Aesthetic M a p l e R i d g e
C l a u s A n d r u p
Aesthetic Received by the senses -1798.
2. Of or pertaining to the appreciation of the criticism of the beautiful
3. Having or showing rened taste; in accordance withgood taste - 1871. The philosophy of taste.
![]()
Aesthetic Maple Ridge
This booklet attempts to understand and comment on the way the town of Maple Ridge, British Columbia has evolved anddeveloped architecturally since its earliestdays.
The primary target of this casual study isan attempt to dene how the visual appealof a town’s municipal,
commercial and residential buildings can determine the quality of life its inhabitants can expect, and how thischaracteristic alone will determine the future of the community itself.
Maple Ridge, like every other community inthe world, enlists the help of elected councils to ensure the orderly and responsible planning and approval of every constructionproject within their jurisdiction.
Decisions are reached in consultation with the local communities. Councils aremotivated by their electorate to go in one direction or the other. Much of the onus lies with the individuals who make up thecommunity. The ultimate power to decide what sort of environment is desired, socially or economically, lies in the hands ofthe community itself. And the word “desire”plays a central role in all this.
What was desirable in the past? What do we desire today? What will we desire tomorrow? And how, above all, can wemake these three desires link across the decades, possibly centuries, so that theappeal of our communities will becomeinnite?
It would be folly not to accept that one person’s desire may be absolutely contraryto another’s. At the same time we all seem to nd commonality when observing a rolling eld of crops, a river such as ourown Fraser idling downstream on a springday; or the sweeping line of trees on awide avenue.
Or even for many, the energy of anew skyscraper, or the
handsome façade of a new Mall withall the consumer promise it holdswithin. Or the brave span of a newbridge linking one community toanother. Like it or not it all has to beput together in a manner thatsatises function and form. And we as citizens have only passing regard forthe process unless it has some directbearing on our own well-being or lives.
The proposed bridge across the Fraser is an excellent example. This author, as an example, may be heard to say: “Build as many bridges as you like, but don’t have any of them terminatingor originating within ve miles of myhouse or there will be hell to pay.”Selsh? Yes.
What then does any of this have todo with aesthetics and MapleRidge? Perhaps “nothing at all”and quite possibly “everything”. Whileour local newspapers are laden withcritical comments regarding townplanning, and from time to timepraise, we rarely see what is knownas constructive criticism and rareryet is the appearance of a proposedgeneral structure or overall plan for dealing with our growing community’sresidential, commercial and municipal buildings.
The town’s most ambitious scheme todate centers on the “town core”. Inthis case a $70 million budget isdevoted to barely one half of one block in our community. Anyonedesirous or even dreaming ofaddressing the planning andconstruction needs of the whole ofMaple Ridge would instantly realizethat if the town core project is all $70million gets you, how on earth is itpossible to plan for the aestheticstabilization of the whole townwithout the benet of provincial andfederal assistance. And as themajority of towns like Maple Ridge across Canada suffer doubtless from the same problem, how can theprovincial and federal authorities evenentertain such a notion? They don’tand they never will for it is beyond thescal structures of Canada and almostevery nation to provide for such granddreams.
This leaves communities to the whims of the
developers and their nanciers. Withoutthem towns such as Maple Ridge would notexist. In many cases, none the least MapleRidge, the impact of residential andcommercial construction is, through poor planning, creating almost irreversibledamage to our towns.
What’s not to like?
Does Globalization mean that every town from Northern England to Alaska has tolook identical? Well, no. Studies seem to support the fact that while we all may enjoy a Saturday morning Big Mac with the kids nomatter if we do so in Tokyo or Cape Town, wenevertheless revel in our diversity. For thisreason we should also have the character todemand that our towns reect the uniqueattributes and nuances by which we can berecognized and distinguished.
When a visitor drives into Maple Ridge, B.C.they should know immediately from a cursory glance that they are in a uniquetown, not just any town. Did the Lougheed Highway from Dewdney Trunk Road intersection to Thomas Haney School cometo resemble the main drag in Douglas, Arizona by
co-incidence or did the consecutive councils of Maple Ridge plan it that way? It is likely just that they fell victim to the forces around them and took the easy route out.Our town needs the money so we put upthe strip malls, the Pizza Hut, the Ford Dealership, the Safeway and so on. No aesthetic preacher from his pedestal is ever going to change that. We can like it or notlike it, but we can’t get rid of it. Now what?
We can love the row upon row of familyhomes being erected on old farmlands. Orwe can loathe them. We can despair forthe environment. Or we can wish it goodluck in its next struggle and turn our backon it. We could also look back and seewhere we went right, where we wentwrong, and try somehow to marry the goodof the past with demands of the present so as to meet our desires for the future. That’splanning.
