Fah Thai Magazine May June 2018

KHMER MODERNISM
The sun is coming down and the indoor stadium
of the National Sports Complex in Phnom Penh
is the best spot to watch the evening’s gorgeous
amber lights. Completed back in 1964, when
Cambodia was pitching to host the Southeast Asian
Peninsular Games, the Olympic Stadium, as it was once
called, possesses clean and crisp lines of aluminium panels
that run in parallel with the main balusters. While the
original function of this fluting façade is to provide the
needed cross-ventilation to the typically stuffy spaces in
this stadium, these breathable walls also create stunning
effervescent screen patterns that play along with the
glimmering sunlight. I was told that the architect Vann
Molyvann based the idea of this building on a mushroom
– with a big core at the centre supporting the entire
cantilevered structure – all symmetrical and with a stark
modernist approach.
Above
The indoor stadium at
the National Sports Complex with its
‘breathable’ interior.
Below
Shimmering light passes
through the indoor stadium of
the sports complex.
Opposite Page
Top Left
Inspired by a moat, the outdoor
stadium drew its plan from the
ancient Angkor Wat complex.
Top Right
The stadium showcases
a design befitting the Khmer
climate and lifestyles.
Not too long ago on a
dusty tuk-tuk ride in and
about Phnom Penh, I found
myself inadvertently gawking
at the beautiful landmark of
Chaktomuk Conference Hall
on the busy riverside strip,
not too far from the Royal
Palace. Vann Molyvann, as I
learned again, designed this
magnificent Phnom Penh
icon, along with almost a
hundred other public buildings
back in the 1960s that could
have shaped Cambodia into a
stunning metropolis, if not for
the tragic interruption by the
Khmer Rouge that practically
erased everything.
Some people told me I should
not focus on the sad parts of
Cambodia. Phnom Penh as we
now know is a capital in big
transition. Money is flowing in,
with mega-constructions aplenty
everywhere in the city. Snarling
traffic with urban expansions
are a big part of life here. Office
workers and urban dwellers don
to-go gourmet coffee cups as a
daytime accessory. Those who
visited Phnom Penh just decades
ago would never recognise the
city now. Its dust, prominent in
memories, is almost completely
gone. Roads are paved, buildings
are getting higher, megamalls
and condominium complexes are
being built quite rapidly.
Phnom Penh is letting
bygones be bygones. But
then again, there are these
gorgeous buildings of the
1960s – collectively referred
to as ‘New Khmer Architecture’
– the ones that constructed
Cambodian’s Golden Age, that
took place not too long ago.
At the Institute of Foreign
Languages (IFL), another of
Vann Molyvann’s public
building that is still standing
and being used, students are
reading with some of them
engrossed in group studies.
All of them are in oblivion to
the great architect. Out of
personal curiosity, I tried to
quiz some of them, to see
whether they know of my
admired architect. Sadly, none
had heard of his name, except
for one geek whose job was to
keep guard of the library – the
round-shaped ‘bibliothèque
– whose iconic avant-garde
design was based on Cambodian
farmers’ straw hats.
62 63