FOR "STREET SMARTS: ARCHITECT DAVID M. SCHWARZ" IS PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM THE RICHARD H. DRIEHAUS CHARITABLE LEAD TRUST.

DAVID SCHWARZ: IT'S GOOD.

BECAUSE OF THE FORESHORTENING THIS TOWER IS TALLER FROM HERE THAN THAT TOWER IS.

DAVID SCHWARZ: MY CAREER SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED.

MY CAREER IS A LONG HISTORY OF ACCIDENTAL HAPPENSTANCE.

SOMEBODY VERY WISE ONCE SAID, "I BUILD PLACES FOR THINGS TO HAPPEN."

AND I'M WELL AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THE PLACES I BUILD ARE PLACES WHERE THINGS WILL HAPPEN.

WE LIVE IN A CONTINUUM AND WE ARE PART OF A CONTINUUM.

AND TO PRETEND WE'RE NOT AND TO PRETEND WE'RE OUTSIDE OF A CONTINUUM IS TO IGNORE OUR PAST AND PRETEND OUR FUTURE DOESN'T EXIST.

THE CONTINUUM OF HUMANKIND IS PART OF WHAT MAKES HUMANKIND SO INTERESTING.

[MUSIC] EMCEE: LET'S GIVE A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE BIG BROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND.

[APPLAUSE] GEOFFREY BAER: IT'S MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY 2015 IN SUNDANCE SQUARE, THE CENTRAL GATHERING PLACE IN DOWNTOWN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

THE SQUARE IS A VIBRANT PUBLIC SPACE DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT DAVID M. SCHWARZ.

[MUSIC] GEOFFREY BAER: WHY DO WE NEED PLACES LIKE THIS?

WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO GET TO?

DAVID SCHWARZ: PEOPLE ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS.

PEOPLE LIKE TO CONGREGATE.

PEOPLE LIKE TO LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLE.

DOWNTOWNS ARE THE COMMUNITY'S FRONT PORCH.

EVERYBODY OWNS DOWNTOWN.

IT DOESN'T BELONG TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON THE NORTH SIDE, THE EAST SIDE, THE WEST SIDE, THE SOUTH SIDE.

EVERYBODY OWNS DOWNTOWN.

GEOFFREY BAER: UNTIL RECENTLY, SUNDANCE SQUARE WAS TWO SURFACE PARKING LOTS, A LEGACY OF A NEARLY DEAD DOWNTOWN THAT OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS SCHWARZ HAS HELPED BRING BACK TO LIFE.

NEW BUILDINGS BY SCHWARZ ARE VISIBLE IN EVERY DIRECTION, AND IN A WIDE VARIETY OF HISTORIC STYLES.

DAVID SCHWARZ: WHEN WE ARRIVED IN FORT WORTH, FORT WORTH WAS NOT A DEAD CITY, BUT IT WAS SORT OF MORIBUND.

AND OUR JOB HERE WAS TO RESTORE IT TO HEALTH.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: IT WAS DEAD AS A DOOR NAIL.

CRAIG WILLIAMS: IT WAS A HORRIBLE PLACE WHEN WE FIRST STARTED WORKING THERE.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: IT WAS DEPRESSING.

DAVID SCHWARZ: ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAD TO DO IN FORT WORTH WAS RESTORE ENOUGH OF THE FABRIC SO THAT IT FELT LIKE A CITY, AN OLD CITY.

OR A CITY THAT IT HAS HISTORY.

ROBERT BRUEGMANN: IT TOOK A LONG TIME.

BUT ONCE IT GOT GOING IT WAS PRETTY REMARKABLE.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: YOU CAN LIVE THERE.

THERE'S RETAIL AGAIN.

AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE DOWNTOWN ANYMORE.

AND YOU CAN WALK EVERYWHERE.

THAT, IN TEXAS MY FRIENDS, IS RADICAL.

YOU ARE IN THE HEART OF CAR CULTURE HERE.

GEOFFREY BAER: WHILE SCHWARZ GETS CREDIT FOR THE DESIGN, THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE CITY'S REBIRTH IS DEVELOPER AND PHILANTHROPIST ED BASS.

ED BASS: OH GOSH, IN SUNDANCE SQUARE, WE'VE ALWAYS HAD A PROJECT IN CONSTRUCTION OR IN THE PIPELINE SINCE 1988.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: AN ARCHITECT AND SOME PEOPLE WITH MEANS CHANGED ALL THAT.

PRETTY COOL, HUH?

GEOFFREY BAER: ED BASS BELONGS TO ONE OF A HANDFUL OF FORT WORTH FAMILIES THAT MADE LARGE FORTUNES IN CATTLE AND OIL AND HAVE DEVOTED PART OF THEIR WEALTH TO BUILDING AND BETTERING A CITY THAT LOCALS PROUDLY CALL "COWTOWN."

