David M. Schwarz

Modern Furniture

It was only a turn of fate that David M. Schwarz became an architect at all. Having started his own practice (in his own words “too early”), with little success, he realized his dream of becoming an architect was as good as over and had all but given up hope. However, a chance encounter with a friend gave him an ‘eleventh hour’ second chance, when he was offered a project by the friends’ boyfriend. His career is now considered remarkable, and his architectural practice is established having received awards from a wide range of organizations, including the American Institute of Architects and the Art Deco Society of Washington.

Prior to this success, Mr. Schwarz received his B.A. at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, and Master of Architecture at Yale University. He also earned a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science from Humboldt State University.  As founder and CEO of David M Schwarz Architectural Services, Inc., Washington, DC and Fort Worth, TX, he now has over thirteen years of design, planning and landscape construction success.

“…It really is being exacting in your principles and sticking to them, even when it’s hard, that makes it possible to have real success”, explains David.

His environmental sciences background is a key in the development of site-specific landscapes that involve slope and soil stabilization, habitat restoration, and new vegetative management. His strength lies in his ability to focus on developing spaces that are artistic, suited to the client’s needs, and responsive to the surrounding environment.

Perhaps his most iconic project, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center of Nashville is personification of Schwarz’s signature style, being wonderfully classic, with a modern twist.

In describing his philosophy of design, Schwarz explains, “Our architecture is what would have happened if modernism hadn’t happened. But modernism did happen”.

”We set out to create what we call the appropriate neoclassicism for 21st century Nashville,” says Schwarz ”The building and all its details are a lot less serious, a lot lighter, a lot friendlier, a lot less imposing than straightforward neoclassicism from, say, the 19th or early 20th centuries.”

One of the more interesting features of the 197,000 square-foot, 1,872-seat concert hall is the enormous amount of indirect daylight. Not normally found in performance spaces, after touring concert halls worldwide, in particular Vienna’s Musikverein, Schwarz decided natural light was an important element to include in the interior. Innovative features include a convertible seating system designed to give the hall unique versatility.

Schwarz describes Schermerhorn as “the most classically inspired building we’ve ever done’’

Another classic design with incredible scope and utilization of space is the Dr Pepper Ballpark. Following its construction in 2003, the Dr Pepper Ballpark received the Texas Construction award for Best Architectural Design for 2003 and the surrounding sports complex received the Best Sports and Entertainment award.

Schwarz had a stated goal of creating a “park within a (ball)park” in the stadium. Nine interconnected pavilions, where concessions, restrooms, and luxury suites are located, are built separately from the main seating area.

The concourse area, between the pavilions and the seating area, wraps completely around the ballpark featuring 360-degree views.

His Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex features “Florida Picturesque” architecture, with tall towers and seemingly endless archways in the field house and baseball stadium.

Other projects include the Tarrant County Family Law Center which is historically suggestive in design, and the Bass Hall critically acclaimed as “the last great hall built this century”, and voted by Travel and Leisure Magazine as one of the Top 10 best opera houses in the world.

Within his firm, Schwarz’s primary responsibility is that of director of design. In this capacity, he leads, orchestrates and reviews the design process of all the firm’s projects. . He is frequently asked to create unique, custom furniture to complement the firm’s interiors.  Fine detailing, rich materials and a high level of craft identify Schwarz’s furniture projects, which have ranged from the straightforward, such as a highly-detailed, inlaid buffet of arts and crafts inspiration with an imaginative and protective floating glass top; to the technically adept, such as an art deco-inspired oval loggia table.  The table can be folded in half lengthwise to be set against the wall and contains custom fabricated hinges and a device which automatically centers the half-top over the base, allowing the tabletop to convert between full oval and half-oval without sacrificing center of gravity.  He has also explored modern elements in furniture design, such as a custom freestanding medicine cabinet and stool of stainless steel and glass.  The variety and range in style, inspiration and material realize his vision, regardless of scope or scale.

