Jim Schneider

1 month ago | retrofitmagazine.com | Jim Schneider

As buildings and infrastructure struggle with an ever-expanding list of challenges that come with a changing planet, designers, engineers and owners are faced with a growing list of considerations and priorities. For decades, our focus has been on sustainability, which at times has meant energy efficiency, carbon reduction, material reduction or a vast array of other things.

Dec 19, 2024 | retrofitmagazine.com | Jim Schneider

New York’s 5th Avenue has long been a mecca of shopping, fashion, style and class. Many brands that started on 5th Avenue have gone on to become household names. Among the most prominent is Tiffany and Co.When it was built in 1940, the original Tiffany flagship store on 5th Avenue was a symbol of modern architecture. Later, in 1980, an upper structure was built to be used as an office space. The structure was closed off to customers and incongruent with the original architecture.

Nov 19, 2024 | retrofitmagazine.com | Jim Schneider

Across the planet, temperatures are getting hotter. The impacts of global climate change are accelerating more quickly than previously anticipated, and this is having impact on a human scale, as well as on a building scale. More intense temperatures have brought with them an increase in heat-related injuries, and buildings now must work harder to keep occupants cool. This means expending more energy, which means contributing even more to climate change, which continues to feed the vicious cycle.

Nov 11, 2024 | retrofitmagazine.com | Jim Schneider

Making an architectural statement in Midtown Manhattan is no easy task. Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall: Everywhere you look is an iconic landmark. It was in that environment that the Rockefeller family tasked its family architect to design a sunken courtyard during the expansion of Rockefeller Center in the 1960s.

Sep 16, 2024 | retrofitmagazine.com | Jim Schneider

It’s no secret the power of data is changing the world in ways that, a decade ago, few would have imagined. Since the advent of the digital age, the potential for gathering information has been on the rise, but oftentimes the limiting factor was how to process or utilize the sheer volume of it. Emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, or AI, have provided additional powers to take those next steps and put all that data to practical use.