A Populist Architect Puts His Personal Stamp on Texas : Design: The Ballpark in Arlington is the latest high-profile creation of prolific David Schwarz, whose work is ubiquitous in Fort Worth.

ARLINGTON, Texas — David Schwarz talks his way into every corner of the Ballpark in Arlington, wearing a small ID badge and pronouncing confidently, “Hi, I’m your friendly local architect.”

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Although guards look twice at Schwarz’s ensemble of navy pin-stripe suit and Teva sandals, it’s clear he feels right at home at the new stadium.

He should--he designed it, down to the details of baseball lamps on top and stylized longhorn steer heads adorning the exterior.

“It still feels pretty neat to be here,” he said during a recent visit. “This has really turned out very much the way I wanted it to be.”

The Ballpark, Schwarz’s most famous creation, enjoyed national attention during the All-Star game July 11. Other examples of his work have also helped him make his mark on the region and land him projects in other big cities. They’ve also earned him criticism from some architects who dismiss his work as “kitsch.”

In addition to the Ballpark, dedicated this past April, Schwarz has taken on several projects in downtown Fort Worth, from the performing arts center now under construction, to redesigning the five-star Worthington Hotel, to Sundance West, an apartment, retail and cinema development.

He also created the whimsical but functional Cook-Fort Worth Children’s Medical Center, with its Pooh character topiary, tick-tack-toe grillwork and interior design that resembles a castle in Easter egg colors.

“Fort Worth has almost become Schwarz’s town, I mean literally. The symphony hall, the library, the downtown stuff at Sundance, the ballpark--someone will say 40 years from now, you want to see Schwarz’s work, go to Fort Worth,” said Lawrence Connolly, a Midland, Texas, architect, has written about Schwarz’s designs for “Texas Architect” magazine.

Some local architects contend that Schwarz--who actually is based in Washington--dominates the plum jobs in Fort Worth because he is a favorite of the wealthy, influential Bass family.

“He is I think the envy of a lot of architects to have such a patron in the Basses,” Connolly said, adding that Schwarz “in essence removed them as a potential client for the local folks.”

Others criticize his work itself.

“I don’t think Mr. Schwarz is a serious architect,” said Jay Henry, a professor of architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington who is critical of the Ballpark.

“They had an opportunity to do something significant architecturally,” Henry said. “They chose to build a piece of kitsch.”

But Schwarz, 44, said he feels no such local resentment. Those who criticize his buildings dislike the sense of wit he tries to build into them, he said

“I wasn’t really concerned whether this ballpark got critical acclaim, which is why I wasn’t so concerned about its being called kitsch. What I was concerned about is whether the people who came to use it liked it. They love it,” he said. “What’s important to me is to do buildings that are familiar to people and last.”

Fort Worth architect Martin Growald said he finds Schwarz “absolutely terrific” to work with. “For the life of me I couldn’t think of a negative thing to say about him or his work,” he said.

“I wish for the sake of all people everywhere that all architects were as sensitive and as talented as Mr. Schwarz. The world would be an amazing place,” Growald said. “Any human that can produce more of these rare buildings I think is a miracle.”

Some criticism from other architects may reflect a tension between contrasting architectural styles. Schwarz’s work--which he describes as “neo-eclectic”--is consistently fond of the historical, familiar and user-friendly. On the other hand, some architects embrace a more adventurous and sophisticated modernism, such as that seen in the works of I.M. Pei, who has built some of the best-known buildings in nearby Dallas.

Because Schwarz uses familiar forms, “the public has a pretty uniform acceptance of whatever he does,” Connolly said.

“The sensibility he promotes is familiar, and I suppose there is a bone in most architects’ bodies that would like to be a little more inventive,” he said.

Schwarz, who calls himself a Populist architect, said he is motivated by how people interact with his creations and their comfort. “Largely what I do is try to make places for people,” he said.

“My work draws heavily on tradition and history, and it tries to combine familiar forms to make something new,” he said. “My buildings, as I say, try and draw on enough of a collective memory so that they can become personal to everybody.”

The Ballpark, in particular, integrates perceived virtues from other well-known parks.

Schwarz said his buildings also draw heavily on their contexts, and he has tried to make his work fit with the rich histories of Washington and Fort Worth.

Schwarz grew up in California, graduated from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., and earned a master’s degree in architecture at Yale. He spent three years interning with New York firms before striking out on his own in Washington in 1977.

Among other projects, Schwarz now is consulting with the Chicago Bears on replacing Soldier Field and is designing a ballpark in Orlando, Fla. He recently won, but resigned from, a project to build a Triple A ballpark in Oklahoma City. He also has built houses ranging in price from $250,000 to $25 million.

Thirty-five people work in Schwarz’s office, but the architect said he has “not the vaguest” idea how much money he or his company make a year. He does say he has other business ventures that help him pursue architecture.

“All I know is that somebody in my office tells me when I don’t have enough money and when I do. I’m not very focused on those kinds of issues,” Schwarz said.

“I’m not a man of master plans. I think if you have a good time, are good to people and lead a good life and are loyal to your friends and clients . . . you get what you give. And I try and give well and make the best of what I get,” he said.