JOE NICK PATOSKI: IT IS A COW TOWN AND IT WEARS ITS WESTERN HERITAGE PROUDLY ON ITS SLEEVE.

FORT WORTH'S MOTTO IS "WHERE THE WEST BEGINS."

THEY LET SCHOOLS OUT TO THIS VERY DAY FOR RODEO.

FORT WORTH GREW AROUND THE STOCKYARDS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF TOWN.

IT'S A RED BRICK CITY.

AND THAT RED BRICK REALLY DOES DEFINE THE WAY FORT WORTH LOOKS.

GEOFFREY BAER: SCHWARZ EVEN BUILT THE LOCAL BIG LEAGUE BALLPARK OUT OF RED BRICK.

THIS IS THE HOME OF THE TEXAS RANGERS IN ARLINGTON.

EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A BASEBALL FAN, YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE IT FROM THE 2002 DISNEY FILM "THE ROOKIE" STARRING DENNIS QUAID.

DAVID SCHWARZ: IT WAS PERFECTLY CLEAR TO US THAT YOU COULD ALWAYS GET THE DYED IN THE WOOL SPORTS FAN TO COME.

THE QUESTION WAS, COULD YOU GET THE DYED IN THE WOOL SPORTS FAN'S SIGNIFICANT OTHER TO COME?

HOW COULD YOU MAKE THIS A LARGER EXPERIENCE AND EMBRACE MORE PEOPLE?

YOU WANT PEOPLE TO COME IN AND SAY "WOW!"

JOE NICK PATOSKI: I'M NOT AN ARCHITECT.

I'M NOT AN ARCHITECTURAL STUDENT.

I JUST KIND OF KNOW WHAT I LIKE.

BUT WHEN I SAW RED BRICK IN THIS BALLPARK, IT WAS LIKE I WAS BACK ON THE NORTH SIDE OF FORT WORTH AROUND THE STOCKYARDS.

RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK.

AND THERE WERE THESE ELEMENTS WHERE YOU SAW LONGHORN STEERS.

FORT WORTH!

IT'S BACK!

IT LIVES AGAIN!

GEOFFREY BAER: SCHWARZ HAD NEVER DESIGNED A BALLPARK.

BUT HIS DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF FORT WORTH HISTORY IMPRESSED THE RANGER'S OWNERS, INCLUDING GEORGE W. BUSH.

TOM SCHIEFFER: I REMEMBER GEORGE BUSH, HE WHISPERED IN MY EAR "CONGRATULATIONS.

YOU'VE FOUND YOUR MAN."

THIS WAS A FELLA THAT COULD PICK UP THE RHYTHM AND HISTORY OF TEXAS.

GEOFFREY BAER: YOU'RE NOT BY NATURE A BIG SPORTS FAN, A BIG BASEBALL FAN.

I THINK HE SAID HE'D NEVER SEEN A PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL GAME AT THE TIME.

CRAIG WILLIAMS: I DON'T THINK THAT... TOM SCHIEFFER: ... THAT DAVID HAD NEVER BEEN TO A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL GAME.

GEOFFREY BAER: THE CLIENT ACTUALLY TOLD US.

CRAIG WILLIAMS: ... PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE....YES.

DAVID SCHWARZ: I AM AN ENORMOUS FAN OF ACTIVITIES THAT BRING DIVERSE GROUPS OF PEOPLE TOGETHER.

GEOFFREY BAER: HERE'S ANOTHER DAVID SCHWARZ BUILDING THAT'S ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY.

HE IMAGINED COOK CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AS A SMALL CITY.

SEAN NOHELTY: AND THEN YOU COME INTO THE MAIN EVENT, TOWN SQUARE.

GEOFFREY BAER: THIS IS THE TOWN SQUARE.

SEAN NOHELTY: IT IS.

GEOFFREY BAER: THIS IS QUITE A TOWN SQUARE.

SEAN NOHELTY: YEAH, AND YOU CAN SEE THE ARCHITECTURE IS KIND OF LOOKING LIKE AN EXTERIOR CITY OF TOWERS AND BALCONIES.

GEOFFREY BAER: THIS IS A BIG FAIRY CASTLE IN HERE!

NANCY CYCHOL: WHEN PEOPLE COME HERE AND SEE THIS WONDERFUL PLACE THEY GO, "OH..." BEAUTY!

TOM SCHIEFFER: HE LIKES A CHALLENGE.

HE LIKES TO DO BUILDINGS HE HASN'T DONE BEFORE.

COOKS WAS THE FIRST HOSPITAL HE'D EVER DONE.

THE BALLPARK WAS THE FIRST BALLPARK HE'D EVER DONE.

DAVID SCHWARZ: IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT A GOOD DESIGNER SHOULD BE ABLE TO DESIGN ANYTHING.