Schwarz is committed to teaching and, participating at university level and lecturing to the public.  He currently serves as Chairman of the Dean’s Council for the Yale School of Architecture, and serves on the Board of Overseers for the Corcoran Gallery of Art, located in Washington, DC.

Coop Himmelblau – commercial and residential architectural

Coop Himmelblau is a cooperative architectural design firm which was located in Vienna Austria. This award winning post-modernist group of creatives was founded by Wolf Prix, and Helmut Swiczinsky.  These architects are very famous for partaking in the 1988 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art called “Deconstrucitvist Architecture.”  That show, which is now three decades old change the way we view commercial and residential architectural projects and the post modernist influence of this cooperative dots landscapes all over the world. 

Coop Himmelblau now also maintains offices in Los Angeles in the U.S. and in Guadalajara, Mexico. The name means “heaven construction” in German and in English translates to 
 

mean “sky blue.”  The coop is not like “chicken coop” but rather the abbreviation for the work cooperative. 

If the building seems crooked, twisted or missing a few beams or if it seems a bit out of perspective or balancing magically with no support than it is probably is designed by someone from Coop Himmelblau or by someone who has been influenced by Wolf Prix, Michael Holzer or Helmut Swiczinsky. 

A very famous building is the UFA-Palaste in Dresden which looks like a giant pointed quartz crystal extending out of the side of the building. The construction is made of hundreds of facets of window paned glass and  

looks like it is naturally growing out of the building. 

Yet another very famous piece of architecture designed by the Coop Himmelblau is the Gasometer building in Vienna, which looks like a thin, bent stick of gum with balconies running up the side. It is one of the narrowest buildings in the world. 

Another signature building is the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, which has a beautiful deconstructed roof.  It literally looks like a bomb has dropped on top of the building and the beams fixed together in an artistic jumble. 

This team of famous designers has been together for a good part of the last century. Wolf Dieter Prix was born in 1942 in Vienna. Helmut Swiczinsky was born in 1944 in Poznan, Poland. They formed Co-op Himmelblau in 
 

Vienna in 1968 as an alternative and creative approach to architecture.  

The sketeches that the buildings are created from are very free form and are intended to be gestural and free from the restrictions of formalism. The intent is creating open minded free spaces that are undefined, interesting and complex. 

From out of this process came a trend for designing buildings that are almost entirely made out of panes of glass. A very good example of this is the Skygarden building in their hometown of Vienna which is 25 stories of leveled 

glass. Along with experimenting with the look of glass the cooperative has also been experimenting with the passive heat and cooling systems that can be developed for a building that has such a façade.  Another reason for paying attention to this element has been to develop “gardens in the sky” that can be cultivated by humans who before this time in history had to be happy residing in dwellings on the ground. The concept behind the firm named Himmelblua is to literally uplift mankind into the sky with the use of architecture. 

If the firm is known for anything it is also its theoretical process of designing buildings.  Everything that manifests from Coop Himmelblau begins with many long conversations that re eventually transformed into drawings.  Coop Himmelblau is so famous just for it’s concepts that sometimes simply the plans for a project are exhibited at a famous gallery museum. 

This team has won many awards including two American Architecture Awards for the Chicago Athenaeum in Illinois and the Akron Art Museum in Ohio.  

One of the most interesting things about this firm is that their vision is still creative yet it has never changed. The influence of Coop Himmelblau is absolutely seminal and their designs are taught as a primer in basic deconstructivism in every university or college that is devoted to design in the world.

