Open Collections

Li, Josephine

Part One: Chinatown frequently emerges as a distinctive neighbourhood in major North American cities. Transforming into a unique urban typology, Chinatowns serve as an entry point into Asian culture, providing Asian cuisine and a diverse array of programs. Beyond the lively lights, vibrant colours, and the romanticization of oriental architecture, lies a nuanced history endured by successive generations of immigrants, which will be meaningfully defined and analyzed in this scope of research. This intricate history of marginalization, exclusion, and xenophobia serves as the backdrop for the present realities of Chinatowns. Masked by the re-imagining of Chinese aesthetics as cultural identity and tradition, Chinatowns present an array of distinctive socio-spatial characteristics that define their essence beyond surface-level aesthetics. These neighbourhoods have historically served and continue to serve as sanctuaries for the Chinese populations in North America, bringing together individuals with cultural affinities, fostering networks of mutual support and commerce. This urban phenomenon will be studied through the lens of three Chinatowns: San Francisco’s, Montreal’s, and Vancouver’s. Through these cities, patterns between their Chinatowns will be identified while also discovering what makes them specific to their respective urban fabric. Understanding that, though there is a sameness in most Chinatowns, their local Chinese community takes initiative for their own needs and adapts for everyday cultural living. Part Two: The Chinese Cultural Centre was designed to be the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown. As of current, it is extremely under utilized, only open for the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden and Park and the occasional meeting point for cultural celebrations. Chinatown is home to a large community that has social capital in the neighbourhood but lacks ownership, making it difficult for them to have a space that feels like a place for them. This project aims to re-imagine the Cultural Centre through public space and programmatic adjacencies to reactivate the Cultural Centre as the heart of Chinatown and be a tool for community agency. Agency in this context means to give space to take action and have a sense of control. This is done through understanding the programs and infrastructures needed to provide the opportunity for organic gathering, selling, and other cultural activities without the need to be a member at a local society or a patron at a cafe.

Vancouver (B.C.)

Text

University of British Columbia. ARCH 549

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0442268

Applied Science, Faculty of; Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/