Vann Molyvann and the New Khmer Architecture of the 1960s
Guest editor, text and images
Bauwelt 30/2009
In 1957 Head of State Norodom Sihanouk put the modernization of his newly independent country, in the hands of a young, Paris-trained architect. Until 1971, Vann Molyvann built around a hundred public structures and numerous private buildings, which to this day proclaim this cultural heyday. Thirty years ago, the Khmer Rouge regime ended, but to this day Cambodia has not managed to build on the planned development of the 50s and 60s. Their „architecture of independence“ is now threatened by the unbridled real estate market.
German architectural magazine Bauwelt gave me the chance to write a comprehensive introduction to Cambodia’s unknown modernism. Helen Grant Ross contributed with a wonderfull essay on Vann Molyvann’s home.
Top: The National Bank in Sihanoukville by Vann Molyvann. Image: Moritz Henning
