Builder/Architect Feature Article
Robert Fisher Signature Homes
The Fine Art of Success
By Andrew Legg
There is an art to home building. For Emerald Coast builder Robert Fisher, art is the key to his business success. Fisher's special blend of architectural and construction artistry has brought his company, Signature Builders, Inc. (formerly Housing South, Inc.), to the forefront of creative home building.
It was the art--not the business or the engineering--that got him hooked on home building. Bob,  with his wife Mary, moved to the Emerald Coast in 1968, on assignment to Eglin Air Force Base, where Bob flew F-4s for the 33rd TAC Fighter Wing. After leaving the service in 1972, Bob and Mary entered the real estate business, specializing in property management. Bob had earned a degree in accounting and finance from the University of Virginia, and studied architectural engineering at Southern Technical Institute in Atlanta. But it was the art--not the business or the engineering--that got him hooked on home building.
In 1980, Bob and Mary began their first home building venture. "Our first construction effort was a 23-unit town home development in Fort Walton Beach," recalls Mary."We moved into the first home and ran the business from a converted laundry room. Bob wrote sales contracts on the dining room table. The whole family was involved--even our dog patrolled the construction site."
 From such humble beginnings, the Fishers went on to build Housing South into a successful real estate sales, development and construction company. "We survived the high interest rates and economic slowdown of the early 1980s by building rental apartments and residential condominiums," says Bob. "In 1984, we built our first single-family home-our own-where Mary and I still live today."
For many years, Housing South focused on building upscale spec homes in popular areas, like  Shalimar Pointe, Bluewater Bay and Crosswinds Landing (their own 146-planned unit development in Fort Walton Beach). "Our homes sold well because we were able to anticipate the features that home buyers would want." says Bob. "We built homes with an open, airy feeling. We designed high ceilings, angled walls and corner-wrap windows to enlarge rooms. We varied floor heights and ceiling treatments, instead of building walls to define functional space." The Fishers have intentionally stayed away from high-volume, production building and prefer to take a "hands-on" approach to every job.
Today, Signature Builders constructs 20 to 30 homes per year. Many are custom designed and built to meet specific requirements of their clients. With the emphasis more on custom building, Signature Builders has created a separate division, Robert Fisher Signature Homes.
 The Signature Homes team includes construction managers, a marketing director, CAD designer, decorator and support staff. They maintain two show-rooms with samples and catalogs to help clients with their selections. A model home, built in Destin's Kelly Plantation Community, showcases the innovative design and quality construction offered by Robert Fisher Signature Homes.
 "Our company can design and build any style or any size home," Bob says. "We can modify an existing plan or we can create a totally new plan in order to meet the customer's needs. We accomplish this by offering ourselves as a sounding board for the customer. We have even designed distinctive homes starting with nothing more than a lot survey, a couple of photos and a wish list."
Great design requires great execution--and that's what buyers have come to expect from Signature Builders. This winning combination of conscientious employees and dedicated subcontractors and suppliers has consistently produced award-winning homes.  Since 1988, Housing South and as Signature Builders has won top awards for every home entered in the annual Parade of Homes competition. What makes these homes so special? It's the artistry--the creative presentation of unique design ideas, such as the careful placement of a multi-sided fireplace as a room divider, or a suspended kitchen soffit as a display shelf. It's the artistic details that add life and personality to every home.
You know the old cliche, "I may not know art, but I know what I like"? Well, judging by the continued success of Signature Builders, it seems that on the Emerald Coast, the home-buying public does know art when they see it in a Robert Fisher Signature Home. |
