"Street Smarts: Architect David M. Schwarz"
March 24,2015
Reposted from chicagotonight.wttw.com
How did a guy raised in Los Angeles who loves to wear sandals with his suits end up rebuilding downtown Fort Worth, Texas while operating out of an office in Washington, D.C.? Geoffrey Baer's latest documentary exploring the career of the winner of the Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame is Street Smarts: Architect David M. Schwarz.
The prize is awarded annually to an architect who, in the words of the jury, "embodies the highest ideals of traditional and classical architecture in contemporary society, and creates a positive cultural, environmental, and artistic impact."
Schwarz is the urban planner and architect behind the 30-year transformation of downtown Fort Worth, Texas from a depressed and depleted post-urban renewal landscape into a vibrant district anchored by a new public gathering place, Sundance Square, which opened in 2013. Schwarz's goal in Fort Worth was to create a place that would make Texans get out of their cars and take a walk around town.
Baer talks with Schwarz about his career, his work, including Bass Hall, a marble clad multi-purpose performing hall that some have compared to European concert halls of the 19th century, and his thoughts about the city, pedestrianism and the future of humanity.