Svenskar i Kambodja: Architecture in Phnom Penh: New Khmer Architecture and more, part 2

This blog entry is a continuation of the former one. It is composed of two parts: First a number of random pictures taken during our two-year stay here, and then pictures from an architecture tour I did with KA Tours, covering the National Sports Complex (a.k.a. "Olympic Stadium") and the Royal University of Phnom Penh on Russian Boulevard. Most of the background information for this blog post is in the former one.

Since this city is evolving very rapidly, some of the pictures in these posts are already outdated. New taller buildings are sprouting like mushrooms in the city center, and things have only just begun. This puts the older buildings and their current environment at risk, and I can only hope that some of the current aesthetic values of the city are preserved in the end. There will come a time when people now so eager for economic development will realize money cannot be eaten, breathed or indeed enjoyed for its own sake.

2. Random Phnom Penh pictures

Panorama over Neak Banh Teuk Park from Skyline Apartments.

Independence Monument on the far left.

Stalled Sokha hotel development on the Chroy Chang Va peninsula

right in front of the Royal Palace, ruining the latter's view of the river.

Memorial for the late king father Norodom Sihanouk, who passed away in October 2012.

Missing in the above picture of Neak Banh Teuk Park, which was taken earlier.

Wat Phnom, literally "Mountain Temple"

Wat Ounalom on Sothearos Boulevard near Sisowath Quay

In Phnom Penh, traditional wooden Khmer houses are disappearing fast

In the countryside, they're still abundant although most new buildings have brick walls

Hotel Cambodiana, with its temple roof in the middle section, seen from the river

One tower almost completed, one stalled indefinitely,

at the intersection of Sihanouk and Monivong.

The latter, originally called Gold Tower 42 for the envisioned number of floors,

has now been renamed Ghost Tower 32 by local humor.

Preahyouvong Pagoda, a lesser-known personal favourite near Street 21 at Street 312

Preahyouvong Pagoda, interior.

The late king father Sihanouk often came here to pray.

The nouveaux riches prefer flaunty abodes to tasteful ones.

This one on Norodom Boulevard allegedly belongs to a beer tycoon.

The National Assembly, near Diamond Island

Wat Botum Park, viewed from the south

Svay Pope Pagoda, Sothearos Boulevard

Independence Monument, by Vann Molyvann,

at the intersection of Norodom and Sihanouk boulevards

Another key opus by Vann Molyvann:

Chaktomuk Theatre and Conference Center,

at the south end of Sisowath Quay

One of the most blatant examples of invasive development: Rose Garden,

at the north end of Bassac Garden City, is taller than anything for miles.

At the east side of the river Bassac, near Monivong Bridge,

a poorer community lives on the riverbank

In the same community, a Vietnamese temple called Chua Kim Phouc is located.

It has a multi-tiered roof in Chinese style.

A new apartment building near Sisowath Quay

Royal Palace: The Moonlight Pavilion

Royal Palace: The Throne Hall

Royal Palace: The Silver Pagoda, mostly used as a treasury

Royal Palace: The Silver Pagoda with an Angkor Wat miniature in the foreground

The Vattanac Capital Building, or the "Bootscraper",

soon to be completed, on Russian Boulevard

3. The National Sports Complex

The indoor stadium viewed from the parking lot

The indoor stadium uses daylight in a clever way

The indoor stadium has an ingenious drainage system: The roof is divided into four parts, each under a hollow pillar that works like a funnel. The water flows into an indoor moat surrounding the floor and then further into a number of reservoirs out in the grounds. Unfortunately these reservoirs are currently being filled in with concrete as parts of the property is being chipped away for commercial development.