WE BELIEVED WE COULD DESIGN A FRESH NEW GREAT HOSPITAL.

GEOFFREY BAER: NOW, YOU'VE DESCRIBED THIS AS LIKE A SMALL TOWN?

SEAN NOHELTY: IT IS A SMALL TOWN.

THIS IS A MICROCOSM OF A TOWN.

AND THIS PUBLIC CORRIDOR IS WHAT WE CALL MAIN STREET.

IT KIND OF CONNECTS ALL THE DEPARTMENTS ALONG WITH PUBLIC SPACE, AND OUR GIFT SHOP AND OUR AMENITIES, STARBUCKS.

GEOFFREY BAER: YOU'VE GOT SOME STORES ON MAIN STREET.

NANCY CYCHOL: IT BRINGS THE BEAUTY AND THE AESTHETICS AND ALL THE THINGS THAT WE AS HEALTH CARE WORKERS DON'T REALLY THINK ABOUT.

GEOFFREY BAER: DAVID SCHWARZ GREW UP IN 1950S LOS ANGELES, A PLACE THAT WOULD POWERFULLY AFFECT HIS FUTURE ARCHITECTURE.

DAVID SCHWARZ: I LIVED IN BENEDICT CANYON, WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN LA.

THERE WERE NO SIDEWALKS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.

IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO GET TO THE SCHOOLS I WAS GOING TO, AND IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO CASUALLY SEE A FRIEND.

GEOFFREY BAER: WHY NOT?

DAVID SCHWARZ: BECAUSE THERE WAS NO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.

IT WAS MILES AWAY.

SO I FELT LIKE I HAD VERY LITTLE ABILITY TO CRAFT A LIFE.

GEOFFREY BAER: SCHWARZ WROTE THAT HE FELT MAROONED.

AND AS HE GREW UP, HE DEVELOPED A FINELY TUNED SKEPTICISM OF THOSE WHO WOULD ROMANTICIZE CAR CULTURE.

ROBERT MILLER: HE HAD A REAL PROBLEM WITH CRITICS LIKE REYNER BANHAM WHO TREATED THAT KIND OF IRONICALLY.

DAVID SCHWARZ: REYNER BANHAM WROTE A BOOK... ROBERT MILLER: I HOPE I'M REMEMBERING THE TITLE.

"LOS ANGELES: AN ARCHITECTURE OF FOUR ECOLOGIES."

YOU BETTER CHECK THAT.

GEOFFREY BAER: BANHAM ALSO MADE THIS FILM.

REYNER BANHAM: YOU SEE, I THINK FREEWAY DRIVING IS INTERESTING IN ITSELF.

DAVID SCHWARZ: TO MY MIND, MUCH OF WHAT HE FOUND POSITIVE, I FOUND NEGATIVE.

GEOFFREY BAER: SO, WHAT DID HE FIND POSITIVE THAT YOU FOUND NEGATIVE?

DAVID SCHWARZ: WELL, HE WAS MUCH MORE POSITIVE ABOUT THE USE OF THE AUTOMOBILE THAN I AM.

I AM A FIRM BELIEVER IN PEDESTRIANISM.

GEOFFREY BAER: SCHWARZ FLED THE FREEWAYS OF LA TO MAKE HIS CAREER AS AN ARCHITECT IN MORE WALKABLE CITIES.

FIRST AT YALE, THEN BRIEFLY AT BIG NAME FIRMS IN NEW YORK, AND FINALLY ON HIS OWN IN WASHINGTON D.C. DAVID SCHWARZ: I STARTED THIS OFFICE BECAUSE I FOUND THAT ARCHITECTURE OFFICES, FOR THE MOST PART, WERE NOT GREAT PLACES TO BE.

I WANTED TO CREATE A GREAT PLACE TO WORK.

A VERY PEOPLE-CENTRIC, CONSENSUS KIND OF PLACE.

DAVID SCHWARZ: I AM THE DESIGN TEAM LEADER OF EVERY TEAM.

IT'S ABOUT ALL I DO.

MY JOB IS TO DESIGN BUILDINGS AND TALK TO PEOPLE.

THAT'S ALL I DO HERE.

DAVID SCHWARZ: YEAH, THAT'S PRETTY AWFUL.

THAT DOESN'T REALLY WORK.

CRAIG WILLIAMS: DAVID DOESN'T SUGAR COAT ANYTHING.

THERE ARE TIMES HE'LL SAY, "OH, THAT'S TERRIBLE," RIGHT NEXT TO THE PERSON WHO WORKED ON IT.

DAVID SCHWARZ: THIS WINDOW NEEDS TO GO DOWN.

THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT THIS WINDOW, THIS WHOLE ASSEMBLY NEEDS TO MOVE DOWN.

