nwasianweekly.com
Jan. 19, 2008

Photo by Ann-Marie Stillion

Every decorative element of the gate, no matter how small, is suffused with meaning: A dragon pearl rests atop a lotus, which itself is resting on a lotus stand. The pearl is encircled by a fireball, which two dragons (outside frame of photo) fight each other to claim. Topping off the entire ornament is a miniature pagoda.

Unveiling a beauty

By Eleanor Lee
Northwest Asian Weekly

After months of shrouds and veils, the new Chinese gate at South King Street in Chinatown/International District has been standing bare the last few days, for all to see. People waiting at the bus terminal across the street remarked that it was striking to see the colorful, ornate gate after all that gray tarp.

How, exactly, is a traditional Chinese gate built? It’s not like you can stroll down to the Home Depot and ask for advice, no matter how nice they are about cutting boards down to size.

Instead, architect Paul Wu had to go all the way to China, where he extensively studied existing gates, and the entire history behind them, before beginning to design one for Seattle.

Wu said that the architecture firm Mulvanny G2, which does work internationally but is based in Bellevue, helped with the preliminary images. Then, Wu worked with a design institute in China. “(It took) a collaboration of a lot of people to come up with the design. I didn’t design it by myself, but I’ve been involved since the beginning, seven or eight years ago,” Wu said.

Previous attempts to build a gate in the neighborhood had been unsuccessful. Faye Hong, the principal fundraiser for the Chinatown gate project, said, “Originally, people were kind of skeptical, because there were several earlier efforts, and nothing ever happened. Here we were saying we wanted to raise money for the gate, (and people responded), ‘Well, you know, as a matter of fact, I donated money for the gate 30, 40 years ago —What happened to my money?’ ‘Sorry, I had nothing to do with that.’
“Really, when we got over that, we raised quite a bit of money. Everyone realized we were serious. Then, the enthusiasm to fund was very positive.”

Hong believes this particular board was able to see the gate all the way through to completion because members held themselves accountable. “We published reports of how much we raised, listed donors. We keep the community informed, so people trust this new group of board members,” he said.
In addition, the board asked 40 community leaders to be honorary board members, which built trust in the community, Hong said.

Hong said that this gate is distinctive from other gates in North American cities, like San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, British Columbia, because “most of the other gates are kind of like a plaque.” He explained, “A couple of poles go up there, then they have a Chinese-designed plaque. But our gate has four posts, more like pagoda. We’ve got depth. It looks more like a building rather than plaque.”

Hong said, “All that credit goes to Paul Wu. He did a lot of research, went to China, read about how the emperors used to build gates. He deserves a lot of credit.”
In China, Wu toured palaces and gates throughout the country, determined to visit various regions. “Because China is so big, the different regions have different styles,” he explained.

He supplemented his observations with books on Chinese architecture, the oldest of which was a Chinese code book on construction, which Wu said had been published in 1109.

“One thing I noticed everywhere I went: I wasn’t able to see the top of the building,” he said. “I was looking at the eaves, the underside of the roof. That’s where people look,” necessitating the most interesting details and color there.

Almost all of the materials were shipped from China, a seemingly huge feat, but Wu said that he didn’t experience any challenges with that process on his end, crediting Lu-Bond Construction, the contractor for the materials, for a job well done.

Wei Fang, the owner of Lu-Bond, said that while there were a few challenges — the Chinese use a completely different set of measurements which don’t convert neatly to the American system, for one — everything came over in good shape and on time. Some of the most delicate materials were 8,000 ceramic tiles, all of which arrived in excellent condition, but didn’t fit the pre-measurements!
Hong said that despite the cost of bringing materials over, the favorable exchange rate makes the project cost-effective. Not that there is an option. “Basically, China is the only place to get (the materials),” Hong said.
The only materials that are domestic are the steel beams used for the foundation, a donation from a California firm. Hong said that Jerry Lee, of Mulvanny G2, was instrumental in procuring such donations.

Something ordinary people wouldn’t know looking at the gate is how intricate the support system is, Wu noted. “It just looks like wood, but it’s hollow stainless steel, put together like a jigsaw, and it looks like it’s holding everything up, but it’s decoration only. There’s 85 feet of piling, concrete and steel. We used a Chinese bracketing system called do-gong,” he said.

The construction workers, six full-timers and two part-timers, including an expert in traditional Chinese construction who had come over from China specifically for this project, worked nine hours a day, six days a week, for five months.

Wu said that this project was a first for him. “It was a learning process for me. We don’t build many gates here. The gates in America and Canada, they’re either donated or shipped directly from China,” he explained. “This gate, it’s one of a kind.”

The Historic Chinatown Gate Foundation plans to build a second gate, an Eastern one, which would be identical in design and construction. Hong said, laughing, “We would need more community involvement to build the second gate. We hope people know that when we come around to ask for money again!”

Descriptions of roof details provided by Wei Fang and Paul Wu.

Eleanor Lee can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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