Frederic Schwartz
Encyclopedia
Frederic Schwartz is an American architect
, author, and city planner whose work includes "Empty Sky
," the New Jersey
9-11 Memorial, scheduled to be dedicated in Liberty State Park
on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
A recipient of the prestigious Rome Prize
in Architecture, Schwartz -- "for his dedication to using architecture to heal New York" -- is included in the New York Hall of Fame, an organization created to "honor remarkable New Yorkers who have contributed to the betterment of the city" and who serve as "role models for children." He was honored by First Lady
Laura Bush
at the 2003 White House
National Design Awards
ceremony.
, where he was born. He grew up in Plainview
, where he watched the construction of new houses, one after the other, in what had been potato fields on the eastern edge of Nassau County
--and it was there that he began to build his "first houses," using discarded refrigerator boxes.
A graduate of Berkeley
(A.B., Architecture, 1973) and Harvard (Master of Architecture, 1978), he has taught architectural design at Harvard, Yale
, Penn
, Columbia
and Princeton
, and has lectured extensively in America, Europe, China
and India. He is the author of three books on architecture. He is on the Advisory Board of Creative Cities, a group of architects with a stated mission of "putting culture and community at the heart of urban planning.
Schwartz is the Owner and Founder of Frederic Schwartz Architects, in New York City. Prior to beginning his own firm, he had worked at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and then at Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown. He still regrets that one project on which he worked, a park planned to be located on top of the Hudson River landfill through which the Westway highway was to run, was never created. Without that park, he says, "a whole generation of children lost a place to play."
Schwartz's love for New York drove his decision to locate his firm in SoHo
, a neighborhood he "absolutely loves" -- and where (in a 2008 interview) he said he could enjoy a view from his window that included the World Trade Center, the Woolworth Building
, New York Harbor
, the Chrysler Building
, and the Empire State Building
. His office is located in an open studio setting, where he can "teach and nurture," as well as manage. Still drawing with a pen, he has stated that a "good day" for him is one that ends up with "a lot of ink on my hands."
Schwartz is well known as "an activist and a humanist whose architectural career has been dedicated to some of America's (and the world's) most visible waterfront projects." In addition to the $200 million Staten Island Ferry Terminal and Peter Minuit Park, he was the Project Director for Architecture and Planning of the four mile (6 km) long, 100 acre (0.404686 km²), $2.6 billion Westway State Park, the San Diego Harbor
front Master Plan, the Singapore Harbor
Master Plan, and the Master Plan for the Shanghai World Expo 2010
along four miles (6 km) of the Huang Pu River." Schwartz's work has won him and his firm numerous national and international awards and design competitions, including the prestigious Rome Prize
in Architecture.
Schwartz's efforts in many areas are based on the goal of "green" affordable housing, including his work with the Housing Authority of Ghana on a joint public-private initiative to address the nation's affordable housing shortage through the design of modular pre-fabricated "green" housing for ten new towns with populations of approximately 20,0000 residents each.
After the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center
, he founded the internationally renowned THINK Team
, an international group of architects selected to master plan and re-imagine Ground Zero
, that was runner-up for Innovative Master Planning at the World Trade Center. In a report on this initiative, The New York Times
described Schwartz as: "The Man Who Dared the City to THINK Again," and used his ideas as the framework for its “Think Big” Planning Study on the first anniversary of 9/11.
In 2010, Schwartz appeared in the documentary, "Saving Lieb House," the story of the efforts of world-renowned architects Robert Venturi
and Denise Scott Brown
to save the house (called "an iconic pop-art creation" and a "masterpiece of abstract modern design") from its scheduled demolition." The twenty-five minute film recounts how the home, built in the late 60s, was first slated for demolition by a developer who wanted to clear the area for new construction, but was ultimately saved by the dedication of a small group that was able to move it on a two-day journey by barge from Loveladies, New Jersey
, to Long Island, New York.
