History Doesn’t Write Itself.
Dragon Centre Mall Part #2
Picking up where the first in this series left off, Howard set out to explore:
‘How might we commemorate and build a community history of Dragon Centre?’
A great deal of care and effort has been put into building a supportive structure for memories of the Dragon Centre to be captured. Through this process Howard and his firm, ThinkFresh Group, made partnerships with the community, School of Cities: University of Toronto, Shiupong (the original developer), Daniels, Myseum of Toronto, ERA Architects and brought on many volunteers. Together they researched and collected relevant archival information, promoted the initiative to the media including interviews at news outlets like Global, put together a project website, and planned a commemorative event.
Common Ground
During this commemorative event, Howard and special guests and stakeholders spoke at the opening presentation to provide context and history to set the stage for the rest of the days celebrations. Supporting story boards, timelines and archival information created a common ground to inform those who were unfamiliar or needed reminding of the history of the centre.
Making Space for Sharing
In order to capture as many rich memories from as many people who experienced the space, a wide variety of facilitation techniques and collaborative design tools were employed in both English and Chinese at both the live event and online. By providing so many ways to share, it has ensured that the richness and diversity of memories coming together more accurately represent the community and their experiences.
During this story circle, facilitators from ERA Architects created a warm and inviting space for attendees to share and listen. Among those who shared stories were community members who grew up shopping with their family at the centre, buying their first pair of glasses and meeting for family meals.
Memory Keepers
“People are afraid of being forgotten.” — Leo Chan
Leo Chan, the brother of the original architect who converted the roller rink into the shopping centre, promised his brother that he would come on his behalf. His brother felt too emotional to attend. Leo said that he was unaware of the significance of the mall and that it was historical; seeing all of the celebrations and the people who attended made him feel proud and is happy to report back to his brother about the event.
Nelson, the son of the original owner of TungTung, now manages the family shop. He comes to Dragon Centre every day. When he shared in the circle it provided a space for him to express what complicated feelings he has about how such a large part of his life and his family history will no longer exist.
Along with this story circle, walking tours both inside and outside of the mall provided opportunities for people to remember experiences around the space that they may have forgotten otherwise.
More visual mapping tools were available for event attendees to add stories to the collective memory of Dragon Centre. Howard and his team really covered all of their bases and made it enjoyable and playful to participate at the event.
What’s Next?
With the excitement of the event wrapping, phone lines and forms are still open to capture even more stories. As a form of public consultation, this project will not culminate in the familiar way to any influence on built form. Rather, this is now a collective history which is being written to pay respect to those who shaped the community and for future generations to look back on and remember the heritage.
Continue reading to explore definitions of heritage and the importance of recording multiple histories.
References:
- Dragon Centre Commemoration Celebration, October 5th, 2019. 23 Glen Watford Drive, Scarborough.
