Kam Wai Dim Sum
Status
Completed 2021
Location
Vancouver, BC
Builder
Pacific Solutions Contracting
Collaborators
Strathcona BIA; Dunefield Consulting; Youth Collaborative for Chinatown
Photography
Haeccity Studio Architecture
The Brief
Kam Wai Dim Sum’s story started in 1990, in a small shop on Gore Avenue. In 2009 Kam Wai moved into one of a handful of early 20th Century character buildings concentrated within a few blocks in Vancouver’s Chinatown, owned by the Kong Chow Society. From the outside, and on the inside, the business’s humble beginnings are still apparent, but in fact it has grown to be one of the largest wholesale dim sum retailers in British Columbia today. Despite this, Kam Wai’s tenure is by no means secure, as external pressures and the limitations of aging building stock threaten their ability to keep serving the Chinatown community.
The purpose of the Community-Serving Retail In Chinese Society Buildings project was to seek means and forms through which existing and new culturally relevant retail enterprises can continue to thrive in these buildings. Haeccity Studio Architecture was brought on board to perform a feasibility study and to deliver schematic plans for an interior renovation specific to Kam Wai’s operations, space, and vision.
Plotting the Course
Preparation for the project included extensive meetings and discussions (sometimes over dumplings) with the stakeholder team, including the second-generation owners of Kam Wai and Chinatown advocates. Through these interactions the current values and practices and the future needs and goals of the business were extracted, examined, and classified.
Additionally, the building itself was surveyed by the Haeccity team to help identify deficiencies and opportunities to be faced in the renovation. Observing the activity and accessories that are involved in the production of traditional dim sum allowed for a more holistic design process.
The Best Laid Plans...
A principal challenge for the Community-Serving Retail In Chinese Society Buildings project was to allow culturally important buildings that had seen decades of repairs and alterations largely outside the municipal permitting system to be brought into compliance with current City of Vancouver regulations to allow for critical improvements without triggering punishingly expensive building upgrades. The Building Permit acquisition process was a lengthly exercise of give-and-take. In the end, what was intended to be a relatively cosmetic front of house retail upgrade snowballed to include extensive kitchen ventilation upgrades. Additional life-safety issues were revealed in the course of the renovation, requiring the scope of work to expand to include limited building wiring, water main connection, and fire alarm upgrades. At the discovery of each challenge, the Haeccity team worked with the contractors to minimize the amount of work required to satisfy safety protocols.
The Future is Bright
Having reopened in February 2021 to much rejoicing in the neighbourhood, Kam Wai is back to serving its community clientele (including new culinary converts at Haeccity) delicious fresh and frozen dim sum. Chinatown continues to struggle with changing times, but Kam Wai Dim Sum's refreshed presence will provide a comfortable constant for locals and visitors alike.
The next step of this ongoing process will be a facelift for the street facade, allowing the renewed energy inside the business to be projected to the Chinatown street.