In a poorly structured letter to the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows Times dated Tuesday, April 24, 2001 this writer touched on the subject ofMaple Ridge’s new town core project. Inresponse to that letter several people commented that “the project was approved by a previous council and that only two of the original council members were sitting and thatthe new council was doing its best to cope with the completion of the project”. Without wishingto be defensive it seems to me that there isnothing to be gained or learned from passing on the blame, if indeed anyone needs blaming atall. Good systems absorb blame, poor systemsperpetuate blame; British Columbia’s provincial
government is a prime example of perpetuatedblame all the way from the Socreds to the NDP.
The community needs to be smart enough torecognize that it has placed the council incharge of these matters and any new person wishing to assume the mantle of council should be prepared to shoulder the responsibility for the actions of the previous members.
It is not the object of this paper to raisespecic issues such as the town core, but in itsheightened state of visibility the town core serves as a typical example of how councils who have excellent municipal skills maynevertheless be stuck for the street smarts required to cut a real estate deal that boasts both aesthetic joys and scal glories.
Developers and communities mustchallenge architects and planners.
The theme of this paper is aesthetics. Morepractical issues such as nance, infrastructure, amenities, schools and the like are important facets of the town planning agenda, but by denition are less exposed to the personality of preference. Not many of us agree on what isbeautiful.
It will not be necessary to labour the point here, but when it comes houses, cars, men, women, clothes,paintings (you get the picture - particularly if it is a painting) and furniture it is not within us to agreeupon what has appeal and whatappalls.
Disagreement, it is suggested, is the driving force of aesthetics. In an atmosphere of disagreement then,among a disagreeable community and with elected councils of who have won their seats as our leadersby disagreeing, we are expected to reach a formula for the orderly design and construction of residential and commercial neighborhoods in the town of MapleRidge. What are the chances of success? The answer to the question may be found by strolling around this hamlet on the Fraser.
Our close proximity in time to the origins of Maple Ridge, Port Haneyand Pitt Meadows means that many streets still exist today where, at a glance, we are privileged to see a chronological panorama ofdisagreement.
From the days of Thomas Haney tothe councils of the new Millennium,our town is a canvas upon which hasbeen painted the sublime, andindeed, the ridiculous.
![]()
Memory
Ask people who have spent time inMaple Ridge if they remember the little church and the Masonic Hall, just off theHaney By-pass. Two small, wooden structures; old, not necessarily works of artor indeed architecture. Yet somehow these buildings lodge themselves in the minds of the traveller. We know this to be a fact foroften we are asked for their location by othertravellers, who have heard mention of thesequaint, side-by-side oddities.
Not every building in this town can be expected to frame itself in theconsciousness so eloquently, but should itnot be at the very least an aspiration?
P o c k e t s o f c h a r m .
The Awful Mistakes
It would be unfair to single out Maple Ridge as the world’s best example of poor planning. At the same timeit comes nowhere close to being exemplary.
Lining the Lougheed with small malls and car dealerships was not a good idea, but how were the planners of the day to know that anyone would be interested in coming here in the rst place.
Building houses that back on to main thoroughfares makes sense to the people living in the house, but is unsightly to those who have to drive along the Lougheed or similar roads. There are simple, relatively inexpensive solutions to these problems.
Turning green areas into housing projects and commercial zones when blighted areas have not been developed is a serious waste of resources.
Failing to set aside grants and subsidies for people living in heritage homes, no matter how small or seemingly scruffy, is shortsighted and will be regretted in years to come.
Developing neighborhood communities is essential. Creating neighborhoods that encourage humancontact is vital to numerous community needs, none the least communal safety.
Why is the centre-piece of the downtown core project colorless? The extension to the leisure centre showssome promise, with the use of stone cladding. How come we got that right, but got so much else wrong?Is it all about being practical and cost efcient? At what point do looks count?
P r o b a b l y a g o o d i d e a t h e n , b u t
t i m e h a s b e e n u n k i n d t o t h e s e c o n - c e p t s .
Creativity, Verve, Largesse and Energy
Simple to say. Hard to be, hard to have, hard to do. Individuals may in their singular way regard themselvesblessed with each of the above characteristics and would be right in the assumption. Communities nd itharder to aggregate such qualities with any consistency, thus earning themselves the right to be acknowledged as having any one, let alone all, of the above traits.
A Canadian town with creativity, verve, largesse and energy is assured of building for itself a unique environmentthat in time will attract other members to its fold and build from strength to strength.
Observing Maple Ridge close up it is clear this town has often shown that it has retained some of these dynamics. Andmore obvious are the clues that tell the observer that there have been times when this town and its leaders haveallowed development to grow up around them like a cancer without cure.
