Robert Fung’s Fave Gastown Haunts

With his eye for design and authenticity, heritage developer Robert Fung is our man on the ground in Gastown.

Dubbed “the poster child of heritage” by Heritage Vancouver president Donald Luxton, Vancouver developer Robert Fung is dedicated to revitalizing not only the buildings of Gastown but also the neighbourhood itself. Design-conscious but not snobby, Robert believes that historic environments and modernism are not mutually exclusive concepts. His company, The Salient Group, has won numerous heritage awards and recently received a prestigious Lieutenant Governor’s medal for architecture for the refurbished Garage, Terminus and Alhambra buildings, eliciting comments like “This is what architecture is meant to be.” Robert knows Gastown inside out and is actively involved in the daily life of the community. With his eye for design and authenticity, he’s our man on the ground in Gastown.

7 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Gastown

CHILL ON the patio at Six Acres on Maple Tree Square. A great beer selection, consumed on the site of Vancouver’s first saloon. Open Monday to Saturday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., 203 Carrall St., sixacres.ca

EAT AT Potluck café on Hastings Street. Great food at amazing prices. Service is always friendly, and the café helps to train, feed and promote the people in the community. Open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 30 W. Hastings St. between Abbott and Carrall, www.potluckcatering.org

TAKE IN the Chinatown Night Market for a wacky, vibrant, dynamic experience on a hot summer night. You won’t find great antiques, but it’s a good place to look for a cover for your cellphone. But the best reason to go is for is the culture: loud music, folk dancing, singing, magic shows, martial arts, lion dance. May 14 to September 5, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 6:30-11 p.m. at Keefer and Main, www.vcma.shawbiz.ca

CHECK OUT some of Vancouver’s best designers, shops and architecture, both modern and historic. Gastown is the heart of the grassroots design community, with shops like Haven, a guerrilla store that doesn’t even have a sign yet, tucked around the back of Alhambra, the oldest building in Gastown. Haven sells cool menswear, as will Roden Gray, being launched by local fashion icon Rob Lo next fall in the Alhambra. Next door the LYNNsteven women’s clothing boutique with its “book wall” of stacked paperbacks has won two major architectural awards. Haven Select, 7 Gaoler’s Mews, Blood Alley, www.havenshop.ca; Roden Gray, 8 Water Street, www.rodengray.com; Lynn Steven, 225 Carrall St., www.lynnsteven.com

EMBRACE the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood but still evolving. It has taken its knocks, but it’s a robust community and our most diverse neighbourhood in all respects, exemplified by Gallery Gachet, an artist-run community offering a focal point for dialogue among outsiders or dissident artists. Gallery Gachet, 888 E. Cordova St., www.gachet.org