This project is a small-scale streetscape intervention that proposes a quiet and restrained public space to commemorate Providence’s former Chinatown—once present, now erased—and to bring this forgotten chapter of urban history back into everyday awareness.
According to archival records and historical research, a Chinese community existed along Empire Street in downtown Providence between 1880 and 1914. As municipal infrastructure projects advanced, the Chinatown was entirely demolished. The official justification was the extension and widening of Empire Street to connect Weybosset Street and Washington Street, a project that required the removal of all buildings within the Chinatown area. Today, Empire Street remains noticeably wider than adjacent streets, with an unusually broad roadway that even accommodates two rows of parking in its center, despite relatively low traffic volume. This outcome has led many to reexamine the context of the urban renewal decision and to consider its relationship to the widespread anti-Chinese sentiment of the period. Regardless of the original intent, Chinatown as a physical community disappeared from the city’s fabric and was eventually relegated to archival records alone.
As a Chinese person currently living in Providence, I seek to respond to this history without relying on monumental or confrontational forms of expression. Given that Chinese and broader AAPI communities are not part of the city’s dominant narrative, the memorial space should not be overly prominent or emotionally charged. Instead, it aims to gently reveal a hidden layer of the city’s past, while also offering a sense of identity and belonging for Chinese and AAPI communities today.
With this approach, the project is sited along Empire Street, directly across from the former Chinatown location, adjacent to an existing bus stop and a small public area behind it. The unusual width of Empire Street provides favorable conditions for intervention, while the existing change in elevation behind the bus stop helps create a layered spatial experience. The design intentionally combines commemorative meaning with everyday public functions, allowing the space to serve both as a place for resting and waiting and as a site where the city’s erased history can be encountered casually.
Formally, the design centers on a red brick wall that gradually becomes perforated toward both ends. The perforation translates the process of Chinatown’s disappearance, while the brick material maintains continuity with the surrounding architectural context. Above the wall, a lightweight wooden canopy is introduced, drawing structural inspiration from the interlocking beams and columns of traditional Chinese timber architecture, rendered in an abstract and understated manner. Passersby may be drawn in by the wall and ascend the steps into the space, following a curated exhibition sequence that gradually reveals the history of Providence’s Chinatown through everyday moments of pause and movement.
本项目是一个小尺度的街道改造提案，旨在通过一个安静、克制的公共空间，纪念普罗维登斯曾经存在、但已消失的唐人街，并让这段被遗忘的城市历史重新进入日常视野。
根据档案与历史研究，1880 至 1914 年间，普罗维登斯市中心 Empire Street 一带曾形成华人社区。随后，随着市政工程的推进，唐人街被整体拆除。官方给出的原因是延长并拓宽 Empire Street，以连接 Weybosset Street 与 Washington Street，该工程要求清除当时唐人街范围内的所有建筑。直到今天，Empire Street 仍明显比相邻街道更宽，宽阔的车道中间甚至设置了两排停车位，而实际车流量并不高。这种结果也促使人们重新审视当年的城市更新背景，并思考其与当时社会中普遍存在的排华情绪之间的关系。无论真实动机如何，唐人街作为一个实体社区，就此从城市肌理中消失，直至被彻底遗忘在档案馆中。
作为目前生活在普罗维登斯的华人，我希望回应这段历史，但并不希望通过宏大或对立的方式表达。考虑到华人及 AAPI 群体并非这座城市的主流，纪念空间不应过于突出或带有强烈情绪，而应以温和的方式提示城市中曾经存在的另一层历史。同时，对华人和 AAPI 社区而言，这样的空间也具有身份认同与归属感的意义。
基于这一态度，项目选址于 Empire Street 上、原唐人街旧址对街的一处公交站及其后方的公共空间。Empire Street的宽阔道路为介入提供了良好条件，后方的标高变化也有助于创造层次化的空间。设计将纪念性与公共服务功能并置，使其既是一个可休息、等候的街道设施，也是一处可以“顺便了解”城市历史的公共空间。
在设计上，我以一面向两侧逐渐镂空的红砖墙作为主要视觉元素，镂空转译了唐人街逐渐消失的过程，红砖材料则与周边建筑环境保持连续性。墙体上方设置轻质木制棚架，其结构灵感来源于中国传统木构中梁与柱的穿插关系，但仅以抽象方式呈现。人们可能因墙体产生好奇，沿台阶进入空间，并顺着设定的展览动线，在日常停留中逐步了解普罗维登斯唐人街的历史。
