Opening the Drugstore Window
Drugstores are turning their back on the communities that at one time were their greatest patrons. Once the heart of Main Street and the core of the community, the pharmacy, with its soda fountain and lunch counter, used to anchor our neighborhoods–and, indeed, even much of our social lives. The news that was heard, the … Continue reading
In Honoring the Past, a New Future for DC Public Schools
From the time of its founding, the DC public school system has pretty much always been both a proving ground for education and a demonstration of the power that architecture holds to enhance student experience and success. Today, the District is in the middle of an ambitious plan to upgrade and modernize its schools. DC’s … Continue reading
Places We Love
In honor of Valentine’s Day, we talked with our staff about buildings, places and spaces we love. Sometimes our love comes from an appreciation of the form of a place, while others times it comes from something a little more intangible. From parks to monuments, cathedrals to dry cleaners (yes, dry cleaners), here below are some of … Continue reading
What Makes a Good Client?
The most successful architecture is the result of a strong relationship based on mutual respect between the client and the architect. Great clients make great architecture. So what makes a great client? We believe four elements are essential. Good Students Just as the best architects are good students of client interests and objectives, so, too, … Continue reading
Designing from the Hospital Bed
As David M. Schwarz Architects embarks on the master planning and design of yet another significant phase of Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Tex. – a project we’ve been allied with since 1985 –DMSAS principal Craig Williams shares with his colleagues the musings accumulated during a collection of summertime hospital visits. While this … Continue reading
Building with Gingerbread: Five Keys to Creating Successful Structures
The exercise of imagination comes with no rules attached. There is no manual and no blueprint for creating the whimsical confectionery constructions of the seventh annual Gingertown celebration. However, when participating in this year’s ambition to fashion a university campus out of gingerbread, licorice whips, gumdrops, and icing, our colleagues, fellow design professionals, and other friends … Continue reading
On Casinos: A Lesson in Urbanism from Las Vegas
Casino. The word evokes a visceral reaction for most. But embrace them or despise them, casinos are no longer an exotically rare commodity confined to Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, and a few remote tribal properties. Casinos more and more are becoming an urban phenomenon. And as more casinos spring up, it’s more important to … Continue reading
DC Libraries and the Need for Visual Literacy
Books are under attack. In a world of Internet access and e-readers, the pages that live between tangible covers have never been more threatened. So it’s more important than ever that our libraries offer more than shelves. Like other good civic architecture, libraries must be fundamental pillars of society. Further, they must encourage knowledge and … Continue reading
When is a Model Worth a Million Pixels?
In this age of computer generated 3D renderings, most architecture firms have come to regard physical model making as an old-school, outdated tool – no longer worthy of a contemporary design process. We’re not talking about formal presentation models here, but rather the “working” models, usually white and made of foam core, that are such … Continue reading
Parchment 
Ten Buildings That Changed DC
Posted by dmsarchitects on June 13, 2013 · 6 Comments
PBS recently aired an ambitious documentary presuming to tell us about the “Ten Buildings that Changed America.” After what may have been a tortuous consideration of which ten should be the ten, the producers settled on selections that ranged from Albert Kahn’s commissions for Henry Ford in Highland Park, Mich., to Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert … Continue reading →
Category Commentary, Design · Tagged with architecture, Dc, design, DMSAS, Washington