Cambodia was a protectorate of France from 1863 to 1953, administered as part of the colony of French Indochina, though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945. After independence in 1953, Phnom Penh desired to make a statement in its architecture that borrowed from International Modernism, yet retained local color and culture. Planners grappled with the delicate challenge of how to create forms that would be recognised as both Cambodian and modern. One of the leading proponents of the New Khmer Architecture was Vann Molyvann.
Molyvann, now 79, is a Cambodian cultural icon. His work in New Khmer Architecture sprung from the Sangkum Reastr Niyum period of the 1950s and 60s when Khmer culture flourished under the patronage of then-King Norodom Sihanouk. During that time Sihanouk appointed the young Vann Molyvann as chief architect to the Kingdom. Molyvann, who had traveled to France to train as a lawyer before switching his studies, soon became the country's most celebrated architect. He fled during the Khmer Rouge occupation. His style reflects influence from LeCorbusier and Paul Rudolph.
Photos above are from Phnom Penh (Chaktomuk Conference Center, National Sports Complex), Battambang, and Sihanoukville (Bank of Cambodia).
There is a wonderful web site at http://newkhmerarchitecture.blogspot.com/ providing a wealth of info on buildings, architects, and walking tours. Darryl Collins, Helen Grant Ross and Hok Sokol carried out extensive original research into the architecture of the 50s and 60s in a book entitled Building Cambodia: New Khmer Architecture 1953-1970.
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