SO THE WINDOW NEEDS TO START SOMEWHERE IN HERE.

GREGORY HOSS: SO WE'RE MOVING THIS DOWN.

DAVID SCHWARZ: RIGHT, THE WHOLE GABLE COMES DOWN.

IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT -- YEAH, THAT'S MUCH BETTER.

MUCH BETTER.

CRAIG WILLIAMS: TO HIM THERE'S GOOD DESIGN AND THERE'S BAD DESIGN.

HE'S MORE OF THE CONDUCTOR OF AN ORCHESTRA.

DAVID SCHWARZ: I'M THE KEEPER OF THE FLAME.

CRAIG WILLIAMS: PROTECTOR OF THE BODY OF WORK.

AND THAT'S THE GIFT THAT DAVID BRINGS.

HE IS THE TOUGHEST CRITIC.

GEOFFREY BAER: YOU'RE A TOUGH CRITIC?

DAVID SCHWARZ: I DON'T THINK SO.

GEOFFREY BAER: NO?

DAVID SCHWARZ: I THINK I'M A PIECE OF CAKE!

GEOFFREY BAER: WHAT SCHWARZ FOUND IN WASHINGTON DC WAS MORE THAN AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD A GOOD WORK ENVIRONMENT.

IT WAS A REVELATORY CRASH COURSE IN HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE INSPIRED BY THE CITY'S STRICT NEW PRESERVATION LAWS.

DAVID SCHWARZ: IT MADE ME REALLY LOOK AT AND ADDRESS, WHAT IS THE NATURE OF A CITY?

ARCHITECTURE FOR ME IS AS MUCH IN SERVICE TO THE CITY AS IT IS TO THE PASSIVE USER OR THE CLIENT.

EVERY BUILDING WE BUILD IS ANOTHER TOOTH IN THE SMILE.

ED BASS: I REALLY GOT INTERESTED IN DAVID WHEN I MADE A TRIP TO WASHINGTON ...I THINK IT WAS 1985.

I WALKED OUT NEAR DUPONT CIRCLE, LOOKED UP THE STREET.

A RED BRICK BUILDING IMMEDIATELY CAPTURED ME.

DAVID SCHWARZ: HE SAID, "I LIKE THAT BUILDING.

WHO DESIGNED IT?"

AND THE ANSWER WAS ME.

ED BASS: IT HAD KIND OF A FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT ARCH ENTRY.

IT HAD A TOWER AND A CLOCK.

CRAIG WILLIAMS: 1718 CONNECTICUT AVENUE.

THE CLOCK TOWER BUILDING... ROBERT MILLER: DAVID'S SO-CALLED CUCKOO CLOCK BUILDING.

CRAIG WILLIAMS: ... AND EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE IT IS.

ROBERT MILLER: THE CLOSEST DAVID CAME I THINK TO A REAL POST-MODERN BUILDING.

CLEARLY, ALMOST FUNNY.

FUNNY HA HA.

ROBERT BRUEGMANN: ALL OF THE ARCHITECTURAL COMMUNITY THAT WAS INTERESTED IN PRESERVATION WAS VERY MUCH INTRIGUED BY THAT BUILDING.

ED BASS: I WANDERED ACROSS THE STREET INTO THE SHOP, ASKED THE GIRL BEHIND THE COUNTER, "CAN YOU TELL ME WHO THE ARCHITECT WAS THAT DID THIS?"

AND SHE SAID, "OH YES, WE'RE ASKED THAT ALL THE TIME."

SHE OPENED THE CASH REGISTER, PICKED UP THE TRAY, PULLED OUT A PIECE OF TAPE AND SAID, "DAVID SCHWARZ."

SAME TRIP.

I'M IN A CAR WITH A DRIVER ON ROCK CREEK PARKWAY.

I LOOK UP THE HILLSIDE, AND IT LOOKS LIKE ALMOST AN 80 YEAR OLD BUILDING, BUT I KNOW IT'S NOT.

DAVID SCHWARZ: HE SAID, "I LIKE THAT BUILDING.

WHO DESIGNED IT?"

AND THE ANSWER WAS ME.

ED BASS: HE SAID, "OH YEAH, THAT'S THE GRIFFIN.

THAT'S OUR BUILDING TOO."

SO WHEN I BEGAN WITH MY NEXT FORT WORTH ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT, I STARTED TALKING TO DAVID ABOUT IT.

HE WOULD SHOW UP MANY TIMES IN HIS BEAUTIFULLY TAILORED SUIT, AND FLIP-FLOPS OR SANDALS.

GEOFFREY BAER: UH...WHAT'S WITH THE SANDALS?

DAVID SCHWARZ: UM...NOTHING.

GEOFFREY BAER: WHAT'S WITH THE SANDALS?

CRAIG WILLIAMS: WHAT'S WITH THE SANDALS?

