The Influence of Asian Immigration on the Architectural Culture of Canada: A Study on the Preservation of Asian Culture and Identity in Architecture in Canada

The Influence of Asian Immigration on the Architectural Culture of Canada: A Study on the Preservation of Asian Culture and Identity in Architecture in Canada

Immigrants from Asian countries to Canada has a history dating back to the 18th Century, and Asian-Canadians today make up an increasingly significant part of the Canadian population. As these communities grow over generations, they become an integral part of the culture and heritage of Canada’s own culture of multiculturalism. Originating from Asia and reestablishing themselves in Canada, immigrants carry with them culture, customs and away of life to their new home, ranging from new food, fashion, customs, language and even the way to construct buildings. This paper studies the relationship of Asian immigrant communities with the spaces and buildings they occupy, and how they inhabit and adapted spaces, buildings and cities to represent the culture and identity of their country of origin. In particular, the paper will focus on three major Asian ethnic groups: Chinese, Japanese and Korean, trace their paths and identify major tendencies in how each have attempted to preserve culture and express identity in the design of significant buildings in their communities. The research methodology consists firstly of literature review on the subject of Asian immigration and the mapping of major architectural style trends in Canada. Secondly, a selection of buildings were identified from each community for further analysis, including site visits, study of architectural drawings, plans, photographs, as well as interviews with building occupants to better understand the significance of these buildings and how they were conceived to represent their ethnic communities. Preliminary results indicate that the Chinese community, with along history of immigration to Canada, expresses identity mainly in the exterior appearance of the buildings. The Japanese community has a scattered history of immigration to Canada and the expression of identity is rather subdued and the expression is present mainly in the building’s interior. The Korean community is relatively young in Canada, and has a tendency to adapt existing spaces and buildings, while expressing culture and identity through signage and decoration.