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Replicates hand-crafted originals using modern materials at a fraction of cost
Makam creates 'artisan' features in Dr. Sun Yat-Sen garden extension
You'll be hard pressed to tell where the original building ends and the new extension starts in the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen classical Chinese garden in Vancouver's Chinatown.
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| Decorative "leak" windows are normally made from tile (left), and every one is a different design. For the extension, a movie-set manufacturer created foam patterns that were then cast in concrete (middle and right). Different fillers will be used to reproduce the smoother finish of tile. |
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But, at $1.45 million, the 5,230 square foot extension is costing just a tiny fraction of what it would if using the labour-intensive methods of the original building.
"The Chinese government donated part of the original garden costs," explains Kurt Barber, president of general contractor Makam Construction Ltd. "And they sent over 75 container loads of materials and 52 artisan workers from Mainland China.
"It took them 11 months, doing everything by hand according to centuries-old traditions: There's incredible detail that would be prohibitively expensive to repeat - even if we could find the craftsmen to do it."
The solution?
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One item shipped from China are the roof tiles. However, experience from the original building shows they are slightly porus. The solution was to use an underlay of mineral roofing.
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Use modern materials wherever possible, but maintain the same look and feel.
And the results are impressive.
For example, the new decorative roof ridges are fiberglass castings, whereas the originals are made from hand-assembled brick, wood and plaster.
The distinctively Chinese filigree work between posts was originally a matter of wood joinery, but the new work is laser cut from sheet steel.
And the decorative "leak" windows - every one is a different design - were originally made from tile. The new examples were first designed by the architect Joe Wai, patterns were created, then transferred to foam by a movie-set manufacturer, which were then used to create concrete forms and finally the concrete replicas were cast.
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Kurt Barber (above) had to seek out many different specialties to help recreate all the features found in the original gardens. The decorative laticework (below right) is laser cut from sheet steel rather than pieced together with wood joinery, and the roof ridge (below left) was cast in fiberglass rather than hand built from brick, wood and plaster.
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One of the few items shipped over from China are the actual roof tiles. But even here changes had to be made.
"The engineers discovered these tiles are slightly porous. They were never intended for our wet climate and the moisture seepage was causing some rot in the wood roof members supporting the tiles."
In this case, the solution was to place an underlay of mineral roofing, cover that with aluminum mesh, and then set the tiles in foam - in effect gluing them to the roof - and then some less-frequent nailing provided added security.
"It's been an interesting project," Mr. Barber notes. "We've had to look far and wide to source all the different components, many of which are not part of your normal general contract."
Interestingly, the original building - built in 1985/86 - involved both the architect and Mr. Barber, who helped install the original foundations.
The extension will house a new garden area, an interpretive centre, a new, larger gift shop, a tea room, office space and restrooms.
Other ICBA-member companies involved include Comren Contracting Ltd. (drywall and acoustic tile), and KLM Mechanical Systems Ltd.
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