Whitehall Terminal, which included the new two-acre Peter Minuit Plaza in Lower Manhattan
. The terminal accommodates over 100,000 tourists and commuters on a daily basis (for transportation open 24 hours a day), and the new design establishes the terminal as a major integrated transportation hub, connecting it with a new South Ferry subway station with access to four subway lines, three bus lines, and taxis. Additionally, through the Terminal and Minuit Plaza, access to bicycle lanes and even other water transport options are also available.
A "gateway to the city," set against the backdrop of Manhattan's greatest buildings on one side and the river on the other, the design was created to imbue the terminal "with a strong sense of civic presence." In his remarks at the terminal's February 7, 2005, dedication, Mayor Michael Bloomberg
stated that "You can walk into this spectacular terminal day or night and feel like you're part of the city ... (the terminal) is a continuation of what you feel on the ferry ... in a sense you are suspended over the water." Described as "an elegant addition to [the] city's architecture," a 2005 Newsday
writer called it a transit hub that is so beautiful that it has become a "destination": with "the panorama of lower Manhattan from the top of the escalators, the vast windows framing the Statue of Liberty, the upstairs deck with views of the harbor -- these are reasons to take shelter here for a little longer than the ferry schedule makes strictly necessary."
Schwartz and his team became the lead planners for District 4, the district that includes the "largest concentration of public housing in the city" (Iberville, St. Bernard, Lafitte, and B. W. Cooper), and according to Schwartz he "made every effort to involve the residents and the community in the planning effort," while ensuring that the design of the new housing "could maintain the look and feel of surrounding neighborhoods with a mix of both modern interpretation of historic typologies and new urbanist models."
Schwartz has called much of his work a "Robin Hood practice," taking profits from some of his more profitable work so that he can work on the projects he feels can really "help people." He credits much of his dedication to charitable work to his parents, who taught him, he says, "the lessons of giving and working hard." In a 2008 interview he stated that "My mother is 85 years old and she drives a half hour to read to someone who is blind. She is still helping people, and to me that is heroic."
, he was deeply affected by the tragedy. "I live ten blocks from the Trade Center.... I saw it. I heard it," he has said. He was convinced that architecture could be one way to help heal the city, and the survivors, in the aftermath of those attacks.
Schwartz has recounted that as he "had to cope with the absence of the towers day after day from his desk," he did what he could to create a discussion about larger issues and "fundamental questions": at such "important junctures in history," "how do architects act as caretakers during times of chaos, crisis, exodus, and change? Why and who do we rebuild for?"
Schwartz and the "THINK Team" that he created to help create a public debate that went beyond the confines of the memorial to the larger question of a new Lower Manhattan, ultimately did complete the design for the Manhattan 9-11 memorial that was chosen by the Memorial Commission, but the commission's recommendation was overruled by then-governor George Pataki
, who chose another firm for the job.
The design created by Schwartz and his team was based on the idea of replacing the World Trade Center with a "World Culture Center," in the form of a vertical complex of educational and cultural buildings, including a concert hall, conference center, library, and an "interpretive museum" focused on the events of September 11. The design included two steel lattice frameworks that would stand in the same approximate locations as the original towers, but not touch the original "footprints" of the old towers in a show of respect for the "sacral dimension" of the site.
Although this was not the design ultimately chosen, the concept received a good deal of praise, including this description in a New York Times "Design Review" article:
However, after narrowly missing his chance to create the Manhattan memorial, Schwartz did go on to win the international competitions for two other 9/11 memorials, in New Jersey State
and Westchester County, New York
.
The Westchester memorial, "The Rising
," was awarded the 2007 Faith and Form Sacred Landscape Award. The Interfaith Journal on Religion, Art, and Architecture describes the memorial as one that "invites families and visitors to look back in memory of their loved ones and look forward as a community," providing "a place for prayer and reflection."
The New Jersey State September 11 memorial, "Empty Sky," is scheduled to be dedicated on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the attacks. It will stand in Liberty State Park
, along the Hudson River
, across from the site of Ground Zero
. It was selected by unanimous vote of the Family and Survivors Memorial Committee, from 320 designs submitted.
