positive way forward with each and every project we take on.
Our Process
For over 30 years, we have made listening our highest focus with every one of our projects, regardless of size or budget. Our clients are more like partners and with each partnership, clear communication remains the foundation for it’s success. Each of our projects is unique and often times require a custom approach to collaboration and idea sharing throughout the length of the project. We highly encourage client participation and collaboration from start to finish, which has resulted in many of our clients being repeat clients.
Within the office, we utilize 3D software along with Building Information Modeling (BIM) to better communicate our designs to our clients as well as our consultants and colleagues. Furthermore, we hold inter-office design review presentations at least once a month to give everyone in the firm a chance to weigh in on projects currently in the schematic phase - beer with chips and salsa helps as well!
The construction industry is always changing in relation to materials and methods of construction. In order to stay up to date with these trends, we invite specialists within the construction industry to our office for bi-monthly Lunch 'N Learn presentation. These presentations can range from door hardware to custom curtain-wall systems and everything in between.
When a project finishes, we like to have the project manager for that project present to the office on lessons learned, what worked and what did not, and what were some unique aspects to the project. This is also sometimes followed up with an office site visit to the finished project. This approach helps our firm strive to always be improving and innovating with every new project.
Our Community
Our Founders
Our Services
Planning
Site Master Planning
Facility Master Planning
Programming
Site Analysis & Selection
Space Planning
Feasibility Studies
Marketing Concepts & Materials
Cost Estimating
Phasing
Urban Renewal & Revitalization Planning
Architecture
Conceptual Design
Schematic Design
Design Development
Construction Documents
Bidding & Negotiation
Construction Administration
Record Drawings
Interior Design
Building Relocation
Special Furnishings Design
BIM Modeling
3D Visualization Rendering
Specification Writing
Sustainable Design
Urban Design
LEED Certification & Documentation
Consulting
Building Forensics
Grant Writing Assistance
Historic Structures Reports
Materials Research
Code Analysis
Accessibility Evaluation, Studies and Design
HABS Documentation
National Register Nominations
Design Guidelines for Historic Districts
Post Construction Evaluation
Furniture Selection
Historic Preservation Tax-Credit Project Certification
Contractor Selection Assistance
Employment
We are always on the lookout for talented designers, architects, and interns who have a passion for community-focused design across various project typologies. All applicants should have experience with Autodesk, Adobe and Microsoft software products. We value candidates that are detail oriented and take great care in all aspects of their work. If you are interested in joining the Fisher Heck team, please send us a your resume and cover letter in digital form. If a position is available at that time, we will contact you for an interview.