Mr. Vann Molyvann was best known for combining modernist principles with ancient motifs, a style that came to be called New Khmer Architecture. He was admired by many Cambodians as the embodiment of integrity and vision in a country where art has often taken a back-seat to the upheavals of history. — New York Times
Molyvann studied at École des Beaux Arts in Paris in the 1940s, where he learned the principles of European modernism from Le Corbusier's disciples. In 1956 he returned to Cambodia to be appointed as the chief state architect of the newly independent country. He designed and transformed Phnom Penh, the country's capital. After the coup of 1970 by the Khmer Rouge, Molyvann exiled and lived in Switzerland until 1991, when he came back to Cambodia and served as culture minister.
"Vann Molyvann was best known for combining modernist principles with ancient motifs, a style that came to be called New Khmer Architecture. He was admired by many Cambodians as the embodiment of integrity and vision in a country where art has often taken a back-seat to the upheavals of history."
Molyvann passed away at home at age 90 on September 28th, 2017.
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