Modern designer chairs:

Barcelona chair |
Rod Arad Tom Vac chair |
Azumi Lem Piston Stool |
Bellini chair |
Arco Armchair |
Bertoia Side Chair |
Bertoia diamond lounge chair |
Breuer Wassily chair |
Eames Molded plastic armchair |
Eames Molded plastic side chair |
Eames Molded plywood chair |
Arne Jacobsen Series 7 chair |
Knoll chair |
Panton chair |
Saarinen Tulip Armless chair |
Starck Louis Ghost Chair |
Toledo chair |
Zig zag chair |
Marcel Wanders chair

Modern Furniture

A bedroom that looks and feels good
Is your bedroom an inviting oasis of relaxation? Or does it look more like a storage unit, a veritable wasteland of clutter, dirty clothes, dirty dishes and kid’s toys.

If your room is the latter and you’re finding it increasingly more difficult to find the bed when it’s time for bed, you may want to consider giving your bedroom a well-deserved makeover.

With just a few changes, some hard decision making and some tough love, you can transform you bedroom into everything you ever dreamed it should be. And it’s easier than you think.

Start with the basics

First, your bedroom is not a storage facility. If things in the room do not contribute to relaxation, enhance the beauty, add space or provide some entertainment, get rid of it. Pack it up, move it to another room or put it in the garage or trash. If you like to watch a little television before calling it a night, consider getting an armoire to hide it away when it’s not in use. If you’re an avid reader, make sure your nightstands have a drawer so you can put your book or magazine away, along with your glasses. If you love the latest fashions, add more dressers, wardrobes and a closet organizer to the room. Finally, get a hamper for the dirty clothes so you’re not tempted to leave them wherever they fall. As they say, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.”

Add furniture to the mix

Now that your room is clear of clutter, it’s time to add beauty and charm to the space. Start by looking at your furnishings. Do they have the same style or at least complement one another? Are there pieces that should be moved out to make way for others? Does the style of your furniture match your tastes? For example, if you have a love of modern or contemporary furnishings, why do you continue to hold on to that monster of an oak four-poster? Creating a cohesive or at least complementary look is essential to promoting relaxation and a sound sleep. As you review your bedroom’s needs, consider the space you have to work with as well. If you are in desperate need of another dresser, do you really need the California King or can you do with a Queen bed instead? This is not the time to be in denial. Once a piece of furniture is purchased, it tends to stay with you for a long time, so you want to choose carefully and deliberately. Nothing is more maddening than creating a bedroom retreat where the

furniture is so big you can’t make it to the bathroom without stubbing a toe or cracking an elbow.

Think of your future storage needs

The old adage, “stuff expands to fill the space available” is certainly true in the bedroom. Fashions change seasonally and what’s hot now may not be next year. So clothing and footwear seems to multiply as the years pass, even though storage remains the same. Here’s a couple ways to gain space in your bedroom without knocking out a wall or doing a major remodel. First, choose furniture that offers maximum storage. A platform bed with space or drawers underneath provides a surprising amount of additional storage without adding to the overall furniture footprint. The same is true with dressers. A nightstand with drawers is a better choice than one with a single open shelf. Several highboys take up the same space as a low dresser, but offer two to three times the space. The same is true of a lingerie chest. A shoulder height lingerie chest offers more storage than a Queen Anne dresser for your unmentionables.

When you’re evaluating the space you need to store your clothing, don’t ever think you have enough. It’s far better to have a few nearly empty drawers for a few years than to have drawers so tightly packed that you have to struggle to get them open in the morning. Nothing puts the damper on a day than getting a black eye from a bra strap that got caught on the back of an overstuffed drawer.

Don’t go it alone – ask an expert

A well-designed bedroom doesn’t happen by accident. If you’re not comfortable with doing it yourself, there are lots of good resources out there. The Internet has sites devoted entirely to the subject of interior and bedroom design. Another good source is a reputable furniture retailer. Because they deal with design, style and fashion at every turn, these experts can help you create a bedroom that meets your needs perfectly. They can also provide you with good advice about colors, materials and fabrics so you can mix and match with ease and confidence.

Living Room Furniture:

Modern Living Room Furniture |
New Style Living Room Furniture |
rectangular venetian mirror |
New Design Living Room Furniture