REAL ESTATE
When heritage conservation keys on intangibles
A
by Carlito Pablo
proposed Downtown Eastside development seeks to pioneer an innovative concept of heritage conservation in Vancouver. It’s called the “living heritage approach”. This strategy is generally different than conventional methods that focus on physical aspects of heritage properties and sites. The design rationale for the planned 11-storey mixed-use project at 305 Main Street explains what this means: “The living heritage approach considers foremost the meaning a place had in the past but also to its ongoing use and relevance in the everyday life of residents in the present,” the document states. “In other words,” the paper continues, “it embraces the living nature of a place and inherently a continuous process of evolution.” The proposed development covers half a city block, starting from the southwest corner of Main and Cordova streets south to 325 Main Street. The development application was included in the agenda Monday (April 11) of the Vancouver Heritage Commission. As the VHC agenda notes, the project entails the demolition of five structures, including 305 Main Street, which is in the Vancouver
…the existing building…has lost structural integrity over time in part due to damage from a fire in the past. – VHC meeting agenda
A “living heritage” design for the MAC project mixes past meaning with present relevance.
Heritage Register. This property is listed as 301–305 Main Street—and, alternatively, 170–172 East Cordova Street—in the register. It was built in 1892 and 1893 as the Mountain View Boarding House. The development site also includes a two-storey commercial building at 307 Main Street that was built in 1908. Another building is the Imperial Theatre at 319 Main Street, which was built in 1974 at the spot where the old Golden Harvest Theatre used to show Bruce Lee and
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other kung-fu movies. The VHC agenda likewise states that a report “analyzed the condition of the existing building at 305 Main Street and determined that it has lost structural integrity over time in part due to damage from a fire in the past”. “Given the above the applicant took directions from the Vancouver Heritage Program and proposes a living heritage approach to achieve both heritage and social housing goals,” the agenda notes. Moreover, the project’s “living heritage approach focuses not just on 305 Main Street, but the entire site”. The proposed development will feature housing units, a community theatre, learning space, and commercial units. Marianne Amodio is one of the project’s architects.
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“We were supported at the VHC,” Amodio told the Straight by phone after the civic body’s meeting. Amodio also noted that since the development application was filed, the plan has been adjusted to dedicate the residential component to 100 percent social housing. She recalled that the previous plan involved a mix of market rentals and social housing. For now, the future building is called MAC, after the two cross streets of Main and Cordova streets. Amodio said that the building’s name may change later. Amodio and Harley Grusko of MA+HG Architects, Inc. and Z Smith of architecture and design firm EskewDumezRipple wrote a letter of intent that forms part of the project’s design rationale. The architects state in the letter that work for the 305 Main Street development presents a “robust and groundbreaking Living Heritage Approach”. The approach “encompasses the value of the intangible heritage the site holds, not only through its physical buildings and uses, but through a understanding of the lived history of the site from the stories of the people who inhabit this community”. “The intent of the proposal is to provide the Downtown Eastside/Oppenheimer community with a place of culture, connection and primarily, of home,”the letter explains. In addition to housing and housing-related amenities, the project also includes a “music-capable cultural space, New Harvest”. The said “landmark space overlooking the corner of Main and Cordova” will enable the community to “carry on their traditions of storytelling through music, film, art and performance”. As well, “small scale commercial units are provided to support the tradition of local neighbourhood-serving retail in the area”. An appendix that forms part of the design rationale emphasizes the project’s pioneering approach to heritage conservation. “At this time, in the City of Vancouver, there has not been a development project that has undertaken living heritage as its conservation approach,” the document explains. Also, “While this work has been applied mostly to urban districts and historic cities, rather than to a site that is half of a city block, the importance in this paradigm shift, regardless of scale, is the emphasis and inclusion of a community’s intangible values.” “The built environment therefore is understood as a living space where life took and continues to take place.” With the 305 Main Street development, the project’s living heritage approach seeks to “design a building that serves and strengthens the continuity of community connections to the place”. g
