Research and Interest:

Professional Architect, Professor of Practice, and Coordinator of Environmental Design. While completing her Master of Design Studies in Historic Preservation at Boston Architectural College, her research initially focused on anticipatory preservation planning, with a focus on the protections of rural cultural and physical landscapes during the boom, bust, and recovery cycles of natural resource extraction. Her current research focuses on (re)visiting the William C. Sherman Photograph Collection, which encompasses over 13,000 photographs of Germans from Russia homesteads. The objectives are to understand, identify, and create documentation of vernacular-built heritage by recording existing physical forms and conditions through on-site measurements, recording existing field conditions through digital imaging by way of drones and photography. The objective for this work is to create a virtual exhibit highlighting the building techniques and materials to create an “insider’s guide” to the everyday life of the North Dakota settlers. She strives to cultivate curiosity of history and heritage through the lens of historic preservation.

 

Selected Publications and Recent Research:

Form Z Joint Study Program Report 200-04, Auto.Des.Sys, Inc. Form Z 3D model featured in annual report. (2003)

Fischer, D. and Fischer H., 2017.  “A Collaborative Heritage Preservation Process for Oil Field Communities.” In Landscape Research Record. No. 5. (2017)

$11,112. Full funding accepted through the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development special project program. Grant purpose: A cross-disciplinary study to better prepare rural (western North Dakota) communities with the tools necessary for the planning and preservation of resilient cultural and built systems in an environment booming with change. Principle Investigator. (August 2014)

$200. Grant provided by the North Dakota Humanities Council for research conducted for the NRHP nomination for Zeeland Hall, Zeeland, North Dakota. (2015)

$12,478. Grant provided by the University of North Dakota for research and preparation of Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) level ii documentation for Corwin-Larimore and Robertson-Sayre Halls. (May 2018)

$800. Grant provided by North Dakota Humanities Council for research conducted for the NRHP nomination for Ashley Fire City Hall, Ashely, North Dakota. (June 2021)

Peer-Reviewed Conferences Proceedings and Presentations:

March 23-26, 2016 Fischer, H. and Fischer, D., 2016.  A Collaborative Heritage Preservation Process for Oil Field Communities, Presented at the Council for Educators in Landscape Architecture Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, UT.

July 20, 2015 “Anticipatory Preservation Planning: Protecting rural cultural and physical landscapes” Webinar presentation through North Central Regional Center for Rural Development special project program.

May 28-31, 2014 “Mapping the Bakken Oil Formation: new depictions from within and without the Dome” Group presentation through Environmental Design Research Association in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Invited Presentations and Lectures:

2008, 2009, 2010 Portfolio Design. American Institute of Architecture Students: NDSU Chapter

March 23, 2012 “Symposium: The Architectural Drawing”. Invited panel member through the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.

February 28, 2014 “Preservation Pioneers: Pivotal Women Who Set the Precedence for Preserving our History, Heritage, and Culture Through the Last 150 years” presentation through Equity and Diversity Center and Women and Gender Studies for Women’s Week at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. 

August 8-9, 2014 “Anticipatory Preservation Planning: Framing the protection of rural cultural landscapes” presentation through Preservation North Dakota’s annual conference in Fargo, North Dakota.

November 15, 2015 “Our Hall: Its History and Significance to the Community” public forum, Zeeland, North Dakota.

March 4, 2016 "Hope on the Range: One woman’s rise in academic leadership through subtle feminism" presentation through Equity and Diversity Center and Women and Gender Studies for Women's Week at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota

April, 2016-2019 Hosted "Space-Making" workshop through Expanding Your Horizons: A Day to Empower Young Women in Fargo, North Dakota.

 

Licenses/Registration:

• Professional Architectural Registration.
• State Board of Architecture State of North Dakota - License #2913

Professional Memberships:

NCARB, Member

 

Teaching Experience:

Adjunct Professor - 2006-2007. Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Lecturer - 2007-2021. Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Coordinator - 2018-present. Environmental Design

Assistant Professor of Practice - 2021-present. Department of Architecture & Environmental Design

Courses Taught: 

 

ENVD 102     Drawing Basics for Environmental Designers 

ENVD 104     Environmental Design Fundamentals-Lecture 

ENVD 172     Environmental Design Fundamentals-Studio

ENVD 130     Drawing Skills for Environmental Designers

UNIV 189      Skills for Academic Success Arch/LA

ARCH 231     Architectural Graphics 

ARCH 271     Architectural Design Studio I

ARCH 789     Portfolio Design Seminar

ARCH 789     European Study Abroad-Italy

ARCH 789     Theory of Historic Preservation Seminar

ARCH 789     HABS-Historic American Buildings Survey Seminar

ARCH 789     Theory + Field Study in Historic Preservation:  Germans from Russia Built Heritage

Ask Me

Who are your role models or inspiring folks

Malini Srivastava, Joan Floura, Esther Perel 

Outside of art and design fields, what inspires you?

I am inspired by classical music and being still.

What do you wish you had known when you started out as a student/in this field?

Everyone has imposter syndrome, don't let it defeat you. 

What was your most memorable meal? 

While dinning at Delmonico's (first created the "Baked Alaska) in NYC, I realized "Baked Alaska" wasn't a fish at all, rather, the best dessert known to mankind. 

In your office, you can only have three things, one book, one tool, and one picture. What would they be and why?

My Ántonia, by Willa Cather (takes me away), Fengtaiyuan, Gel Ink Rollerball pen (gets me thinking on paper), "Half Banana" painting by Mollie Douthit (conversation starter).