Civil architecture is often considered by architects a force for the good, and appears to a country's ruling elite as a source of inspiration for building a nation. I was struck by a NYT obituary for the Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann, which revealed how this idea got started, its results then got swallowed and (mostly) crushed by geopolitical and economical developments later on, but then a new generation seems to pick up some of the pieces to take pride in. The documentary "The Man Who Made Cambodia" depicts this very nicely:
- Trailer
- The documentary itself (suggest to disable Cambodian language subtitling)
In the documentary, Vann Molyvann refers to the Sangkum period as the cultural highpoint of Cambodia. Looking back, a more mixed view is emerging: Sangkum Reastr Niyum.
Mr. Molyvann's architecture later became known as an importart part of New Khmer Architecture, of which some of its buildings are classified under the - currently becoming increasingly popular - Brutalist nomer.
