David M. Schwarz

Schwarz was born in Los Angeles, California. He received his undergraduate degree from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1972 before attending the Yale School of Architecture and earning a Master of Architecture in 1974.

Immediately following his graduation from Yale, Schwarz interned for architects Paul Rudolph, Edward Larrabee Barnes, and former Yale professor Charles Moore.

Schwarz moved to Washington, D.C., and founded David M. Schwarz Architectural Services in 1976. The firm was incorporated in 1978 and renamed David M. Schwarz Architects, Inc in 2008.

While his early career was focused primarily on the renovation of row houses in historic districts of Washington, D.C., including Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, and Mount Pleasant, Schwarz has since applied his self-proclaimed populist style to arenas, schools, baseball stadia, performing arts venues, retail districts, healthcare facilities, apartment buildings, and academic campuses across the United States.

Schwarz was among the first board members of the National Building Museum. During his time on the board of directors, he helped create both the Vincent Scully Prize and the National Building Museum Honor Award. He now serves as the jury chairman for the Vincent J. Scully Prize Fund Endowement.

David Schwarz served as the Davenport Visiting Professor at the Yale School of Architecture in the fall of 2008 and taught a fifth-year design studio at The University of Notre Dame in 2010. He is a Sterling Fellow of Yale University.