There should be a law
There should be a law curtailing the number of houses a developer can build of the same design. The concept of therepeating pattern is more suited to the school room unless, that is, your name is Andy Wharhol.
Call it the cookie cutter law. Creative idleness? Fiscal sloth? Or just plain duh? Whatever the reason may be,community leaders should at the very least put some pressure on architects, developers and builders to put to better use their skills when it comes to providing variety.
Sure, Messrs. Big Mac, Costco, Canadian Tire, Staples and friends are forced to build the same dull, tasteless platitudes one after the other. Bottom-line architecture and construction dominates their aesthetic choices. Familiesand
O n e t h a t e s c a p e d t h e C o o k i e C u t t e r L a w .
private citizens should not be aesthetically institutionalized in the same way.
Landlords past and present
Our desire for land and property is rooted in our singular need for material gain and security. So it was when Thomas Haney rode into town. So it was when the Zellers gang, Macdonalds, A & W and thousands of private individuals and corporate yahoos recognized this riverside burg as place for prosperity and pleasure.
They bought land. They brought business. They prospered. They settled. And are settling today fasterthan ever.
They assembled land where it was available and disposed of it when they could prot from such transactions. And it continues, this ow of transactions which daily changes the ownership roster in MapleRidge. And with each change comes a new aspiration, a new goal, a new building or activity. And with it,aesthetics anew.
It is reasonable to expect of each landowner that he or she shall determine the look and appeal of their home or commercial building. Government at all levels, however, is in place to ensure that all development meets a variety of standards required of modern construction. Does government, however, care how thebuildings look? And if government did, should we as citizens entrust the delicate and very personalmatter of aesthetics to a bureaucracy?
There could not have been an awful amount of town planning involved in the building of Thomas HaneyHouse. Possibly because there was not an awful lot of town at the time. Haney Place Mall, on the other hand, had tremendous input from the Maple Ridge Town Planners, as did the new town core project. Canwe put our hands on our hearts and say; boy, we sure improved the looks of this town and made it desirableand attractive when we passed on the plans for
![]()
From taste to tarmac in 100 years.
the construction of these projects? Have we added to the charm of Maple Ridge?
Have we enhanced the ambientsurroundings? Have we set precedent for ensuring that Maple Ridge will grow anddevelop to become the envy of similar communities in the Fraser Valley? Or are wegoing to transform Maple Ridge into nothing short of an urban ghetto?
Community and low cost housing deservesas much attention to aesthetics as any other category. Cheap does not have to be nasty. When governments spend millions of dollars on construction projectscommunities need to question if the money is being spent appropriately. Eastern Europe has a legacy of building monumentsto its leaders while the poorest starve. This should not happen in Canada.
![]()
The Heritage of Design..designing Heritage
Heritage is not by design in Maple Ridge. It sort of happened. When Thomas Haney built his houseoverlooking the Fraser it is unlikelyhe conceived of his modestfarmhouse as a heritage landmark. Aplace where tea would be served on summer Sunday afternoons to touristsfrom afar.
But somehow the house appeals to this day. As do hundreds of lesscelebrated homes in Maple Ridge.Casual observers will note that developers and architects alike fully understand the appeal of the“heritage look”. Our burgeoningmunicipality abounds with wannabe charm. And for the most part, oldworld charm is achieved to one degreeor the other.
Where we frequently fail though, is in the area of location. Ourplanners are determined to pick afew virgin acres and set aboutcreating that village appeal whileneglecting to create a village in thevillage. This seems a short-sightedapproach. The thrust ofour authorities is to allow oursensibilities and aesthetics to bedriven from the core, rather thanhave them focussed on the core and
allowthemtoowout-wards.
Insteadofrecreatingorredeveloping the lesssuccessful instancesof our residential andcommercialareasweeethesceneof thecrime,oftenheinous,inordertorepent elsewhere,
usually in a greenbelt area. Or at the veryleast “just below the belt”, in a manner ofspeaking.
While this is happening in the outlyingtowns of the Fraser Valley, the largest city in the region, Vancouver, is applying much of its energy to restoring many parts of the old city to its former glory.Should towns like Maple Ridge not take early advantage by taking action before the eventuality dawns on them?
![]()
The case for redevelopment over development
The area of Maple Ridge known as thetown core (the area, not the project) hasgreat potential for renewal.
While the “project” itself may seem to many as a looming disaster or in PrinceCharles’s famous statement: “a carbuncle on the local landscape” it is safe to say that our community will come to live withit.
The project itself could not be calledaesthetic by any stretch of the imagination; it is quite the opposite. The town core project seems to this eye atleast to be a victory of function over form.
