Renovation 'inconceivable' for transformed White Building

 

Bassac Riverfront Municipal Apartments in 1968. In the background are the Independence Monument and the lights of the National Sports Complex. Photo: Adolf Scherl

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- Amid recent confusion over the fate of the so-called White Building ("Bodeng") on Sothearos Boulevard in central Phnom Penh, it's useful to recall an assessment of the dilapidated municipal apartments that was published eight years ago.

In their book on New Khmer Architecture, French-chartered architect Helen Grant Ross and Australian art historian Darryl Collins recalled that Cambodian architect Van Molyvann had "misgivings" about such a development from the start.

"It did not correspond to the traditional way of life of the typical Cambodian family, nor to the Chinese model providing a shop or workshop under the living area," the authors wrote.

STARK CONTRAST TO MOST URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE 1960s

Moreover, the municipal apartments were in "stark contrast" to most of the development taking place in Phnom Penh in the 1960s which was based on the "shop house" model.

The housing project initially comprised 468 apartments, apparently inspired by an Algerian project designed by the company of Russian-born engineer Vladimir Bodiansky.

Completed around 1963, the six distinct blocks were linked by open staircases with easy access to a landscaped park below.

Finished with a white-stucco exterior, the apartments themselves were much sought after by the lower-middle classes seeking to become owner-occupiers.

In their book published in 2006, Grant Ross and Collins noted that the main access to the apartments was initially on the east side facing the Bassac River.

ORIGINAL DESIGN CONSIDERED TROPICAL CLIMATE

"The plans were designed with the tropical climate in mind, with kitchens and bathrooms accessible from terraces that could also serve as external kitchens," the authors wrote.

The architect responsible for the development, financed by a 10-year loan from the Municipality of Phnom Penh, was Lu Ban Hap, a French-trained architect who set up the Municipal Town Planning and Housing Department after returning to Cambodia.

The engineer for the apartments was Bodiansky, an associate of Le Corbusier, the Swiss-French pioneer of modern European architecture. Bodiansky also worked with Van Molyvann on the National Sports Complex between 1962 and 1964.

Details of the riverfront project documented in the book are based on a report by then Phnom Penh Governor Tep Phan in 1962 and interviews with Lu Ban Hap in Paris in 2001.

ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY HIGH HUMIDITY, LACK OF MAINTENANCE

As for their condition in the early 21st century, Grant Ross and Collins said the buildings "have weathered badly and have been transformed by squatters.

"The reinforced concrete, flat roofs and rough brick infill have been adversely affected by high humidity and a lack of maintenance," the authors wrote.

Moreover, the orientation towards the east has been inverted to Sothearos Boulevard which faces west.

"The general state of the buildings is so bad that it seems inconceivable that they could one day be renovated."

LU BAN HAP'S BETTER KNOWN WORKS

Lu Ban Hap is better known for other works in Phnom Penh such as the Chenla Theatre and the Cambodiana Hotel. He also designed the O'Russei and Olympic markets and a wholesale fruit and vegetable market near Monivong Bridge.

Outside of the capital, he designed gardens and markets in Svay Rieng and Prey Veng, seaside boulevards in Sihanoukville, a hotel in Siem Reap, a bank in Battambang and buildings at the University of Kampong Cham.

In addition, Lu Ban Hap worked with Van Molyvann on an initial design for the Suramarit National Theatre which housed the National Conservatory of the Performing Arts after it was completed in 1968. Located near the municipal apartments, it was all but destroyed by a fire in 1994 and has since been torn down.

LIFE IN FRANCE

Lu Ban Hap escaped from Cambodia to Vietnam in 1975, eventually making it to France via Laos. He later did design work for the French laundromat chain Lavorama and designed several houses including his own in the suburbs of Paris.

When he was interviewed for the book in 2001, the architect was working as a volunteer for the non-governmental organisation Medecins du Monde, making occasional trips back to Cambodia to bring medical supplies and equipment.

Lu Ban Hap first went to Paris in 1949, sailing aboard a ship from Saigon to Marseilles with other Cambodian students including Son Sen, a future leader of the Khmer Rouge.

He began studying architecture at the suggestion of Van Molyvann who had arrived in France some time earlier. Lu Ban Hap subsequently found an apartment, moving out of the Maison du Cambodge where future Khmer Rouge leaders were staying.

"If he was going to succeed in his studies, the architect said 50 years later, he knew he had to distance himself from this group," the book's authors wrote.

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