(previously called Madras International Airport), Chennai, India. Teaming up with Gensler USA and the Creative Group in India, Schwartz's group is working on a project that will include new domestic and international terminals, two 1200 car parking garages, and new airport roads. The airport will be unique because of the incorporation of two lush and sustainable gardens, visible through towering glass walls throughout the terminals, creating a "dialogue" between the exterior and interior spaces. The project will allow rain water to be delivered through the design of the terminal's hovering 300 meter-long wing-like roofs (which fold downward to form the walls of the gardens) to a series of cisterns and tunnels, where it will be stored for use as irrigation during the dry season. The "sculptural" folding green roof of the new parking garage along with the views of the garden will welcome travelers with a "green gateway" in both rainy and dry seasons.
The airport is currently the third busiest airport in India, after Mumbai
and Delhi
, with more than 25 different operating airlines using the facility, and is also the second largest cargo hub in India, after Mumbai. With the $750 million dollar renovation and expansion, the goal is to increase annual passenger capacity from 10 million to 30 million. Upon completion, Chennai will be India's "greenest airport" because of its sustainable technology, and the most modern airport in all of South Asia
.
, China. His numerous other noteworthy projects include:
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, author, and city planner whose work includes "Empty Sky
Empty Sky (9-11 memorial)
Empty Sky is the official New Jersey September 11 memorial to the state's victims of the September 11 attacks on the United States. It is located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City at the mouth of Hudson River across from the World Trade Center site...
," the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
9-11 Memorial, scheduled to be dedicated in Liberty State Park
Liberty State Park
Liberty State Park is located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, opposite the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations and is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.-Geography and...
on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
A recipient of the prestigious Rome Prize
Rome Prize
The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists...
in Architecture, Schwartz -- "for his dedication to using architecture to heal New York" -- is included in the New York Hall of Fame, an organization created to "honor remarkable New Yorkers who have contributed to the betterment of the city" and who serve as "role models for children." He was honored by First Lady
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
at the 2003 White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
National Design Awards
National Design Awards
The National Design Awards, founded in 2000, is funded and awarded by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. There are seven official design categories, and three additional awards...
ceremony.
Life and work
Schwartz was born in New York, where he continues to live and work. He once designed a community center about ten blocks away from the site in Jamaica, QueensJamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
, where he was born. He grew up in Plainview
Plainview, New York
Plainview is a hamlet located on Long Island in the town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, USA. The population of the CDP as of 2010 was 26,217. The Plainview post office has the ZIP code 11803....
, where he watched the construction of new houses, one after the other, in what had been potato fields on the eastern edge of Nassau County
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
--and it was there that he began to build his "first houses," using discarded refrigerator boxes.
A graduate of Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(A.B., Architecture, 1973) and Harvard (Master of Architecture, 1978), he has taught architectural design at Harvard, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Penn
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and has lectured extensively in America, Europe, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and India. He is the author of three books on architecture. He is on the Advisory Board of Creative Cities, a group of architects with a stated mission of "putting culture and community at the heart of urban planning.
Schwartz is the Owner and Founder of Frederic Schwartz Architects, in New York City. Prior to beginning his own firm, he had worked at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and then at Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown. He still regrets that one project on which he worked, a park planned to be located on top of the Hudson River landfill through which the Westway highway was to run, was never created. Without that park, he says, "a whole generation of children lost a place to play."
Schwartz's love for New York drove his decision to locate his firm in SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
, a neighborhood he "absolutely loves" -- and where (in a 2008 interview) he said he could enjoy a view from his window that included the World Trade Center, the Woolworth Building
Woolworth Building
The Woolworth Building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in New York City. More than a century after the start of its construction, it remains, at 57 stories, one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City...
, New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
, the Chrysler Building
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
, and the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
. His office is located in an open studio setting, where he can "teach and nurture," as well as manage. Still drawing with a pen, he has stated that a "good day" for him is one that ends up with "a lot of ink on my hands."