Irksome, to say the very least, is the presence of a thirty space car park. Hownecessary can this amenity be with a large underground carpark, thankfully at hand? Is it not time that the undergroundcarpark became a tenet of good planning,rather than a luxury? As citizens in ourlittle town would we rather not stroll from building to building among the greeneryand walkways which are for us todemand?
Do we really enjoy the panoramicsplendour of acres of tarmac and asphalt around every corner in our main shoppingdistrict. Moreover, how is it that themorbid
ideology of the carpark is promoted by our leaders past and
present?
Its too late now, but the North American penchant for allowing car dealerships to be hosted on our main streets seems by today’s sensibilities to be an appalling mistake. How is that car dealers have not been restricted to areas planned specically to cater to them? The concept of car malls has been adopted by some forward thinking town planners andseems to work just ne.
How come too then that we don’t take the same approach
towards the big box scoundrels. Can’t live with them, can’t survive without them. True, but we can decide where to have them. The big box park, just like the light industrial and commercial park, is aperfectly acceptable and practical solution.
What we have instead is a kaleidoscope ofrules and planning regulations with their concomitant zones and by-laws thataddress nite localities, but fall down dramatically when it comes to the overallarea of any particular municipality.
The village or hamlet approach described in the Civitas study of the Silverleaf area in Maple Ridge has much to commend it in that it recognizes the overall concerns and goes a long way towards showing how a universal solution to planning isimperative.
The opportunity exists for land like thisto be utilized in a less obvious mannerthan what the likely scenario is today. No doubt it will be sold off in bits and pieces tonumerous developers who will do their best to maximize the dollar value of theland. No doubt too, the land usage willbe subject to a variety of zoning regulatio n s .
A clue to how this land should be developed is already present on the land. The smallcharacter homes on the land have beentelling the community something loudand clear for years. Don’t tear usdown. Use us as a blue print for what will happen on this land.
Not too far away, on 240th Street, asimilar scenario played out with HillHouse and the Jayman company. Thecharacter of our heritage is a key toour future.
The planning battles
The ghts over almost every squarefoot of development in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows is in many ways a worthyght. The winners win, and thelosers lose. Not every one is happy.Thus shall it ever be. But it seems thatwhomever wins, aesthetics is always theloser.
More attention is paid to zoning, nance, infrastructure and, dare we mention the environment, than to how a project will look and how it will function within the world it serves - thehuman world. There are smallenclaves of this town’s downtown core where people can be seen, drawn as it were to a comfort zone. How is that theentire town cannot be aimed at beinga comfort zone. A town where families, business, visitors and the entirecommunity feel comforted by theaesthetic environment.
Maple Ridge is lucky to have a very pleasant feel to it. Dozens of streetsecho the historic charm of this place. Itis possible to maintain the charm andstill bring to this town all the amenities and facilities that one would expect ofNorth American suburbia in the newMillennium.
Some of our winding, leaf roofed drives, like River Road between Port Haney and the Maple Ridge Golf Course, are perfect examples of how varying designs can live in harmony. With the exception, of course, of the threemonstrosities that stand side by side onthe eastern side, looking more likeboutique hotels than family dwellings.
There is no possible way thataesthetic standards can be set due tothe fact that beauty i s indeed inthe eye of the beholder. But some examples of the architectural blundersthat have passed by councils in thepast fall beyond the boundaries of allgood taste. In a growing country, young and spirited, the temptation alwaysexists to try something new, particularlyin
architecture. This may work ne in the big cities, but the issues are more delicate in the smaller conurbations. In smaller towns, the issue is habitat. Cities have their own way of dealing with habitat; itis served “straight up.”
The town of Maple Ridge would be better off if its nanciers and planners were “shaken and stirred”.
We have many ne examples of aesthetic awareness in this town..we need to remind ourselves that each time a building goes up, no matter what the location, we either add to or subtract from theappeal of what is largely an appeal ling community.
A Matter of Taste
Does it offend? Who does it offend?
“Committee” and “taste” are not two words which Naturally align. Try “government” and “taste”.
A b r a v ea t t e m p t
b y a l oc a l b u si n e s s
t o c o mb a t t he i n d us - t r i a ll o o k do w n t ow n .
A c k no w l ed g e me n t s Ed i t o rs
G e o r g e R e a d
TrishAbdullaLynWilliams
P h o t o g r a p h e r ’ s A s si s t a n t
O l i v i a A n d r u p
W i t h S p e c i a l T h a nk s t o
C h r i s C a m p b e l l
M a p l e R i d g e P i t t Me a d o w s T i m e s
A n d r u p & A s s o c i a t e s2 0 0 1
No comments:
Post a Comment