3 September. 2007 | Crains Detroit Business

MCKENNA ASSOCIATES: INSPIRED BY ARCHITECTURE, COLLABORATION

Senior Planner Sarah Traxler says that one of the coolest things about working at McKenna Associates Inc. is the company's building.

The Northville community-planning firm is in a former Ford Motor Co. automotive plant designed by legendary Detroit architect Albert Kahn.

“The work atmosphere at McKenna is very different,” said Traxler, who has been with McKenna for two years. “We are lucky to work in a very inspiring building. It's very edgy, but also very pleasant with the natural light pouring through every room.”

The building has original exposed brick with 30-foot ceilings and includes a 15-foot-by-70-foot wall of windows. On the exterior of the building is a working waterwheel. There are individual workspaces within an open floor plan and a mezzanine dining room used for company functions.

Traxler also says that McKenna is a cool place to work because the company offers an environment that focuses on collaboration.

“I don't think our work environment is the norm,” Traxler said. “There are a great variety of projects that we do. We work in small groups, but it's not the same group on every project. So we're always learning from each other.”

McKenna employs 39 and specializes in planning and zoning, urban design, landscape architecture and economic development. Some of the company's current clients include the communities of Detroit, Novi and West Bloomfield Township.

McKenna offers several activities, both in and out of the office, that reward hard work and emphasize job training.

One program, called the “High-Five Program,” awards an employee with a $500 check for going above and beyond the working standard.

The other is “McKenna Buys Lunch.” The company will send a group of employees to a conference and when they return, the company takes them out to lunch to discuss what they've learned.

Other rewards McKenna gives its employees include passes to the Detroit Institute of Arts and access to Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings games

Traxler said that she benefits especially from employee activities outside the office.

“The conferences give us a chance to get out of the office and learn,” Traxler said. We also have an annual summer event where the company takes us to a Tigers game. And we're encouraged to take our clients out to some of the sports and DIA events that we have access to. And I personally look forward to our holiday parties. The last two have been downtown at Andiamo Riverfront.”

The building also houses a health club called Planet Fitness and McKenna employees only pay a subsidized fee of $10 a month for membership.

— Aaron Harris