Hotel Le Royal, a landmark French colonial building in central Phnom Penh that was beautifully restored by the Raffles hotel group. [Robert Carmichael]
The remains of the Ecole Professionale in Phnom Penh, a former warehouse and then training school built in 1908. It is rumoured to be replaced with a shopping centre and a hotel. [Robert Carmichael]Monday, June 07, 2010
Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh
ABC Radio Australia
Experts are warning not enough is being done to protect what remains of Cambodia's French architectural heritage.
Much of the French colonial architecture in Phnom Penh and some provincial capitals has been destroyed, with some experts reckoning that 40 per cent of perhaps three hundred colonial era buildings have been demolished in the past 20 years.
Michel Verrot, the head of the French-funded Mission du Patrimonie, which works to assess and sometimes helps to restore the capital's shrinking pool of colonial buildings, says the government is keen to preserve buildings in the tourist town of Siem Reap.
But he says interest does not extend to Phnom Penh, which is seen as the business and economic hub of the country, and not a tourist zone.
"Phnom Penh must be a very modern town, an economical town," he said.
"And the heritage is in Siem Reap, and the tourism must be on the sea and in Siem Reap. But not in Phnom Penh. It's wrong. It's clearly wrong, but it is [how it is]."
Samraing Kimsan, a deputy minister at the Cambodian Ministry of Culture, says a lack of funding is one of the major problems in protecting the country's older buildings.
"This is the problem - I do believe this is the problem," he said.
"It depends on the plan - how to preserve the building, how to get money to preserve. But if we have no money to preserve, so we cannot stop the development of the modern building."
But Michel Verrot says demolishing an existing building and putting up something new actually costs more, because modern buildings use more imported materials and make less use of Cambodia's cheap labour.
He also says the demolition of colonial buildings is costing Cambodia tourism dollars.
But Samraing Kimsan says there is also the attitude of many Cambodians towards old buildings - in a land where modern and new are desired, old has limited appeal.
"They do not understand or do not love the traditional and old style of building," he said.
"They do not understand."
Much of the French colonial architecture in Phnom Penh and some provincial capitals has been destroyed, with some experts reckoning that 40 per cent of perhaps three hundred colonial era buildings have been demolished in the past 20 years.
Michel Verrot, the head of the French-funded Mission du Patrimonie, which works to assess and sometimes helps to restore the capital's shrinking pool of colonial buildings, says the government is keen to preserve buildings in the tourist town of Siem Reap.
But he says interest does not extend to Phnom Penh, which is seen as the business and economic hub of the country, and not a tourist zone.
"Phnom Penh must be a very modern town, an economical town," he said.
"And the heritage is in Siem Reap, and the tourism must be on the sea and in Siem Reap. But not in Phnom Penh. It's wrong. It's clearly wrong, but it is [how it is]."
Samraing Kimsan, a deputy minister at the Cambodian Ministry of Culture, says a lack of funding is one of the major problems in protecting the country's older buildings.
"This is the problem - I do believe this is the problem," he said.
"It depends on the plan - how to preserve the building, how to get money to preserve. But if we have no money to preserve, so we cannot stop the development of the modern building."
But Michel Verrot says demolishing an existing building and putting up something new actually costs more, because modern buildings use more imported materials and make less use of Cambodia's cheap labour.
He also says the demolition of colonial buildings is costing Cambodia tourism dollars.
But Samraing Kimsan says there is also the attitude of many Cambodians towards old buildings - in a land where modern and new are desired, old has limited appeal.
"They do not understand or do not love the traditional and old style of building," he said.
"They do not understand."
9 comments:
It is alarming. Please everyone stand up to protect the heritage.
protect the french heritage that gave khmer krom to youn?? They not care about our land why should we care about thier heritage?
hmm,3:54 PM, not that straight forward I think.
we cannot rewrite the history by destroying french era building. we should protect those architecture for the benefit of Cambodia. they are the heritage of Cambodia, not belong to France as 3:54 PM think.
Refer to 3:54 PM said, this is a childish with strong and un-well-educated nationalist whom not care at all about themselves. They loved and deeply loved their own passed history without any appreciation history.
As 8:26 PM said, history is a history, we can not rewrite the history. All of those buildings are belong to Cambodia and only for " Cambodia ". You can not find exactly the same in the other places in the world, historically and architecturally. We have to appreciate and preserve it. It is a part of Cambodian history. If you are not appreciate them means that you are not even appreciate yourself, because you are also a part of the whole history.
10:47PM! you can make a statu of yourself and put in a shit pit for ppreservation! of your part of history!
It is not hard to see why the fight to preserve this heritage is an uphill task. Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge has been blamed for their whole sale destruction of the country. Yet apart from a few buildings like the National Bank, they left most of them alone to derelict, or like the National Library, converted into pigsties. But it is safe to say that they did not have a policy of deliberately destroying this fine colonial heritage.
In addition to having a ruling elite with scant regard for cultural values - see their poor treatment of Vann Molyvann, Cambodia's most famous French trained architect - the onslaught being mounted against what remains of this heritage is emanating from the rush to transform the Khmer capital into a modern commercial Metropolis with high rises and glass-metal veneered skyscrapers to rival neighbouring capital cities.
Certainly, I am not opposed to change per se, but we ought to orientate it to national identity and history that the country has retained through its architecture among other things, instead of erecting change on their graveyards.
The government should do a survey of all pre-war buildings and list those that are worth preserving, thereby saving them from being dismantled by their owner-occupiers. There are still many fine colonial era buildings in the provinces such as Battambang, Siem Reap, Kg Cham etc. beside those in Phnom Penh.
Preserve what good we have of our past and present, for if we don't, even the ground beneath our feet will eventually be seized from us.
School of Vice
Why my master PhD didn't toll me any thing about it????
something can be improved and something can't be improved. it's life, you know!
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