Schwartz is well known as "an activist and a humanist whose architectural career has been dedicated to some of America's (and the world's) most visible waterfront projects." In addition to the $200 million Staten Island Ferry Terminal and Peter Minuit Park, he was the Project Director for Architecture and Planning of the four mile (6 km) long, 100 acre (0.404686 km²), $2.6 billion Westway State Park, the San Diego Harbor
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
front Master Plan, the Singapore Harbor
Port of Singapore
The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade handling functions in Singapore's harbours and which handle Singapore's shipping...
Master Plan, and the Master Plan for the Shanghai World Expo 2010
Expo 2010
Expo 2010, officially Expo 2010 Shanghai China was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in the city of Shanghai, China, from May 1 to October 31, 2010. It was a major World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions, the first since 1992...
along four miles (6 km) of the Huang Pu River." Schwartz's work has won him and his firm numerous national and international awards and design competitions, including the prestigious Rome Prize
Rome Prize
The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists...
in Architecture.
Schwartz's efforts in many areas are based on the goal of "green" affordable housing, including his work with the Housing Authority of Ghana on a joint public-private initiative to address the nation's affordable housing shortage through the design of modular pre-fabricated "green" housing for ten new towns with populations of approximately 20,0000 residents each.
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, he founded the internationally renowned THINK Team
THINK Team
THINK Team was a team of architects that developed a design for the rebuilding of ground zero of the New York City World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks....
, an international group of architects selected to master plan and re-imagine Ground Zero
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
, that was runner-up for Innovative Master Planning at the World Trade Center. In a report on this initiative, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described Schwartz as: "The Man Who Dared the City to THINK Again," and used his ideas as the framework for its “Think Big” Planning Study on the first anniversary of 9/11.
In 2010, Schwartz appeared in the documentary, "Saving Lieb House," the story of the efforts of world-renowned architects Robert Venturi
Robert Venturi
Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. is an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major figures in the architecture of the twentieth century...
and Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown, is an architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia...
to save the house (called "an iconic pop-art creation" and a "masterpiece of abstract modern design") from its scheduled demolition." The twenty-five minute film recounts how the home, built in the late 60s, was first slated for demolition by a developer who wanted to clear the area for new construction, but was ultimately saved by the dedication of a small group that was able to move it on a two-day journey by barge from Loveladies, New Jersey
Loveladies, New Jersey
Loveladies is a neighborhood and unincorporated area located in the northernmost portion of Long Beach Township, New Jersey. The area is on Long Beach Island, between Barnegat Light and Harvey Cedars.-History:...
, to Long Island, New York.
Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal
In New York, Schwartz was the architect for the completely renovated Staten Island FerryStaten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
Whitehall Terminal, which included the new two-acre Peter Minuit Plaza in Lower Manhattan
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
. The terminal accommodates over 100,000 tourists and commuters on a daily basis (for transportation open 24 hours a day), and the new design establishes the terminal as a major integrated transportation hub, connecting it with a new South Ferry subway station with access to four subway lines, three bus lines, and taxis. Additionally, through the Terminal and Minuit Plaza, access to bicycle lanes and even other water transport options are also available.
A "gateway to the city," set against the backdrop of Manhattan's greatest buildings on one side and the river on the other, the design was created to imbue the terminal "with a strong sense of civic presence." In his remarks at the terminal's February 7, 2005, dedication, Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
stated that "You can walk into this spectacular terminal day or night and feel like you're part of the city ... (the terminal) is a continuation of what you feel on the ferry ... in a sense you are suspended over the water." Described as "an elegant addition to [the] city's architecture," a 2005 Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
writer called it a transit hub that is so beautiful that it has become a "destination": with "the panorama of lower Manhattan from the top of the escalators, the vast windows framing the Statue of Liberty, the upstairs deck with views of the harbor -- these are reasons to take shelter here for a little longer than the ferry schedule makes strictly necessary."
