Pros
Snohetta has a wonderful vision in which they strive for; diversity, human rights, community engagement, and culture beyond architecture and design. Almost everyone at the company was helpful, interactive, engaging, and pleasant to work with and the vibe in the office was empathetic and relaxed much of the time.
Cons
Transparency is touted often at Snohetta, but that's not the case, as secret meetings outside of board meetings are held constantly and the organization is facing a struggle to manage complexity while keeping trying to promote self-direction. There seems to be two Snohetta's now: one which things were fun, relaxed, laid back, but there's a new Snohetta which is about revenue generation and cost control. For those looking to join in Snohetta after hearing a lecture at their college, many interns come are let down by the lack of diversity and culture Snohetta initially boasted on, with 60% male, 40% female, about three Latinos and no African Americans. The salaries are lower than that of many competing architectural firms and staffing is awful and not getting any better as people are placed on projects they are needed rather that what they're optimal in. It has become a powder keg of mistrust between employees and management that no one is willing to admit and the turnout is increasing as other firms are sucking hard working and creative people from Snohetta to join in their ranks. As the economy has stabilized and other firms are getting major projects, the likelihood of office happy hours will no longer be enough to keep the best employees working there.
