In the Cambodian city of Phnom Penh, Architects presents their vision for a ground-breaking new institution and genocide monument that would include a research library, museum, graduate school, research center, and record archives. The documentation center for Cambodia’s one million documents—the greatest collection of genocide-related material in Southeast Asia—will be housed in the Sleuk Rrith Institute, which was created and is led by Youk Chang, a dedicated human rights campaigner and investigator of the horrors committed by the Khmer Rouge. It is suggested that it serve as a worldwide hub for instruction and research on the origins, consequences, and mitigation of genocide. Despite the terrible past the institution has studied, Youk’s study resulted in a thoughtful brief for a structure that inspires and innovates while also encouraging introspection and healing. Although Cambodia cannot completely escape its past, it does not have to remain its slave. Post-conflict communities must change, he asserts. Therefore, in order to construct a forward-thinking institution that departs from the distress-inducing, quasi-industrial, harshness of most current genocide memorial models, the brief required a direction that breaks from some of the clichés connected with genocide memorial architecture. Youk says, this is not to criticize or denigrate such models, but to emphasize that we must move in a different and more positively-oriented direction in light of Cambodia’s rich cultural and religious traditions. A building designed to accommodate the tropical climate of the area, the narrower lower levels of the institute are shaded by the building’s form, while louvers on the upper levels keep strong sunlight out. The institute is located at the confluence of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers, and its buildings are built on raised terraces to protect against seasonal flooding in Phnom Penh. The building’s ecological performance will be improved by its passive design, which includes installing renewable energy sources and taking steps to decrease energy and water usage while improving system efficiency. The exterior shading system will be adjusted on each elevation to minimize solar gain while maintaining appropriate daylight levels, as needed. The building shape reduces solar gain. In addition to providing protection for the archive and exhibition areas, thermal buffer zones will further cut down on energy use. The building’s design is mirrored by reflecting catchment pools that let light to penetrate deep into the interior rooms, and visitors will approach it by causeways above them. These pools, as well as those on the upper level courtyard and terraces, will be supplied by collected rainwater and are essential to the institute’s water management procedures that reduce the impact on the surrounding environment and drainage systems. They are similar to the catchment pools of Cambodia’s ancient temple sites, such as Angkor Wat and Sras Srang. Exhibits from the institute’s collection greet guests as they enter the building via the atrium in the middle, from whence they may freely go to the museum, theater, etc. The upper floors include offices for the institute’s management and researchers, and the school and library are connected by a bridge hung over the atrium. The institution has a 68,000 square meter communal memorial park that contains sports grounds, traditional meadows, urban vegetable and fruit orchards, and a forest that will be home to modern Cambodian sculptures. To see the memorial’s pictures on indiaartndesign.com, follow this link.
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