Post-Katrina New Orleans
An architect and planner with particular expertise in affordable, sustainable housing, Schwartz was selected by the citizens of New Orleans and the New Orleans City Planning Commission to re-plan one third of the city for 40% of its post-Katrina population. He was determined to use the opportunity for rebuilding the city as a chance to strengthen social justice and community life, writing that:The planning of cities in the face of disaster (natural and political) must reach beyond the band-aid of short-term recovery. Disaster offers a unique opportunity to rethink the planning and politics of our metro-regional areas -- it is a chance to redefine our cities and and to reassert values of environmental care and social justice, of community building and especially of helping the poor with programs for quality, affordable, and sustainable housing.
Schwartz and his team became the lead planners for District 4, the district that includes the "largest concentration of public housing in the city" (Iberville, St. Bernard, Lafitte, and B. W. Cooper), and according to Schwartz he "made every effort to involve the residents and the community in the planning effort," while ensuring that the design of the new housing "could maintain the look and feel of surrounding neighborhoods with a mix of both modern interpretation of historic typologies and new urbanist models."
Schwartz has called much of his work a "Robin Hood practice," taking profits from some of his more profitable work so that he can work on the projects he feels can really "help people." He credits much of his dedication to charitable work to his parents, who taught him, he says, "the lessons of giving and working hard." In a 2008 interview he stated that "My mother is 85 years old and she drives a half hour to read to someone who is blind. She is still helping people, and to me that is heroic."
September 11 memorials
As a Manhattan resident present in the city the day of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade CenterWorld Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, he was deeply affected by the tragedy. "I live ten blocks from the Trade Center.... I saw it. I heard it," he has said. He was convinced that architecture could be one way to help heal the city, and the survivors, in the aftermath of those attacks.
Schwartz has recounted that as he "had to cope with the absence of the towers day after day from his desk," he did what he could to create a discussion about larger issues and "fundamental questions": at such "important junctures in history," "how do architects act as caretakers during times of chaos, crisis, exodus, and change? Why and who do we rebuild for?"
Schwartz and the "THINK Team" that he created to help create a public debate that went beyond the confines of the memorial to the larger question of a new Lower Manhattan, ultimately did complete the design for the Manhattan 9-11 memorial that was chosen by the Memorial Commission, but the commission's recommendation was overruled by then-governor George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
, who chose another firm for the job.
The design created by Schwartz and his team was based on the idea of replacing the World Trade Center with a "World Culture Center," in the form of a vertical complex of educational and cultural buildings, including a concert hall, conference center, library, and an "interpretive museum" focused on the events of September 11. The design included two steel lattice frameworks that would stand in the same approximate locations as the original towers, but not touch the original "footprints" of the old towers in a show of respect for the "sacral dimension" of the site.
Although this was not the design ultimately chosen, the concept received a good deal of praise, including this description in a New York Times "Design Review" article:
Think has created a schoolhouse: an open, flexible framework to support the pursuit of ideas. The framework itself is an eloquent statement of the values that should guide that pursuit. We are an open, modern, enlightened, humanistic democracy, these soaring structures announce. And we can do even better than retaliate against attack by enemies. Each time we look up at the sky, we can remember that our values are more resilient than theirs.
However, after narrowly missing his chance to create the Manhattan memorial, Schwartz did go on to win the international competitions for two other 9/11 memorials, in New Jersey State
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Westchester County, New York
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
.
The Westchester memorial, "The Rising
The Rising (9-11 memorial)
The Rising is a memorial located in the Kensico Dam Plaza of Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, created by architect Frederic Schwartz. It stands against the backdrop of Kensico Dam, commemorating the September 11 attacks on America and remembering in a special way the men and women from...
," was awarded the 2007 Faith and Form Sacred Landscape Award. The Interfaith Journal on Religion, Art, and Architecture describes the memorial as one that "invites families and visitors to look back in memory of their loved ones and look forward as a community," providing "a place for prayer and reflection."
The New Jersey State September 11 memorial, "Empty Sky," is scheduled to be dedicated on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the attacks. It will stand in Liberty State Park
Liberty State Park
Liberty State Park is located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, opposite the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations and is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.-Geography and...
