On 28 and 29 June 2024, “The Gong”, the new cultural centre of the Smiling Gecko educational campus, celebrated its grand opening in the presence of the project promoter, Smiling Gecko, as well as national and international cultural professionals and Dr Hang Chuan Naron, Cambodia’s Minister of Education, Youth and Sport. atelier oï was in charge of the planning and implementation of the building for a period of three years.

“If you want to invest in something sustainable, invest in people and in education”, says Aurel Aebi, founding partner of atelier oï. “That’s why we’ve been putting our creative energy into Smiling Gecko’s projects from the start.” Since 2018, our transdisciplinary team has been working on the big education campus for the aid organisation. “The Gong” is the first building that has been completed. The secondary school is currently under construction; the university of applied sciences is in the planning phase. 

The project was born out of the desire to create a modern and sustainable location for cultural education in Cambodia. The building has an auditorium with around 100 seats and a stage, the Sonic Studios professional recording studios, as well as a café area. It will be used in future for classes on campus and is currently available to external cultural professionals.