Karl G. Schmill began practicing architecture in Buffalo in 1886. In 1906, he formed a partnership with George C. Gould and the firm became known as Schmill & Gould. Karl Schmill died in 1914, and his son, Karl G. Schmill, Jr., took over the firm. The younger Schmill graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1910. He went to work for Green and Wicks for a year. In 1912, he joined George Cary and in 1913, he joined his father’s firm.
Notable commissions include: Corpus Christi RC Church (1907), St. Gerard RC Church (1911).
After the death of his father in 1914, Karl’s brother William Schmill joined the firm and together the two brothers designed many churches, rectories, convents, and schools. William died in 1952, and Karl continued to practice architecture with partner C. J. Hoffmeyer until his retirement. Karl Schmill Jr. died in 1967.
Notable commissions include: Transfiguration RC Church (1893), St. John the Evangelist RC Church, Assumption RC Church (1914), Sacred Heart Church.
Harry D. Schneider‘s education at Penn State University was interrupted when he enlisted in the army in 1941. He served in the European Theater as a combat engineer, landing on Utah Beach with the 4th Infantry Division. He received two purple hearts and the bronze star and returned home to complete his degree. He practiced architecture in Dunkirk, NY, for two years and then moved to Buffalo in 1950. He worked for the firm of Schmill & Hoffmeyer until partnering with John Y. Sloan.
Notable commissions include Erie County Medical Center (joint venture with Foit-Maharan) (1978), St. Mary’s of the Lake School (1960), Trinity-United Methodist Church, and the Lakeshore Public Library.
In 1956, Schmill & Hoffmeyer merged with Sloan & Schneider to form the firm Schmill, Hoffmeyer, Sloan & Schneider.
In 1978, after John Sloan’s retirement, Harry and his son, C. Jake Schneider, began Schneider Design Architects, PC (SDA). Jake attended the University of Notre Dame and studied in Rome, Italy. Jake would continue the practice after Harry’s retirement in 1990.
SDA rebranded in 2017 to become Schneider Architectural Services, PC (SARC), an independent sister company to the Schneider Services, a vertically integrated real estate business that provides development, property management, and brokerage services.
In 2019, K-Arc Design Architects, run by long-time collaborator Tom Kujawa, merged with SARC to form a new company. The partners retained the Schneider Architectural Services, PC name going forward.
The commissions of SARC are highlighted throughout this website.
I love buildings, always have. I love old ones that have endured time and events and new ones that are created on the shoulders of my clients’ dreams. I’ve been learning about buildings since I was a young boy watching my father, Harry, draft in our basement late at night. Harry was also an architect. He introduced me to the profession by taking me to job sites when I was just a kid. I loved the hustle and bustle of that dynamic environment; the song of men at work, the orchestration of materials. Even today, the smells of recently sawn lumber and freshly poured concrete remind me of those wonderful days spent with my dad. I was blessed to have worked with Harry for many years after I graduated from college. He was a great mentor and taught me many important lessons.
Harry explained that in order to be a good architect, it is essential to be a good listener. He understood that with the exponential growth of technology, architects in the 21st century would need to be lifelong learners. He demonstrated, through example, that being a professional meant that our job often requires us to lead our clients and that sometimes, it meant educating them based on important lessons we’ve learned. Harry taught me that good buildings live long after we do and their care and maintenance need to be major influences in their design.
Through my 30 plus years of architectural practice I’ve come to understand that good architecture is not only engineered well and meets or exceeds our clients’ functional goals but that, hopefully, it also evokes a positive emotional response from the people who use it everyday. That’s the “art” in the architecture; an element that is so often overlooked in today’s built environment. At our best, architects create a sense of place that shapes people’s lives for the better.
I’ve tried to teach the men and women who serve our clients at Schneider Services these same lessons. I talk a lot about my dad and I ask them to strive for excellence in everything they do. I tell them to be professionals of the highest order and to remember how lucky we all are to work in a field as exciting and as challenging as architecture.