, along the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, across from the site of Ground Zero
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
. It was selected by unanimous vote of the Family and Survivors Memorial Committee, from 320 designs submitted.
Chennai International Airport
One example of Schwartz's international projects is the Chennai International AirportChennai International Airport
Chennai International Airport , formerly known as Madras International Airport is located in Tirusulam, south of Chennai , India...
(previously called Madras International Airport), Chennai, India. Teaming up with Gensler USA and the Creative Group in India, Schwartz's group is working on a project that will include new domestic and international terminals, two 1200 car parking garages, and new airport roads. The airport will be unique because of the incorporation of two lush and sustainable gardens, visible through towering glass walls throughout the terminals, creating a "dialogue" between the exterior and interior spaces. The project will allow rain water to be delivered through the design of the terminal's hovering 300 meter-long wing-like roofs (which fold downward to form the walls of the gardens) to a series of cisterns and tunnels, where it will be stored for use as irrigation during the dry season. The "sculptural" folding green roof of the new parking garage along with the views of the garden will welcome travelers with a "green gateway" in both rainy and dry seasons.
The airport is currently the third busiest airport in India, after Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, with more than 25 different operating airlines using the facility, and is also the second largest cargo hub in India, after Mumbai. With the $750 million dollar renovation and expansion, the goal is to increase annual passenger capacity from 10 million to 30 million. Upon completion, Chennai will be India's "greenest airport" because of its sustainable technology, and the most modern airport in all of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
.
Other projects
He was the winner of international competitions for a one million square foot skyscraper in the heart of ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China. His numerous other noteworthy projects include:
- Raipur AirportRaipur AirportRaipur Airport aka Mana Airport is located south of Raipur, in the state of Chhattisgarh, India.-Airlines and destinations:Passenger-External links:*...
, Raipur, India (2007–2008) - Pike CountyPike County, Pennsylvania-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River * Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River -Demographics:...
Library, Milford, PA (2007–2008) - Kalahari Mixed Use Development, New York, NY (2003–2008)
- Nike SoHo, New York, NY (2007–2008)
- Santa Fe Railyard Park, Santa Fe, NM (2006)
- Deutsch Inc., New York, NY (1992–2005)
- Knoll, New York, NY (2004)
- Deutsch Inc., Los Angeles, CA (2002)
- Southwest Regional Capitol, ToulouseToulouseToulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(1992–1999)
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Awards
Among Schwartz's many awards are the following from AIA:- 2009 AIA New York State Award, Staten Island Ferry Terminal, New York, NY
- 2009 AIA New York/Boston Urban Design Honor Award, Santa Fe Railyard Park, NM
- 2008 AIA Louisiana Urban Design Honor Award, Unified New Orleans Plan, New Orleans, LA
- 2008 AIA New York Urban Design Award, Unified New Orleans Plan, New Orleans, LA
- 2007 AIA Louisiana Project Award, New Orleans Shotgun Loft House, New Orleans, LA
- 2006 AIA New York Project Award, New Orleans Shotgun Loft House, New Orleans, LA
- 2005 AIA Westchester Honor Award, Westchester 9/11 Memorial, Westchester, NY
- 2005 AIA Westchester Project Award, Westchester 9/11 Memorial, Westchester, NY
- 2005 AIA Tennessee Award of Excellence, Nashville, TN (Shelby Street Bridge)
- 2004 AIA New York Project Award, World Trade Center Master Plan, New York, NY (Think)
- 2004 AIA New Jersey Honor Award, New Jersey 9/11 Memorial, Liberty State Park, NJ
- 2003 AIA National Honor Award for Collaborative Achievement (New York New Visions)
- 2003 AIA Long Island Design Excellence Award, Deutsch LA, Los Angeles, CA
- 2003 AIA New York Interior Design Award, Deutsch LA, Los Angeles, CA
- 2003 AIA Chicago Interior Design Award, San Diego Zoo Store, San Diego, CA
- 2002 AIA New York Special Design Award, Possible Futures, New York, NY
- 2002 AIA San Diego Interior Design Award, San Diego Zoo Store, San Diego, CA
- 1999 AIA Chicago Interior Design Award, Shedd Aquarium Store, Chicago, IL
- 1996 AIA New York Interior Design Award, Bumble+Bumble, New York, NY
- 1995 AIA New York Interior Design Award, SMA Video, New York, NY
- 1995 AIA New York Project Award, New York Newsstand, New York, NY
- 1994 AIA New York Project Award, Lake Sebago House, Maine
- 1993 AIA New York Interior Design Award, Chelsea Pictures, New York, NY
- 1982 AIA National Honor Award, Block Island Houses, Block Island, RI (with Robert VenturiRobert VenturiRobert Charles Venturi, Jr. is an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major figures in the architecture of the twentieth century...
