Page 2 of
2 BOOK REVIEW Deconstructing Cambodia's
modernist heritage Building
Cambodia by Helen Grant
Ross and Darryl Leon
Collins
Reviewed by Andrew Symon
designed to host the inaugural
Southeast Asian Games in 1963 - but which in fact
came to be held in Jakarta. The complex was also
designed by Molyvann and made great use of
earthworks to shape the site. Half a million cubic
meters of earth were dug out
of the
site and piled up to create an elliptical stadium
able to seat 60,000 people.
Royal
builder The authors set their story in the
wider context of Cambodia's political and economic
development over those years. At the heart of this
expansion was Sihanouk, who believed that a
widespread pubic construction program was a key to
shaping a confident new Cambodia. In this pursuit,
the royal figure reportedly saw himself in the
tradition of the great Angkor kings of the
country's ancient past, emulating in small scale
their monumental architectural achievements.
While Sihanouk's leadership has often been
criticized as verging on the dictatorial, leading
in part perhaps to the country's later traumas,
Ross and Collins argue the architecture he oversaw
was certainly not that of an authoritarian state.
There was diversity, subtlety and innovation and
there were no monumental works that de-humanize by
their scale. And construction was not just limited
to government buildings, monuments, arts and
sports centers, hotels and homes for the wealthy.
There were also uniquely constructed
schools, university buildings, commercial offices,
model factories, churches and private homes for
the middle class as well as housing estates for
low wage earners. Nor was building limited to just
Phnom Penh; works were done all over Cambodia. And
it was often meshed with astute town planning, as
manifested in the expansion of Phnom Penh.
This was also seen in other newly
independent countries in the period. Elsewhere in
Southeast Asia, the Cambodian experience brings to
mind Indonesia and president Sukarno's promotion
of urban development and architecture. But there
seems nothing elsewhere quite like the coherence
and extent of the Khmer modernist movement.
So impressed was Singapore's founding
prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, with the new
buildings and gardens of the well-planned Phnom
Penh during his visit in 1967 that he saw it as a
model for his vision of a modern Singapore. Vann
Molyvann recalled decades later that Lee
unsuccessfully requested Sihanouk to allow
Cambodia's state architects to work in his
city-state.
"The term 'new Khmer
architecture' was in fact coined in the 1960s, but
the detail of this school was later largely
forgotten in Cambodia," Collins says. Collins
originally came to Cambodia in 1994 as part of an
Australian government-funded program to assist
with the restoration of Phnom Penh's national
museum. Ross, originally from the United Kingdom,
moved to Phonm Penh in 1997 from Thailand after
having worked on the development of Bangkok's
rapid transit system.
Unfortunately, both
authors note, much is now being lost or threatened
through demolition and unregulated development as
more money flows into Cambodia. For instance,
chipping away at Molyvann's national sports center
is a dense Taiwanese-invested office, shopping and
apartment development which is being built
literally to encircle the architectural
masterpiece.
One of the greatest losses
has been the Preah Suramarit national theater,
which was opened in 1968 and also designed by
Molyvann. Much of the building was gutted by fire
in 1994 and no attempt at restoration followed. It
has continued to be used by local musicians,
dancers and singers as a place for rehearsals, but
a recent deal between the Ministry of Culture and
the locally-owned Royal Group has the structure
scheduled for demolition.
Khmer-designed
modernist buildings are at more risk than the old
French colonial architecture and planning, Ross
and Collins say. That's because the older European
structures tend to be more accepted
internationally for their heritage value than
those of the more recent modernist style -
although belatedly world bodies such as the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization are making efforts to encourage
preservation of the mid-20th century legacy.
"These buildings show a real Cambodian
spirit," said Collins. "It was a real experiment
that worked." So, too, does the authors' book in
detailing how the vitality and promise of that
short but golden era was captured in the then
young country's architecture.
Building
Cambodia: New Khmer Architecture 1953-1970 by
Helen Grant Ross and Darry Leon Collins, including
a preface by His Majesty King Shamoni. The Key
Publisher, Bangkok, 2007. ISBN: 974934121. Price
US$65, 333 pages.
Andrew Symon
is a Singapore-based journalist and analyst
specializing in energy and mining issues.
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