Temples and religious buildings
Cambodian architecture is essentially religious. Inspired by Hindu religious architecture, its styles have created their own appearances over time. This is particularly evident in decoration and sculpture, rather than in the art of masonry. Two styles in particular have developed. The mountain style(Angkor Wat, Bayon) and the flat style(Ta Prohm, Banteay Samre). From the 7th to the 12th century, brick was the most widely used material. From the 9th century onwards, it was combined with sandstone and laterite, which were easier to cut and used to build enclosure walls. Inspired by architectural techniques originating in India, Khmer styles developed as new temples were built. The Baphuon style, for example, predominated throughout the 11th century, while King Jayavarman VII's conversion to Buddhism at the end of the 12th century marked the advent of the Bayon style. Specialists generally distinguish between two types of temple: the flat temple, consisting of a raised, walled terrace with several towers, built in honor of the royal family who built it. The mountain temple, on the other hand, is a symbolic representation of the cosmos as Brahmanic India understood it: Mount Meru, the center of the universe, surrounded by the stars, six continents and seven seas, enclosed by a rocky barrier.
The architectural remains of the Angkor kingdom. Angkor Wat is the most important archaeological site in Southeast Asia. Its universal value makes it the country's most visited tourist attraction. The remains of the largest city in the pre-industrial world bear witness to the glorious past, architectural power and exceptional civilization of the immense empire that stretched to the borders of Burma and dominated Southeast Asia between the 9th and 15th centuries. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, Angkor Wat is the most famous of the mountain temples, with its pyramidal towers representing Mount Meru. Contained within one of the world's largest religious complexes, spread over more than 400 km², it defies the visitor's imagination. Comprising 200 temples and numerous hydraulic structures (basins, dikes, canals), the magical and sacred Angkor site remains the most important vestige of Khmer art. Built by Jayavarman VII, the spectacular architectural originality of the Bayon temple, adorned with countless sculptures, surpasses the structures of the temples of previous kings. Other architectural gems testifying to the refinement of this civilization include the temple of Banteay Srei (the citadel of women or fortune). Away from the royal city, 20 km northeast ofAngkor, in the countryside, this temple as tiny as it is delicate, built with pink and red sandstone walls, has survived a thousand years without its yellow hues deteriorating. Its sanctuary towers, with their elaborate sandstone sculptures, are masterpieces of Khmer art. The astonishing Preah Vihear temple (Temple of the Sacred Mountain), built in the 11th century atop the Dangrek mountain range, is also well worth a visit. Located between Thailand and Cambodia, this Hindu temple was dedicated to Shiva for over eight centuries. The temple is very well preserved, and its remarkable architecture differs from the classical Khmer style. The site houses five gopuras, richly ornamented monumental towers typical of South Indian Dravidian architecture, as well as a main sanctuary. The structures are linked by 800-metre-long roads running north-south. The Preah Vihear temple has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 2008.
With rare exceptions (such as Angkor Wat), all temples are oriented on an east-west axis, with the entrance facing the sunrise. The priests used astrological calculations to delimit the sacred space at the center of the religious edifice. The sanctuary, housing the idol, is always located at the back of the main structure, under a system of corbelled vaults. This technical condition explains the Khmer architects' desire to build high structures to house the heart of the sacred space. Over the centuries, building techniques improved (elephants to transport stones, mechanical lifting systems, manpower management) The towers became more complex, the tiers became smaller and smaller as the tower rose, and the bas-reliefs became meticulously detailed, giving the whole that pyramid-like appearance typical of the Khmer style. The barrays, giant reservoirs of rainwater used for irrigation, explain the incredible demography of the Khmer empire. The rulers always built moats around their temples for defensive purposes, but also to represent the cosmos of Mount Meru. In order to cross the moat and access the central structure, vast brick causeways were built. In the 9th century, the causeways were raised using ingenious dice systems. Balustrades in the shape of nagas were sculpted. From the 12th century onwards, these sculptures became more complex, depicting the "Churning of the Sea of Milk", where gods and demons spin Mount Meru like a top, using a giant naga, to extract the nectar of immortality.
Traditional Khmer architecture
The traditional Phtêah khpouh srâlah pi dey (raised earth house), built of wood and found in many charming Khmer villages, have stood the test of time. Because of the climate and the fragility of materials, rural dwellings are rarely more than 50 years old. The oldest houses still visible and still inhabited are in the Battambang region, in the north-west of the country. They are built on high stilts to protect them from flooding during the monsoons and from wild animals, snakes and scorpions. They rise between 1 and 2 meters above the ground, sometimes more depending on the region. The space beneath the house is used for storage or as a refuge for small farm animals. The rice husking mill is also located under the house. The first floor is reserved for manual labor. The Khmer house is always built according to the same rules. The façade faces east, and the main door and staircase must never face south or west. Last but not least, the house is always built around a small plot of land, and is never attached to another house. Inside, there are three well-defined spaces. The living room, the most important room for entertaining guests. The parents' sleeping area. Finally, at the rear, another sleeping area or the kitchen. The sanitary facilities are not in the main house, but at the rear of the property, at the bottom of the garden. It's easy enough to identify a family's social status in Cambodia by observing the exterior structure of the house and the types of materials used in its construction. There are 3 main types of roof that are easily recognizable and give their name to the dwelling: the Phtêah Ka-taing model, the Phtêah Peth model and the Phtêah Rong model. The Ka-taing model is the most basic construction, with a 2-sloped roof, and is often the model adopted by the poorest families. The more opulent Phtêah Peth traditional Khmer house is chosen by middle-class families. Its roof is complex, with four symmetrical double-sloped roofs. Lastly, the Phtêah Rong model house is reserved for the wealthiest families and features one or two partially truncated roofs covered with tiles. The house has a balcony and a central or half-turned access staircase.