)
Selected other awards
Non-AIA awards include:- 2008 New York City Hall of Fame
- 2007 National Honor Award, Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art, Architecture (Westchester 9/11)
- 2006 Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence, ACEC New York, (Staten Island Ferry Terminal)
- 2005 Winner, People’s Choice Award, New York NOW, Center for ArchitectureCenter for ArchitectureOperated by the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Center for Architecture is located in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village at 536 LaGuardia Place, between West 3rd Street and Bleecker Street in New York City...
, New York, NY - 2004 Winner, Cityscape/Architectural Review Architecture Award 2004 (Shanghai World Expo 2010)
- 2004 Winner, Cityscape/Architectural Review Planning Award 2004 (Shanghai World Expo 2010)
- 2004 International Interior Design AssociationInternational Interior Design AssociationThe International Interior Design Association is a professional networking and educational association of more than 13,000 members in ten specialty forums, and twenty-nine chapters around the world. IIDA is committed to enhancing quality of life through excellence in interior design...
, 10 Best of Decade Design Award (Deutsch LA) - 2003 Finalist, National Honor Award in Architecture, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC
- 2003 Lawrence M. Orton Award, New York Metro Chapter, American Planning AssociationAmerican Planning AssociationThe American Planning Association is a professional organization representing the field of city and regional planning in the United States. The APA was formed in 1978 when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Planners and the American Society of Planning...
- 2002 First Prize (Big Store of the Year), National Retail Association, San Diego ZooSan Diego ZooThe San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
Store - 1992 Met 100: Architects We’d Hire, Metropolitan HomeMetropolitan HomeMetropolitan Home was a magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. The magazine focused on "high-end modern design and interiors, blended with intelligent reporting, to connect with a progressive reader mindset." It was originally published from 1974 through 1981 as Apartment Life,...
- 1991 Record Interiors of the Year, Architectural Record
- 1991 AD 100: Architectural DigestArchitectural DigestArchitectural Digest is an American monthly magazine. Its principal subject is interior design, not — as the name of the magazine might suggest — architecture more generally. The magazine is published by Condé Nast Publications and was founded in 1920, by the Knapp family, who sold it in 1993...
World Top 100 Architects - 1990 Record Houses of the Year, Architectural RecordArchitectural RecordArchitectural Record is an American monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design, published by McGraw-Hill Construction in New York City. It is over 110 years old...
- 1988 Emerging Voices, Architectural League of New YorkArchitectural League of New YorkThe Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines"....
- 1988 New York City Arts Commission Award of Honor, Rector Gate
- 1987 40 Under 40, Interiors Magazine
- 1985 Young Architects Award, Architectural League of New York
- 1985 Rome Prize in Architecture, American Academy in RomeAmerican Academy in RomeThe American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
, Rome, Italy - 1984 Young Architects Award, Architectural League of New York
- 1983 National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Design Fellowship
Published works
- Introduction, "Alan Buchsbaum: Architect and Designer," by Rosalind Kraus, Monacelli Publishes, 1996, ISBN 978-1885254399
- Mother's House (co-authored with Robert Venturi), Rizzoli Publishers, 1992, published in English, Japanese, and German, ISBN 978-0847811410