Built to house a vast archive of documents about the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s, in which two million people lost their lives, the Sleuk Rith Institute is to be a radical shift for its architect Zaha Hadid – who has gone from violent geometry to warm wood — theguardian.com
11 Comments
I like this more than most of her work. Not sure if Cambodia needs a bullshit museum, over other more important things.
It memorializes a genocide that killed a major chunk of the Cambodian population. How is it a bullshit museum?
This is by far the best thing ZHA has done.
The last I heard, Cambodia is still hugely underdeveloped, still reeling from the effects of the same genocide.I bet most of the population would appreciate a better quality of life than this museum. Hence the bullshit.
I'm not sure if you can solve all of Cambodia's problems but you can make a nice building. I find this as well as Zahas High Line project to be more pleasing to the eye.... While maintaining some of her signature curvage.
Nice project....More proof that critical regionalism is the best approach.,
It is a nice looking project, but the massing seems a bit forced. Reminds me of a more elegant version of the old World Trade Center base or even 2 Columbus Circle, when modernists began flirting with ornamental devices.
BTW, how is this critical regionalism? Because it "strives to counter the placelessness and lack of identity of the International Style (architecture), but also rejects the whimsical individualism and ornamentation of Postmodern architecture?
I'll make it contextual, but don't call me an lightweight! I'm being critical afterall.
++ sameolddoctor
At least the museum at Auschwitz is the old concentration camp. Imagine the uproar if Zaha designed a new museum there.
sameolddoctor, the budget for a single building isn't going to make a huge dent in terms of the Cambodian economy. You frame the issue as though it's a choice of "museum" vs. "economy."
I don't know, political correctness can lead to a fear of anything resembling architecture. I'd think people on this forum would lean towards building vs. doing nothing. At least building would create some jobs, and a nice building might become a tourist destination. God forbid it may act as a source of inspiration to people here--as long as it is paid for privately. I think there is some gray area in between post-modern and critical regionalism, assuming we acknowledge that everything is both local and global, and connected to history. I don't think that Critical Regionalism should have ever been about mimicing the local style.
Sameoldoctor, but what about lou kahns assembly building in Dhaka? Bangladesh was also "underdeveloped" but the building brought something valuable to the people.
Exactly what I was thinking of... remember the Kahn doc, which I'm sure all of us nerds have seen, where people were genuinely touched by good architecture.
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