KANSAS CITY, MO – Long before David Greusel, FAIA, designed nationally recognized ballparks and civic venues, he was a kindergartner building masterpieces out of blocks.

“They would comment on my block sculptures and say, ‘You’re going to be an architect someday,’” David said. “So I guess they were right.”

Today, David manages Schemmer’s Kansas City office and serves as the firm’s Public Venues Sector Leader. Over nearly five decades, he has helped design ballparks, arenas, convention centers and other places where people gather.

Architecture may be his profession, but it is far from his only creative outlet. David is also an author, essayist, photographer and longtime radio comedy performer.

Discovering a Calling

David studied architecture in college, but he was not fully convinced it was the right career until he began doing it professionally.

“The first day that I was working in an architect’s office for money, it was like, ‘Oh, this is what I was meant to do,’” David said. “I had instantly this sense that this was what I was called to do. That was 47 years ago, and I’ve never looked back.”

He began his career in a six-person firm, where he was exposed to nearly every part of the profession. He later worked for organizations of different sizes in St. Louis and Kansas City before entering sports architecture in the mid-1980s.

In 1996, David began working on Major League Baseball facilities. He served as lead designer for Daikin Park in Houston and PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

PNC Park remains one of his favorite projects. More than 25 years after it was built, the ballpark continues to earn praise from Pittsburgh fans and baseball travelers.

“It still gets a lot of love from not only fans in Pittsburgh, who are just crazy about the building, but people who come from all over the country and say, ‘Wow, this is a really cool ballpark,’” David said.

After completing the two ballparks, David moved into convention center design. That experience gave Convergence Design, the firm he founded in 2010, the ability to pursue work in both sports facilities and convention centers.

Creating Architecture That Feels Local

David has worked in communities across the country, and he approaches each one differently. Before designing anything, he wants to understand the character of the place, including its culture, history and building traditions.

“I’m most passionate about designing places that are right for where they are, that don’t just look like UFOs that landed on a site,” David said.

The technical parts of a public venue must work, from sightlines and circulation to acoustics and functionality. But David also wants people to recognize something of their community in the finished building.

“I don’t want people saying, ‘This is a David Greusel building,’” he said. “I want them to say, ‘This is a Clarksville, Tennessee building,’ because that’s where it is.”

That’s important because a city may only build a new arena or convention center once every 30, 40 or 50 years. The decisions made during design can affect the community for decades.

Some of David’s favorite projects have helped cities see new possibilities.

In Dubuque, Iowa, an old industrial area along the Mississippi River had become a brownfield site. Its redevelopment addressed environmental hazards and brought a convention center, resort hotel and other attractions to the riverfront. The design also overcame a 12-foot floodwall, allowing visitors inside the convention center to see the river.

In Enid, Oklahoma, a 1920s arena had sat unused for about a decade. The project renovated the historic building, converted the arena into a ballroom and added an event center next door. The complex became part of a larger effort to breathe new life into downtown Enid.

From Radio Sketches to the Written Word

For nearly 30 years, David was also part of a live radio comedy group.

Originally called Imagination Workshop and later renamed Right Between the Ears, the program featured comedy sketches performed in front of live audiences. Cast members stood behind microphones with scripts in hand while a sound-effects performer slammed doors, broke glass and created the noises needed for each scene.

The group performed primarily in Lawrence, Kansas, and toured throughout the Midwest. Its shows were broadcast by public radio stations across the country, with some also airing on SiriusXM.

Radio gave David another place to write, perform and work with a team. It also sharpened skills that came in handy when presenting architectural ideas to clients and communities.

David has written numerous articles about architecture, work and other subjects, including pieces for Comment. He is also the author of Architect’s Essentials of Presentation Skills, published by John Wiley & Sons.

The book grew out of a presentation David gave during the 1990s. A publisher later invited him to develop the topic for its Architect’s Essentials series.

David jokes that the book’s title was not his choice, but its subject remains important. A good design can only go so far if an architect cannot clearly explain the idea behind it.

Life Through a Camera Lens

Since the radio program ended, David has spent more of his free time traveling and taking photographs.

He started with film and still has negatives dating back 30 or 40 years. Today, he also has an extensive collection of digital images. Buildings and streetscapes are frequent subjects, along with landscapes, wildlife and the places he visits.

During a trip to Africa with his wife, David took thousands of photographs of elephants and giraffes. Closer to home, his work is displayed throughout Schemmer’s Kansas City office. David took each of the architectural photographs hanging there.

Building Something That Lasts

Convergence Design became part of Schemmer after a conversation that began partly as a joke. David had heard how Schemmer’s Sioux Falls office came together and commented that if the firm ever wanted a Kansas City presence, it should give him a call. Several months later, the call came.

The opportunity aligned Schemmer’s interest in Kansas City with David’s desire to put something in place that could continue beyond his own career.

“I love being surrounded by younger designers and trying to impart whatever I can to them,” David said. “After I’m gone, I’d like it to keep being that transformational thing that helps cities look at themselves in a new way.”

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