"New Khmer Architecture and Japan" is the first show in Cambodian
History to focus on the architectural drawings of its modern movement. Cambodia is a country with mature architectural culture, not only of the great
Angkorian heritage and vernacular timber temples, but also of modern
buildings from the 1950s and 60s known as New Khmer Architecture. Since
the 1990s, in the context of the post-war redefinition of the national
identity as well as the recent expansion of environmental consciousness,
this Cambodian modern movement, with their sensibility to the
traditional culture and tropical climate, is being re-evaluated; though
the drawings and documents of the movement were believed to be destroyed
and lost in the turmoil of the Civil War.
Against this backdrop, researchers recently discovered original drawings and documents which survived in Japan, including but not limited to the drawings of the masterpieces of Vann Molyvann, the central figure in the movement. Based on these drawings, the exhibition is aiming to showcase Cambodian-Japanese architectural collaboration in the 1950s and 60s. Cambodia and Japan have a lot in common, from Buddhist culture to a belief in Animism; and from the Monsoon climate to a tradition of timber construction. Cambodian modernists could adopt Japanese architectural culture, with the assistance of Japanese experts, to blend them with own architectural style. This Cambodian-Japanese connection is a key to open a new understanding and interpretation of New Khmer Architecture.
