The lighter, brighter side of Trent!
Shiny, happy fixtures
As part of an effort to revamp the campus, Trent University recently replaced several of its ‘street lights’ with new ‘replicas.’ The bases of the originals had been rusting, posing a safety concern. Thirty of approximately one hundred lamps have been replaced thus far. The new lamps are brighter, providing increased visibility and safety. Physical Resources claims that they have not strayed from the original architecture at all. However, opinions on campus vary.
Trent’s sprawling campus is arguably the most beautiful in Ontario, providing a soothing natural environment in which to learn, live and study. The architecture, however, takes a bit of getting used to. After spending two years on the campus, I have grown to love Trent’s modern edifices and admire their forward –thinking architects. The campus is a work of art that pays tribute to its natural surroundings.
Trent Architect Ron Thom designed the old lamps that were installed shortly after the campus’ completion in the 1960s. They were sleek and artistic, complementing the buildings and landscape.
Sarah, a Cultural Studies major, feels that the bulb on the old lamps has a real lunar association whereas the new one is less organic. “Once again aesthetics has been sacrificed to practicality,” she lamented. “I think that lights are human attempts at simulating the sun. I think it’s good when they do that. I feel alienated by the new lamps.”
History Professor Dale Standen was surprised that they took the trouble to reproduce the lamps with a shape that was so close to the original. He recalls an issue twenty-five years ago when Physical Resources wanted to replace somewhat dim Thom lights with bright agricultural barn lights. “They weren’t thinking at all about architectural integrity,” Standen recalled. In lieu of the barn lights, several Thom lights were brought up from the downtown campuses. Although he is pleased with the luminosity of the new lights, Dr. Standen does not like the neo-Victorian flourish below the bulbs.
Personally, I think the new lamps look like they were uprooted from the streets of Victoria, divested of their ersatz English charm (i.e. flowers), abruptly bent part-way down, and finally sent out to Trent. There is no charm or artistic merit in these new lamps – they are merely lamps. Something functional and utilitarian. Two years ago the university administration was in a mad rush to rid itself of its lovely Victorian and Edwardian downtown campuses. Now it is attempting to replace some authentic Victorian houses with gaudy neo-Victorian lampposts.
