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Why State Street Bank is making a mistake giving $10 million to the MFA
By adamg on Tue, 09/18/2007 - 8:33pm
Thomas Garvey: Have the folks singing State Street's praises actually seen the monstrosity Malcolm Rogers is planning to build?
... Admittedly, the State Street moolah will only fund the $500 million monster indirectly - but really, if it was ever appropriate to "starve the beast," this is just such a time. ...
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Comments
State Street
I am not opposed to SSC funding the Arts but come on 10M. State Street over compensates its Officer Level Employees and does nothing to reward the non officer level employees small raises,small bonuses long hours. I think I will ask for a raise now. I have been told when it comes to raise time they want to compensate me the best they can 2%I guess there is no longer an excuse to feel bad about the bottom line
I thought I was the only
I thought I was the only person who thought the new MFA addition was a horrible addition that should have never passed the initial proposal stage.
Horrible?
I don't much like it, from the pictures. But then I don't like most modern architecture. How many ways can we make an unornamented glass and concrete box? Let's be frank: it looks like an airport.
So I agree with you in part - I wish they had gone against the current and hired someone who would make an addition that actually looks good and fits in with the rest of the museum.
But is it really that horrible that they're enlarging the museum? I think the MFA is really nice. I like to go there, take my mother there, take my 3 year old son there, meet friends there. I think it's a very nice museum. And I like a lot of the exhibits they have. I think the one they have right now on 17th-19th century Japanese painting is excellent.
Sometimes the great is the enemy of the good. I'm sure a lot of people compromised their aesthetic sensibilities to allow this addition to be built, and that no addition design would please everyone.
My unpopular architectural opinions...
I have no problem with the concept of expanding the museum - I love the MFA - or even with unornamented glass and concrete boxes, as I've seen enough interesting ones to sway my opinion, but no matter how much I try, I can't get behind what is the equivalent of a brutalist expansion to the Paul Revere House.
After years of hearing architects bemoan their peers in '60s and '70s for their indifference toward existing structures, and unwillingness to consider scale and other concerns, it's sadly amusing to see something like this seriously proposed.
Don't we have enough buildings sporting the generic "monolithic, pre-formed concrete exterior wall block" motif? (See: The Forsyth Way pictures). It looks horribly cheap, uninspired and never, ever works. It always appears as if the architect in question ran out of time and was in a rush to put something in there to fill the vertical space. I know they're a great way to cut costs, but damn.
At least what we're witnessing here isn't nearly as bad as what the folks in Ontario have to deal with.
Ah well, if we look at other questionable expansions to cultural institutions as a guide, there is a good chance they'll probably tear it down in 30 years, and wonder what the hell they were thinking putting up something that would probably wouldn't pass muster as a Kendall Square-area office building. (and that's about as low as you can go, in my opinion)
Ontario
That totally looks like an episode of Doctor Who where a spaceship crashes into a building.
Is there even a word for that style? "Train-Wreckism," perhaps? It's horrifying in a compelling way, like a bad accident. I'd hate to stumble on that unexpected of a dark evening; I'd think a full-scale alien invasion was underway.
At least it's ambitious, though. The brutal crackerboxes of the MFA expansion seem not so much a design as a cry for help.
You have to see it from the street
It doesn't look so odd in context, really. That photo doesn't show the other buildings in the area. Taken from that angle, it looks much odder than it does when you are visiting.
It is also a functional and - gasp in vapors Boston - accessible design!
I wonder, though, how they solubulized a modern suburban industrial park and managed to recrystallize it in this shape?
SweatStreet
Anonymous is right. While StateStreet provides the valuable service of training entry level finance professionals in this city, it does so at the cost of treating it's employees like dirt.
They pay a good 20% below the industry standard in IS & IIS (30K associate, 40K manager, 60K 1st officer). Try getting by on 30K in this city when you have commuting costs, rent, bills, student loans, ect. The upper levels promote advancement, but other areas of the bank are partial to their own, and do not like to hire out of their division. To make matters worse many bosses within divisions will give bad performance reviews and stunt any chance of moving on outside of a group. I know an individual who got bad performance reviews, and even a bad recommendation when trying to move on to another area, for the sole reason the group was understaffed and the manager couldn’t afford to lose a hard worker. They're also leading the way on exporting all their central operations to India, keeping "client service groups" as a buffer, who fix the huge amount of errors India makes while keeping the client out of the loop.
Not all areas might be this way, but I've heard SSGA isn’t much better. It's really a slap in the face when you work long and hard hours (overtime), are understaffed, see your job moving to India, see no promotions (either yourself or around you), get paid poorly, get a lousy 3% bonus (bonus + raise mind you); all while HR and everyone above tells you of your limitless opportunities and how great the company is.
Best was when they told the whole company how they paid several million to get a section of fenway named the StateStreet Pavilion. Next line in the question sheets was "Does this mean you can buy discounted or StateStreet provided tickets: NO".
Anyways, so glad I'm out of there and working for industry leading financial institution that's focused on growing and increasing market share, and not cutting "liabilities" (layman's term for employee costs).
Wow, only 30K
Working for a non-profit arts organization like the MFA, I didn't make over 30K for like 6 years. With bills, and commuting costs, and student loans, etc. And that is industry standard for non-profits. I got by. A lot of workers aren't paid what they are worth. You'll need to do a lot better than $30K if you want non-profit workers to say, "oh, no, kind corporation. You need this more than we do."
I'm getting by too, it's
I'm getting by too, it's just rough when you realize that the company you worked for was the "Wal-Mart" of it's industry. Especially when all you hear is good things from them, and about them.
A good job, especially non-profit work, can be much more rewarding and let you look past the lower pay. Working 45-55 hours a week, and still barely breaking 32K, and most importantly not liking your job or the people you work with because of how you're treated, is harder.
30K wasn't too bad, but commuting from Allston and seeing a Mc'D's sign advertising an assistant management position that starts you at 35K will put you in perspective fast. Plus let's face it, being a cubical monkey and slaving over excel day after day isn't because of some love of spreadsheets, it's for the compensation and the job opportunities.
I have the utmost respect for non-profit work, but it is non-profit. CEO's in non profit normally make 100-500K, while good old Ronald Logue took in salary and options of 14.5 million with revenue and profits up, all while cutting bonuses and raises to his employees. I believe Malcolm Rogers pulled in 800,000 which is the high end for non-profits. It still doesn't negate the good work you and I both do, and that we should be better compensated in a market where Massachusetts Youth is leaving in boat full's for places where they can actually save money.
Either way, just putting out that SS isn't the best to it's employees. I can look the other way with lower pay if it was a fun, enjoyable learning experience where you were treated with respect and given the opportunities to grow. unfortunately it was none of that. The addition of bad pay vs.. the rest of the industry just compounds the feeling of "why the hell am I putting up with this".
Kudos to you!!
Kudos to you!!
MFA
Mind if I ask what your role was at the MFA?
They called me in for an interview for a position that I was overqualified for and offered to pay me an amount that I had made when I first entered the workforce years ago... needless to say I do not work there. I can't afford to work there, though I would love to.
Non Profit
Then I would suggest you get yourself over to State Street
Re Sweat Street
Thanks for sharing your views.Much appreciated and so true.
Sweat Street has @23% turnover rate.
Lost in this guy's rampant
Lost in this guy's rampant whining is the fact that he's not actually presenting any argument. State Street shouldn't donate to the MFA because you don't like the design of thier new wing? Wow, now that's an ego!