DAVID SCHWARZ: UM...I LIKE THEM.

UM...I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN LA.

UM...THEY'RE COMFORTABLE.

ROBERT MILLER: AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT SAYS COMFORT LIKE SANDALS?

DAVID SCHWARZ: THEY'RE CHEAP.

ROBERT MILLER: AND I THINK HE PROBABLY GOT FAMOUS FOR THAT EVEN AT SCHOOL.

GEOFFREY BAER: AT YALE?

ROBERT MILLER: YEAH.

I THINK...

I THINK SO.

DAVID SCHWARZ: WHENEVER ANYBODY ASKS ME TO PUT SHOES ON I DO.

GEOFFREY BAER: TURNS OUT THE ARCHITECT IN SANDALS AND THE TEXAS BILLIONAIRE WERE KINDRED SPIRITS.

ED BASS HAD ALSO STUDIED ARCHITECTURE AT YALE, AND DREAMED OF REVIVING HIS CITY'S DOWNTOWN -- A TASK FORT WORTH STRUGGLED WITH FOR DECADES.

IN THE 1950S, ARCHITECT VICTOR GRUEN HAD PROPOSED A PLAN THAT WOULD HAVE LEVELED DOWNTOWN AND SURROUNDED IT WITH PARKING GARAGES.

VICTOR GRUEN: WE MUST DISCONTINUE THIS UNUSABLE PATTERN OF MIXING AUTOMOBILES AND PEOPLE.

THIS MELEE OF MACHINES AND FLESH.

ED BASS: GRUEN'S SOLUTION FOR THE DOWNTOWN WAS ACTUALLY TO BUILD ABOUT FIVE SHOPPING MALLS, ALL OF THEM CRAMMED TOGETHER IN THE CITY.

VICTOR GRUEN: AM I TALKING ABOUT A DREAM?

GEOFFREY BAER: GRUEN'S DREAM REMAINED JUST THAT, AND FORT WORTH CONTINUED TO LANGUISH INTO THE 1970S.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE NEW SHINY THINGS IN FORT WORTH WEREN'T DOWNTOWN ANYMORE.

THEY WERE OUT IN THE SUBURBS.

ED BASS: THE DOWNTOWN WAS BEGINNING TO WILT AND DIE.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: ONE OF THE MOST VIBRANT HISTORICAL PARTS OF DOWNTOWN HAD BEEN DESTROYED, TORN DOWN, CONDEMNED THROUGH URBAN RENEWAL.

I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, IT GOT DEPRESSING.

ED BASS: AND WITH THEIR AUTOMOBILE, THEY FLED TO THE SPRAWL.

WHAT WE HAD WAS X-RATED BOOKSTORES AND REALLY SEEDY PLACES AND LITTLE BARS WHERE YOU FOUND WINOS, AND IT WAS REALLY PRETTY GRIM.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: THE GOOD NEWS IS THOUGH, I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO NOTICED.

GEOFFREY BAER: ED BASS MADE HIS FIRST BOLD MOVE TO TRY TO BRING DOWNTOWN BACK TO LIFE EVEN BEFORE HE MET DAVID SCHWARZ.

HE BUILT A COUNTER-CULTURE NIGHT CLUB AND PERFORMANCE SPACE IN FORT WORTH CALLED THE CARAVAN OF DREAMS THAT LEFT SOME IN TOWN SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: AND BOY HOWDY, IT WASN'T SUBTLE WHEN ED BASS OPENED THE CARAVAN OF DREAMS.

ED BASS: IT WAS A MUSIC CLUB.

IT WAS A RESTAURANT.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: A CACTUS GARDEN WITH NEON UNDER A GEODESIC DOME ON THE ROOF.

ED BASS: IT WAS A SMALL BLACK BOX THEATER.

AND ALL OF THESE ACTIVITIES TO BRING LEISURE TIME BUSINESS TRAFFIC INTO THIS DOWNTOWN.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: ED WAS IN IT FOR THE GOOD OF IT.

I DON'T KNOW IF HE WAS MAKING MONEY OR NOT.

GEOFFREY BAER: THE CARAVAN OF DREAMS DEBUTED WITH READINGS BY BEAT WRITER WILLIAM BURROUGHS.

WILLIAM BURROUGHS: HOW DO YOU GET TO BE A GOD?

TO PUT IT APPLE PIE COUNTRY SIMPLE, BY DOING YOUR JOB AND DOING IT WELL.

GEOFFREY BAER: AND THE HOMECOMING OF EXPERIMENTAL JAZZ MUSICIAN ORNETTE COLEMAN.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: THAT'S PRETTY WILD THINKING ANYWHERE, MUCH LESS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

GEOFFREY BAER: THESE TWO GLEAMING OFFICE TOWERS WERE BUILT AT AROUND THE SAME TIME AS THE CARAVAN OF DREAMS, NOT BY ED BASS, BUT BY HIS BROTHER SID.

