Exploring Phnom Penh: art and an ever-changing skyline
Cambodia’s chaotic capital is leaving behind its past as merely a stop-off on the way to the beaches and temples of Angkor Wat and is redefining itself as an international destination.
Until recently, Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s chaotic capital, was a city where you’d arrive already thinking about when you’d be leaving. One night, perhaps two – just enough time for a must-see visit to the Royal Palace and Tuol Sleng, the genocide museum – before rushing off to the country’s typical picture-postcard destinations: the Angkor Wat temple complex or one of the resort islands off the southern coast. Whilst tourism in Cambodia has begun to flourish again since 2020 and cities such as Siem Reap, Kampot and Battambang have become hubs of art and culture, Phnom Penh has struggled to shake off its image of lawlessness, petty crime and transit tourism. L
But things are changing: a new international airport was opened last October. Foster + Partners, the architectural firm behind the two-billion-dollar project, describes it as “the new face of Cambodia’s capital”, where sunlight filters through ceilings reminiscent of the woven patterns of traditional wicker baskets. All around, rice paddies and pastures still dominate the landscape, but in the coming years a fully-fledged satellite city will spring up, with the new Xi Jinping Boulevard linking it to Phnom Penh.
The hotel industry has responded swiftly to these changes. The Rosewood Phnom Penh had anticipated them when, in 2018, it took up residence on the upper floors of the Vattanac Capital Tower, a 39-storey skyscraper. Today it offers sumptuous suites, an excellent spa and a range of exclusive restaurants, from the finest Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine to an elegant steakhouse boasting a collection of 3,000 wines. Shiny Mercedes cars park alongside tuk-tuks and, viewed from the rooftop, the traffic lights twinkle like fireflies in the night. The Shangri-La Phnom Penh is a luxurious 5-star hotel in the Chamkar Mon district, near Diamond Island. In 2022, it was the tallest building in the whole country; since then, a dozen other skyscrapers have overtaken it. Among these is the eponymous Shangri-La in the Koh Pich district, a jungle of skyscrapers where, in the early 2000s, there was little more than a swamp.
Cranes still stand out against the skyline, and around the building sites, large illuminated billboards promise happy lives in beautiful homes. Cafés featuring exclusive coffee roasters appear alongside street stalls where women in satin outfits sell soft baguettes Num Pang and slices of mango. On every corner, banners and signs in Mandarin advertise numerous investment opportunities amidst the spires of golden temples. One consequence of this rapid development is that some of the splendid French-colonial villas and the Art Deco façades of the shops – which made Phnom Penh the so-called Pearl of Asia – have been replaced by blocks of buildings made entirely of glass and steel.
The renowned architect Vann Molyvann – the designer of some of the most iconic examples of tropical modernist architecture that celebrated the optimism of post-independence Cambodia between the late 1950s and the 1960s – would struggle today to recognise what his city has become. Many of his masterpieces, such as the Preah Suramarit National Theatre and dozens of residential projects, have been demolished by wealthy property developers. Those that, at least for now, have not fallen victim to the wrecking ball (for example, the 1960s Olympic Stadium, now surrounded by shopping centres and half-empty flats) are still under threat. ‘Skyscrapers, shopping centres and multi-purpose buildings have reshaped the city’s appearance and identity,’ says architect and urban planner Pen Sereypagna. ‘Without a master plan, everyone does as they please.’
