Thursday, March 28, 2024

Documentary about David Schwarz, Renowned Architect of Southlake Town Square, Airs March 20

Southlake Town Square  Photo Credit: Shawn O'Connell

Southlake Town Square Photo Credit: Shawn O’Connell

A new half-hour documentary featuring the life and work of acclaimed architect David M. Schwarz will premiere on KERA Channel 13 on Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. Emmy-award winning producer and architecture expert Geoffrey Baer will host Street Smarts: Architect David M. Schwarz, examining Schwarz’s professional accomplishments, including several renowned Dallas-Fort Worth designs, including Southlake Town Square.

Best known locally for works including the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Sundance Square in Fort Worth, Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, and of course, Southlake Town Square, David M. Schwarz Architects has also completed urban master plans, concert halls, ballparks, and stadiums around the country. Drawing on the traditions of American modernism from the late 19th century through the 1940s, the designs result in timeless urban landscapes with an emphasis on walkability. Schwarz views architecture as both an art and a service.

Schwarz is the 2015 winner of the Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame, an award that is given annually to a major contributor in the field of traditional and classical architecture. Major funding for the documentary has been provided by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture through the support from The Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust.

The documentary will examine the progression of Schwarz’s personal life and professional development, beginning with his upbringing in suburban Los Angeles and Ivy League education, to his now successful architecture firm in Washington D.C. and heavily influential architectural style. His firm has advanced from celebrated historic preservation projects to taking on developments of all sizes and shapes, bringing traditional design approaches to non-traditional structures.

In addition to interviews of Schwarz, other interviews in the documentary include Craig Williams, a partner at David M. Schwarz Architects; firm architects Sean Nohelty and Gregory Hoss; Schwarz’s Fort Worth client Ed Bass; Southlake developer Frank Bliss; former Texas Ranger co-owner Tom Schieffer; Cook Children’s Medical Center President Nancy Cychol; architect Robert Miller; and University of Illinois at Chicago professor emeritus Robert Bruegmann.

For more information about Schwarz’s architectural works, visit the David M. Schwarz Architects website.