David Lam Park II + III

Vancouver, British Columbia | 2006-2011

As part of the chain of City parks along False Creek’s north waterfront, David Lam Park provides high-value open space that brings the public to the water’s edge, with environmental enhancements at the foreshore. Bordered by an elementary school and community centre, the 11-acre park serves the Concord Pacific beach neighbourhood and hosts several festivals each year.

BC Lieutenant Governor David Lam (1988-1995), who immigrated to Canada in the 1960s, once said that he fell in love with Vancouver’s natural landscape; echoing his devotion to both landscape and uniting communities, the park accommodates a variety of functions for diverse user groups. Expansive grass areas for frisbee or picnicking, a large children’s playground, tennis and basketball courts, public washrooms—and a restful Chinese garden for quiet reflection, with plantings of Chinese origin—provide a variety of places for people to enjoy in Lam’s memory.

PWL worked on the park extension above the (washroom/muster station) at the northwest corner of the park near the foot of Homer Street. Here, imagery and materials recall the history of the site—its former rocky shore edge is reconstructed in granite—and glass-etched photographs display scenes from the industrial history of Yaletown. At the water’s edge, loading dock canopies were once a common fixture; today, a similar canopy of glass and steel serves a new function: shelter from rain or sun. At the street edge interface, park visitors can take advantage of water views from the grassy mound, observing activities on land and sea.