IT WAS A MORE MAINSTREAM EFFORT AT DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT.

BUT SID SOON MOVED ON TO OTHER INTERESTS.

ED BASS: SID SAID, "I FIGURED OUT THIS REAL ESTATE STUFF'S NOT FOR ME.

"ED, YOU'RE INTERESTED IN IT.

"YOU TRAINED AS AN ARCHITECT.

DO YOU WANT TO JUST TAKE THIS ON?"

GEOFFREY BAER: ED AND HIS NEW ARCHITECT DAVID SCHWARZ BEGAN THEIR PLANS WITH THE BLOCK THAT WAS ALREADY HOME TO CARAVAN OF DREAMS.

DAVID SCHWARZ: IN THE CARAVAN OF DREAMS, HE BUILT A GROUP HOUSE IN WHICH HE HAD A ROOM.

THERE WAS A POINT IN WHICH HE DECIDED, I WANT AN APARTMENT.

AND WE DESIGNED THE BUILDING.

WE WERE PERFECTLY HAPPY WITH IT.

HE WAS PERFECTLY HAPPY WITH IT.

LIFE WAS GREAT.

GEOFFREY BAER: THEN ON DECEMBER 7, 1986 FATE INTERVENED.

DAVID SCHWARZ: AND THERE WAS A GAS EXPLOSION, AND THE GAS EXPLOSION WIPED OUT THE OTHER QUARTER OF THE BLOCK.

SO THE BUILDING GREW AGAIN.

GEOFFREY BAER: OUT OF THE RUINS ROSE THE RE-IMAGINED BUILDING, SUNDANCE WEST, WITH STOREFRONTS AND THE FIRST NEW DOWNTOWN APARTMENTS SINCE WORLD WAR II.

IN CONTRAST TO THE GLASS OFFICE TOWERS NEARBY, SUNDANCE WEST LOOKS MORE LIKE EARLIER BUILDINGS IN FORT WORTH.

SUNDANCE WEST WAS THE FIRST SMALL PIECE OF AN AMBITIOUS PLAN THAT WOULD OCCUPY SCHWARZ AND BASS FOR THE REST OF THEIR CAREERS.

ED BASS: AND SO WE BEGAN LOOKING AT MASTER PLANNING AND...

I THINK THAT WAS 1988.

GEOFFREY BAER: WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO DO WITH THIS URBAN PLAN?

DAVID SCHWARZ: TRYING TO CREATE A PLACE.

HIGHLIGHTING WHAT WERE THE BEST PARTS OF FORT WORTH, NOT TO CREATE DAVID SCHWARZVILLE.

OR ED BASSVILLE FOR THAT MATTER.

ED BASS: WE HAD THE STREETS, THE SIDEWALKS, THE STOREFRONTS.

WE HAD THE CORE OF AN AMERICAN TRADITIONAL CITY.

DAVID SCHWARZ: RATHER BEING A FARM FOR CARS WHERE CARS GROW ON ASPHALT, HOW DO YOU MAKE IT BACK INTO A CITY?

ED BASS: THE KEY TO EVERYTHING WE HAVE DONE IS BUILDING A PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT.

DAVID SCHWARZ: MY MISSION WAS TO SHOW THAT THE REASON TEXANS HADN'T WALKED WAS BECAUSE ARCHITECTS, DEVELOPERS AND PLANNERS HAD NOT GIVEN TEXANS PLACES WORTH WALKING.

AND THAT IF YOU GAVE PEOPLE PLACES THAT WERE NICE TO WALK AND PLEASANT TO BE IN, TEXANS WOULD WALK.

ED BASS: PEOPLE WOULD COME BECAUSE PEOPLE COME TO WHERE THEY FIND PEOPLE.

WE STARTED DOING ALL OF THIS STUFF JUST ON FAITH, WHEN YOU THINK OF IT.

AND I LOOK BACK ON IT AND I SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW... WE WERE SOMEWHAT NAïVE JUST TO LAUNCH INTO IT, BUT MY GOD, MUCH TO OUR AMAZEMENT, IT WORKS!

WE KIND OF LIKED THE IDEA THAT IF SOMEONE LOOKED AT OUR BUILDINGS TWENTY YEARS LATER, THEY WOULDN'T BE ALL THAT CLEAR AS TO WHEN OUR BUILDING WAS BUILT VERSUS ONE THAT WAS BUILT IN 1930.

DAVID SCHWARZ: GOOD DESIGNS SPEAKS TO EACH OTHER ACROSS TIME.

I THINK IT'S THIS INTERWEAVING OF TIME THAT HELPS US LOCATE OURSELVES IN THAT CONTINUUM.

