House for Norodom Sirivuth's Mother

Norodom Sirivuth is a member of the Cambodian royal family, born in 1951. The house of his mother, designed by Vann Molyvann and located in Phnom Penh, is a two-storey concrete structure of rectangular shape and with a flat roof. The upper level cantilevers out over the lower floor, providing shade and shelter to the glass curtain-walls below. The upper level boasts a balcony which wraps around the structure, and is flanked by vertical shade panels which can be tilted to adjust the amount of light and air which enters the space. The lower level is a single open space with a dramatically sculpted concrete spiral staircase at its center, which leads to the upper storey through a circular opening. Surrounded on all sides by a small treed garden, the house’s main entrance is marked by an elegantly arched concrete awning which contrasts which the horizontal and vertical rectilinear forms of the rest of the building. While still standing, the structure has now been renovated largely beyond recognition.