Dragons at luxury Vancouver condo project in Chinatown summon subject of 'intentional Chineseness'

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      Vancouver developer James Schouw is proud of creating aesthetically pleasing homes.

      He calls them habitable art.

      “Everything I’m involved in in terms of development is an expression of that notion,” Schouw told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.

      His previous works include boutique condos, notably the Grace on Richards and Drake streets, and the Iliad on Homer Street.

      Features in these high-end residences include sculptures and figures like gargoyles or decorative water spouts, whose name was supposedly derived from a legendary dragon in French folklore.

      Speaking about dragons, Schouw wants to have some for his proposed condo development in Chinatown.

      According to him, he and his creative team have suggested lightly embossed dragons at the balconies of a 10-storey residential building with commercial spaces below at 129 Keefer Street.

      “They’re very subtle, almost like a watermark feature that would be barely visible,” Schouw said in the interview Wednesday (March 15).

      Dragons are an important part of Chinese culture. Unlike in Western mythology in which dragons are evil, Chinese dragons are benevolent creatures. Many Chinese people believe they are descendants of the dragon.

      However, as Schouw related, he has been told to lose his dragons.

      That happened last Thursday (March 9) when the development application was presented to the Chinatown Historic Area Planning Committee (CHAPC), a civic body that advises the City of Vancouver about planning and heritage issues in the neighbourhood.

      The suggestion to drop the dragons came from CHAPC member John Atkin, a local historian and author.

      Schouw said that Atkin is a friend of his, whose work he holds in high regard.

      “I absolutely respect it,” Schouw said about Atkin’s recommendation. “I respect his opinion to a great extent, and as far as I’m concerned, his perspective on that matter is to me more significant than my own.”

      So are the dragons gone?

      “I don’t know yet, because we still have more process,” Schouw said. “We may find that at other steps in this process, we have people saying that this is wonderful and should be supported.”

      He added: “I wouldn’t want to comment on exactly what modifications will happen till we’re further through the process, but I emphasize that I very much respect John’s perspective on it.”

      Developer James Schouw is contemplating subtle dragon images for his proposed Chinatown development, shown in rendering as the building on the left with green balconies.

      Speaking as a historian and not in his capacity as a member of the CHAPC, Atkin recalled that he made an “offhand comment” about the dragons at the March 9 meeting.

      “I don’t think Chinatown needs the constant referencing back to symbols that speak to everyone else as Chinatown, because Chinatown itself is its own place, and I think we need to be designing things that work within the context, but without straining the references to where it is,” Atkin told the Straight in a phone interview.

      He related that development in Chinatown happened in different stages, and this was reflected in the architecture of the time.

      For example, early developments were done by family and clan associations, which were buildings that looked Chinese, and had balconies like the current proposed condo building at 129 Keefer Street.

      After the Chinese Exclusion Act was lifted, Atkin continued, the next set of buildings that came into Chinatown were modestly styled structures that were not Chinese in appearance.

      “It’s only in the 70’s when Chinatown was a heritage area that we started to see buildings on the east end of Pender [Street] up at Gore [Street], with green tiled roofs and balconies … that’s when we started paying attention to the quote, ‘Chineseness’ end quote of Chinatown, and trying to create these overtly Chinese buildings.”

      “There is a place for architecture that, you know, builds on a culture, but at the same time, you have to understand what you’re building and what you’re doing, and putting balconies on a modern building that has no society or clan function takes away from the original building,” Atkin said.

      Atkin also said: “Care needs to be taken with the design, so that you’re not drawing from a set of symbols that may or may not work and be appropriate to the building. So that’s where the comment came from.”

      CHAPC chair Helen Lee said that many committee members appreciate the design and materials chosen for the project, which reflect the industrial history of Keefer Street.

      Keefer Street was once a timber wharf, and the neighbourhood of the B.C. Electric Railway, a utility company that provided heat and power to the city.

      Lee, an urban planner, also said that several committee members saw merit in the developer’s plan to put commercial units at the side and back of the proposed building, which activate the laneway.

      However, according to Lee, there were concerns about the affordability of the future condos.

      “The applicant stated that these units were intended to be served on the higher end,” Lee told the Straight by phone.

      Lee noted that owners of expensive condos aren’t expected to go to the local vegetable or meat shops in Chinatown that form part of the fabric of the historic neighbourhood.

      “Occupants would not necessarily be helping the local businesses, and it may actually even displace some of the more traditional businesses by newer business, right, that would cater to this population,” Lee said.

      As for the dragons, Lee recalled, in reference to Atkin, that a member referred to this aspect of the project as “intentional Chinessness”.

      “It’s like putting in symbols or emblems or things that, you know, people perceive as being Chinese, but it’s almost to the point where its fake,” Lee explained. “It doesn’t seem authentic.”

      Members of the public have until April 7, 2017 to submit their comments about the project to the City of Vancouver.

      Wouldn’t it be great to have the dragons?

      Schouw said: “Yeah, I don’t disagree and input is very, very welcome. So certainly anybody that is of the opinion that it would be appropriate to incorporate that kind of a motif, we should hear that and then we can balance the different points of view and try to, you know, come up with a design solution that is more appropriate.” 

       

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