ROBERT BRUEGEMANN: I THINK IT WASN'T TRYING TO BE A MUSEUM PIECE.

IT WAS TRYING TO KEEP THAT APPEARANCE, THAT FEEL OF THE TRADITIONAL CITY.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME PROVIDING WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE IT WORK IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

GEOFFREY BAER: BUT EVEN WHILE NEW BUILDINGS BY SCHWARZ AND BASS WERE RISING ALL AROUND DOWNTOWN, SOMETHING WAS MISSING.

THAT CENTRAL SQUARE.

WHEN SUNDANCE SQUARE OPENED IN 2013, SCHWARZ FELT THAT AT LONG LAST THE PLAN HAD COME TOGETHER.

DAVID SCHWARZ: TO ME, EVERYTHING WE DID WAS A DISJOINTED SERIES OF SENTENCES.

IT WAS WORDS THROWN ON A ...

SHAKEN UP IN A CANISTER AND THROWN ON A TABLE.

AND FINISHING IT MADE THEM ALL BECOME A BEAUTIFUL BOOK.

AND I DID NOT WANT TO QUIT UNTIL I WAS SURE IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL BOOK.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: AND WITHIN A MATTER OF YEARS THE CREATION OF SUNDANCE SQUARE WAS AFFIRMATION.

GEOFFREY BAER: THERE'S ONE NEW BUILDING BY SCHWARZ AND BASS THAT BOLDLY TRUMPETS ITS INDIVIDUALITY IN FORT WORTH.

BASS PERFORMANCE HALL.

IT'S A DRAMATIC DEPARTURE FROM THEIR OTHER BUILDINGS, WHICH BLEND SEAMLESSLY INTO THE CITY'S HISTORIC FABRIC.

DAVID SCHWARZ: WE PUT THIS BUILDING ON WHAT IS A TERTIARY BLOCK IN FORT WORTH, BUT WE STILL WANT IT TO BE QUITE VISIBLE.

THE ANGELS GIVE THE BUILDING A FIFTH FAçADE, SO THAT WHEN YOU'RE COMING FROM THE EAST OR COMING FROM THE WEST THE BUILDING IS EXTRAORDINARILY VISIBLE BECAUSE THE ANGELS PROJECT SO FAR OFF THE FACE OF THE BUILDING.

GEOFFREY BAER: YEAH, LEANING OUT OVER THE STREET, RIGHT.

DAVID SCHWARZ: AND THE TRUMPETS GO ALMOST HALFWAY ACROSS THE STREET.

ROBERT BRUEGMANN: YOU HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE EUROPEAN-STYLE PERFORMING HALL ALL IN STONE.

ED BASS: NO ONE LOOKS AT A PHOTOGRAPH OF BASS HALL AND DOESN'T RECOGNIZE WHAT IT IS, BECAUSE... ROBERT MILLER: SLIGHTLY OVER THE TOP TOUCH OF THE ANGELS.

ED BASS: CARVED FROM LIMESTONE ANGELS ON THE FAçADE.

ROBERT BRUEGMANN: THIS IS A BUILDING THAT'S MADE OUT OF MOSTLY REAL MATERIALS, AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO KNEW HOW TO HANDLE STONE AND HOW TO HANDLE THE MATERIALS IN A WAY THAT THEY PROBABLY WILL LAST FOR A HUNDRED YEARS.

GEOFFREY BAER: SO WHEN I COME IN A BUILDING LIKE THIS, THE FIRST THING I SAY IS "WOW!"

DAVID SCHWARZ: WELL I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED YOU TO DO.

ED BASS: OUR BOARD WAS VERY CLEAR IT WANTED A TRADITIONAL BUILDING.

BUT HE BEGAN TO WORK THROUGH A SERIES OF SKETCHES AND HE MADE VERSIONS GOING, YOU MIGHT SAY, ALMOST THROUGH TIME.

ONE OF THEM WAS BRICK AND STONE, A BUILDING THAT CLEARLY WOULD FIT WITHIN DOWNTOWN FORT WORTH'S BRICK TURN-OF-THE-LAST-CENTURY ARCHITECTURE.

HE CAME UP ALSO WITH ANOTHER BUILDING WHICH WAS LIMESTONE, AND HAD THIS WILD IDEA OF 48-FOOT-TALL CARVED ANGELS ON THE FAçADE.

DAVID AT FIRST COULDN'T QUITE EXPLAIN WHY THOSE ANGELS WERE THERE.

IT WAS KIND OF... WELL, THEY BELONG THERE.

VERY DARING THOUGH.

THAT BUILDING WAS VERY DARING.

DAVID SCHWARZ: HE AGREED TO PRESENT BOTH TO THE BOARD, LET THE BOARD CHOOSE WITHOUT PREJUDICING THE BOARD IN ANY WAY AS TO WHICH ONE HE PREFERRED.