In the northeast of Cambodia, in Mondolkiri province, one of the least populated regions (4 inhabitants per km²), the habitat of the Bunong ethnic group (savages in Khmer) is different from the rest of the country. The houses of this indigenous people, who have lived in the forest for 2,000 years, are huts with straw roofs. In the Kreung ethnic group, who live mainly in Ratanakiri, the neighboring province of Mondolkiri, when young girls reach puberty, tradition dictates that their fathers build them a "love hut", away from the family home. This small bamboo hut, designed for single girls, allows the village girls to "test" different suitors until they find the right companion.
Colonial architectural heritage
Once known as the Pearl of Asia, Phnom Penh boasts a superb colonial architectural heritage. One of the capital's oldest monuments is the Napoleon III Pavilion. Presented to King Norodom in 1870 by Napoleon III, this original iron pavilion was built to welcome Empress Eugenie for the inauguration of the Suez Canal. Take a stroll along the river in the historic center to discover some of the city's most emblematic buildings. Among these, the superb Central Post Office, built in 1890 to the designs of French architect Daniel Fabre, was the first administrative building constructed under the French protectorate (1863-1953). Built in the neoclassical style, this imposing two-storey building has two side wings. Its lemon-yellow facade is adorned with balustrades, Corinthian columns and Romanesque windows. As early as 1925, visionary architect Ernest Hébrard's neo-Indochinese style marked a break with the past. The Hôtel Le Royal (1929) designed by the Frenchman remains the capital's most emblematic colonial building. Its superbly decorated façade and elegant interior were to make Phnom Penh a modern city of architectural experimentation. Fantastic, perfectly ventilated concrete structures such as those at the railway station, originally built in Art Deco style in 1932, were invented. One building followed another, such as the Phsar Thmey (the new central market), which dominates the heart of Phnom Penh. A technical feat of the 1930s, when viewed from the sky, its gigantic dome and 4 wings form a cross. When it was inaugurated in 1937, it was the largest market in Asia. Opposite the National Museum, the Baroque-style colonial house built between 1910 and 1920, which since 1991 has housed the UNESCO offices, is also worth a visit.
Many other provincial towns in Cambodia, such as Battambang, Kratie, Kampong Cham and Kampot, also boast fine colonial remains. North-west of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap's colonial town center, organized around the old market next to the austere royal residence, is well worth a visit.
Vann Molyvann, a key figure in contemporary Cambodian architecture
Vann Molyvann is Cambodia's most famous contemporary architect. A national icon, his forward-looking work bears the heritage of modernism, but his architectural lines draw on the style of ancestral Cambodia. His simple, inexpensive designs are based on a functional organization of space. A graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and a disciple of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, his light, Khmer architecture adapts to changing lifestyles. In 1956, Vann Molyvann was appointed Minister of State in charge of urbanization and public works in the capital. Over a 15-year period, he designed some 100 buildings, transforming Phnom Penh into an ultra-modern city in the 1960s. Concerned with reconciling modernity and tradition, Vann Molyvann drew as much on the heritage of refinement of the Angkor builders as on the know-how of the peasants. Favoring ventilated openings and simple constructions, he applies rural common sense to his architecture, as in the case of Phnom Penh's Institute of Foreign Languages, a remarkably ingenious building that keeps the interior cool without air-conditioning. The influences behind his iconic buildings are more complex. In 1958, the King asked him to design the Independence Monument, a symbol of the young Cambodian nation. The proportions of this gigantic monument were inspired by the sanctuary towers of the temple at Banteay Srei, which served as a model for Vann Molyvann. The nagas, mythical creatures half-man and half-snake, can be seen on the pediments of this Angkorian replica. Powerful protectors, the nagas guarded the young nation and can be admired from the street. During the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk, Vann Molyvann built several remarkable buildings from the Sangkum period (1953-1970), Cambodia's golden age. These include the Chaktomuk Theater, built in 1960, which radiates with its palm-leaf-like fan shape, as well as the Royal University and the seat of the Council of Ministers. The architect also oversaw the development of new towns such as Sihanoukville in the south of the country, a seaside resort popular with French settlers at the time. The national bank, where French banknotes once arrived by boat, remains intact. Norodom Sihanouk's royal residence stands majestically on the city's heights, overlooking the ocean. In 1962, Molyvann realized his most ambitious project: the Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium. It had to be completed in a single year in order to host the 1963 Southeast Asian Games. The architect chose to build the stadium on the model of Angkor Wat, the largest of the Angkor temples. By surrounding the sports complex with bodies of water, the brilliant architect monumentalized the stadium and gave it a noble appearance. On the outside, water becomes the central element. Inside, the bleachers are designed as screens. The architect drew his inspiration from the techniques of the illustrious Khmer builders, alternating empty and full spaces in order to create powerful emotions for spectators through the play of light. Vann Molyvann died on September 28, 2017 at the age of 90 in Siem Reap.
