One of the nicest cultural experiences I've had during my days as a stay-at-home dad was hunting down and looking at some of the architecture in Phnom Penh, particularly the buildings made by the New Khmer Architecture movement. This movement, spearheaded by architect Vann Molyvann, flourished in the short time of 1953 to 1970, between Cambodia's independence and the military regime that was later followed by Khmers Rouges, genocide and decades of chaos.
New Khmer Architecture is a kind of international modernism with a Cambodian flavour, given mainly by the inclusion of stylized traditional Khmer attributes, taken both from traditional Khmer housing and from Buddhist pagoda architecture. Some elements are purely decorative, while others have a specific practical use. For example, one of the main challenges is in coping with the tropical climate without too much need for electrical cooling.
I'm a layman when it comes to architecture, and the only book ever published on the subject is said to have been swiftly withdrawn because it criticised the current practice of tearing down key buildings from this era whenever a foreigner wants the property for new and lucrative development. I don't know as much as I would have wanted about the buildings, so I'll just let them speak more or less for themselves.
I will spread the effort over two consecutive blog entries. The first set of pictures follow, more or less, the route suggested by the excellent walking map provided by the Khmer Architecture Tours organization. The next blog entry features some random pictures from around town, followed by pictures from a tour of the National Sports Complex and the Phnom Penh University. You can find more information and pictures by others here and here. You can also check out Wikipedia and The Vann Molyvann Project.
All the below pictures were taken by me over the course of 18 months. All rights reserved.
Part 1: The walking tour
The numbers in parentheses map to the items on the walking map, available here.
(1) Colonial building: The Latin Quarter at the corner of Street 19 and Street 178
(2) One of the Royal Villas still standing, on Street 178
(4) The National Museum, overview
(5) Public toilet from 1959 near the entrance to the National Musem om Street 178
(6) Apartment building on Street 13
(6) Apartment building on Street 13
(7) "Hiroshima House" in the Wat Ounalom temple complex,
as seen from Street 13
(8-9) Apartment buildings on Street 172
(10) Round corner house of Street 19 and 172, with roof pergola
(11) Street 19 between streets 172 and 154
(11) Street 19 between streets 154 and 148
(12) Capitol Cinema, on the corner of streets 19 and 148
(13) Prom Bayon Cinema, Street 154
(14) Two-storey apartment buildings, Street 154
(15) Apartment building, Street 154
(17) Villa, Norodom Boulevard
(19) Colonial villa, corner Norodom and 144
(20) Forestry Administration building, Street 144
(21) Former US Operations Mission building, corner 49 and 144
(22) Former US Embassy, corner 49 and 144
(23) Apartment block, corner 49 and 144
(23) Apartment block, corner 49 and 154
(23) Apartment block, corner 51 and 154
(26) Street 53 between 154 and 136
(27) Central Market, art deco style
(28) Former Peugeot Garage, corner 130 and Norodom
(29) Customs office with almost Art Nouveau style entrance, Norodom Boulevard
(31) Office building, corner 19 and 130
(32) Former hotel, street 130 between 19 and 15
(33) Hemakcheat Cinema, street 130 between 19 and 15
(34) Intersection Street 130 and 15,
corner houses of different styles
(34) Intersection Street 130 and 15,
corner houses of different styles
(34) Intersection Street 130 and 15,
colonial style corner house
(36) Intersection Street 118 and 15, French/Chinese corner house
(36) Intersection Street 118 and 15
(38) Old Hotel International, corner 13 and 130
(39) Restored French colonial building, corner 5 and 130
(41) Office building now turned into apartments,
corner Sisowath Quay and 148
Sisowath Quay a.k.a. Riverside, with monsoon clouds
(42) Wat Ounalom, Sothearos Boulevard near Sisowath Quay
(42) Wat Ounalom, Sothearos Boulevard near Sisowath Quay
(42) Wat Ounalom, Sothearos Boulevard near Sisowath Quay
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