AND THE BOARD CHOSE THIS ONE.

GEOFFREY BAER: SO WHO CAME UP WITH THIS ANGEL THEME?

DAVID SCHWARZ: THE ANGEL THEME I CAME UP WITH.

THERE WAS A PLATONIC DIALOGUE WHICH ASKED THE QUESTION AS TO WHETHER ART IS THE PRODUCT OF MEN OR WHETHER IT'S THE CREATION OF THE GODS.

AND THE CONCLUSION IS THAT ART IS THE CREATION OF THE GODS, AND IT'S BROUGHT TO MEN BY THE ANGELOS.

GEOFFREY BAER: THE ANGELS.

DAVID SCHWARZ: THE ANGELS.

SO THAT ANGELS BRING DIVINE INSPIRATION TO MAN TO DELIVER THE BEAUTY OF PERFORMANCE.

IN THIS CASE, TO THE CITY OF FORT WORTH.

ROBERT MILLER: IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS PEOPLE COME TO CITIES IS THAT...

THEY'RE ENTERTAINED AND EXCITED BY THE DREAMS THAT PEOPLE BUILD AND REBUILD AND REBUILD.

DAVID SCHWARZ: I THINK OUR WORK IN FORT WORTH CAPTURES BOTH OF OUR SPIRITS.

AND I THINK IT IS REFLECTIVE OF MY SPIRIT AND ED'S SPIRIT.

WITHOUT ONE OR THE OTHER IT WOULDN'T BE THE SAME.

GEOFFREY BAER: SCHWARZ'S SUCCESS IN TEXAS HAS LED TO HIGH-PROFILE COMMISSIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY INCLUDING SPORTS FACILITIES... A MUSEUM... AND CONCERT HALLS.

AND HIS PASSION FOR PEDESTRIANISM HAS GONE FROM FORT WORTH TO A SERIES OF SMALL TOWNS PLANNED FROM THE GROUND UP, LIKE SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS.

DAVID SCHWARZ: THE REASON WE DID IT IS BECAUSE WE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE URBANIZATION OF TEXAS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.

CREATING A PLACE IN TEXAS WHERE PEOPLE WOULD WALK WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.

GEOFFREY BAER: SO WHAT WAS HERE BEFORE YOU STARTED BUILDING ALL OF THIS?

FRANK BLISS: THIS WAS A FARM.

"BACK TO THE FUTURE" DEFINED THE ORIGINAL IDEA BEHIND HOW WE MIGHT LOOK AT THIS.

THAT FIRST "BACK TO THE FUTURE" MOVIE.

GEOFFREY BAER: "BACK TO THE FUTURE?"

FRANK BLISS: THERE'S THE CITY HALL AND THE CLOCK TOWER AND THE ICE CREAM SHOP AND THE KIDS AND THE, THE PARK.

DAVID SCHWARZ: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN HIGHLY FAULTED FOR AT TIMES IS OUR WORK AT PLACES LIKE SOUTHLAKE, WHERE PEOPLE REFER TO YOU AS A PASTICHE.

WELL MAYBE IT IS.

I DON'T THINK SO BUT... GEOFFREY BAER: WHAT DO THEY MEAN BY PASTICHE?

DAVID SCHWARZ: JUST A COLLECTION OF DIFFERENT CARTOONS OF BUILDINGS PASTED TOGETHER.

UM... GEOFFREY BAER: YOU DON'T THINK SO?

DAVID SCHWARZ: I DON'T THINK SO.

THE ARCHITECTURE IS VERY CAUTIOUS.

THE ARCHITECTURE IS TO PROMOTE COMFORT.

THE ARCHITECTURE IS MEANT TO MAKE A PLACE FEEL COMFORTABLE AND FAMILIAR, BECAUSE WE WANT THEM TO GO THERE.

WE WANT THEM TO USE IT.

ROBERT MILLER: IT'S NOT A THEME PARK.

IT'S A REAL PLACE WHERE PEOPLE DO THINGS.

FRANK BLISS: IT'S ALL FIT WITHIN A STORY, AND DAVID IS SO AMAZING AT CREATING THESE ENVIRONMENTS THAT LOOK LIVED IN AND YET ARE FRESH EVERY DAY.

JOE NICK PATOSKI: IT'S TAKEN AN ARCHITECT FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. TO NOT ONLY SHOW US WHAT OUR PAST WAS, BUT TO RECREATE IT IN A NEW CONTEXT.

SO HE'S MADE THE NEW LOOK OLD AND GIVEN US A SENSE OF PLACE IN HISTORY.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] NARRATOR: MAJOR FUNDING FOR "STREET SMARTS: ARCHITECT DAVID M. SCHWARZ" IS PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM THE RICHARD H. DRIEHAUS CHARITABLE LEAD TRUST.