Counterfactual Histories and Speculative Immersion: Exploring the Capabilities of Unveiling Historical Wrongs and Institutional Discrimination

This document incorporates the description of the theoretical and practical foundations of my research and studio practice. I have conducted excavations and inquiries about the injustices that occurred in the lower mainland of British Columbia across the 20th-century related to colonialism, racism and gentrification. The historical events that have been studied are mainly regarding the forced removals of Japanese and African Canadians. The research is involved in applying the critical design methodology of Alternative Histories to support communities that have been historically underrepresented. Alternative Histories are a design methodology proposed by British designer James Auger which proposes that it is useful to re-imagine the past in order to re-engineer the present. Through writing Alternative Histories, constructing architectural models, and utilizing rendering and virtual reality technologies, the final thesis project aims to make audiences reconsider the past ideals and losses of Hogan's Alley, a historic Black community in Vancouver that has been erased due to the construction of Georgia Viaduct, a raised highway that connects East Vancouver with Downtown. This project, unexpectedly, contributes to the negotiation between Hogan's Alley Society and the local government on the removal of the Georgia Viaduct and community reconstruction. Ultimately, my research guides the audience to take a historical detour and brings to the surface the problems of colonialism, racism, and gentrification in Vancouver to attract social attention. Through the research, I aim to ask what the capabilities of Alternative Histories are as a position to unveil historical wrongs and institutional discrimination. In conclusion, the research finds that Auger’s alternative histories are actually useful in contemporary design projects.