Vann Molyvann

About

First fully qualified Cambodian architect of the New Khmer era who designed the State Palace and the Council of Ministers building. He also designed Cambodia's largest athletic venue, the 60,000-seat, Olympic-quality National Sports Complex.

Before Fame

He originally planned to study law, but he ended up attending Paris' School of Fine Arts instead. He was also schooled in the Arretche studio. He was named Head of Public Works and State Architect by the Prince upon his return to his homeland in 1956.

Trivia

His heyday was from 1955 until 1970 during the Sangkum Reastr Niyum regime when Prince Norodom Sihanouk initiated a kingdom-wide development policy dedicated to upgrading all infrastructure and architecture and building new towns.

Family Life

He was born in the Cambodian Province of Kampot. Following the bloody General Lon Nol-led coup d'état in 1970, he took his family to Switzerland where he was employed by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme for a decade.

Associated With

He and Frank Lloyd Wright were both renowned architects of roughly the same era.