While sitting down and speaking with Som Vannita, she sparkles with passion and enthusiasmβit is almost contagious. Β
The Cambodian architect lectures at an international university, teaches and guides aspiring architects and contributes much needed innovative ideas and designs to the developing urban environment of Phnom Penh. Currently lecturing first year architecture students at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Vanitta is already starting to create a rather successful career for herself at the young age of 22. With a formal education in architecture studies, she has worked for international design companies and participated in the internationally recognized project Smart City: The Next Generation.
While we were dining over local food specialties and ice cream in an atrium like setting in a restaurant just a few steps away from her office, Vannita told me about her involvement in the local architecture community, her previous projects and her dreams for the future of Phnom Penhβs urban environment.
Urbanisation within Phnom Penh is an extremely current topic of interest and debate. What is your stance on it?
Just as any other city, Phnom Penh continues to grow. My main point of interest in regards to the cities rapid urbanisation is the traffic as it is related to our every day life. If we look at the traffic 5 years ago, getting from point A to point B would take a substantial amount of time less then it does today. Every year the cities population grows and therefore gets more and more crowded, especially on the roads. Unfortunately, there is no action being put in place to solve our traffic problem and to make it more efficient for the city.
What would your solution to these problems be? Β
As I previously stated, I am very interested in the urban issue of traffic and transportation within Phnom Penh so I came up with an idea and possible solution that was also included in the Smart City: The Next Generation Workshop. This idea was to create bus shelters and stops around the city.
I would look at other large cities who had implemented a successful public transportation system and ask myself, why can it succeed in other countries and not in Cambodia?
The public bus system was in practice in Phnom Penh around 8 or 9 years ago however, it did not work. This was because the Cambodians do not understand the concept of sharing transport. They also see owning your own car as a sign of wealth and status within society but in the end all you have is this expensive car stuck in traffic all day long.
Our challenge was to make the bus stop and shelter trendy and beautifulβsomething that appealed to people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds.
Β We started to look at the city and see how green spaces were being replaced with concrete buildings and roads. When you look at Phnom Penh on Google Earth throughout the years, you can see green spaces deteriorating away and more and more concrete spaces replacing them.
So we decided to integrate nature into our design. The bus shelter would have multiple purposes: to re-introduce pockets of greenery into the city and to create a space that people would enjoy to be in. It would be a space where you can socialize, read a book or even show off your outfit while sitting under shade from the trees surrounding it and waiting for the bus.
Tell us more about Smart city: The Next Generation and your involvement in it?
Smart Cities was an amazing opportunity and I am thrilled to have been apart of it. It is a project by Aedes East International Forum for Contemporary Architecture NPO, in collaboration with the Goethe Institues that tries to capture the perspectives of the young generation of designers.
I learnt a lot about other South-East Asian countries who were facing similar problems in their urban environments and their approach to these problems.
I also was invited to be apart of the workshop in Phnom Penh where I was able to meet a lot of amazing and inspiring people.
What would your dream of a great city be for Phnom Penh?
My dream of a great city for Phnom Penh is to have far better infrastructure, to see a public transportation system be put in place and the most important thing for me personally, is to have more public spaces.
Where do you see Phnom Penh in the next 5 years and how will you contribute to its development?
Ideally, I would like to see Phnom Penh maintaining all of its natural resources. However, in reality, I believe in the next five years we will see Phnom Penh dominated by concrete spaces and high rise buildings.
There will need to be a big change if we want the government and the citizens of Phnom Penh to be made aware of why we should keep our green spaces and heritage buildings within the city. They are currently not thinking of this and need to be educated on the importance and benefits of having such things in our city.
My contributions will be through workshops such as Smart Cities, my involvement in the architecture community and my teachings. I am always reminding my students of what is happening in the city and asking them what they would want to change and why. I want to guide them in the right direction where they fall in love with nature and want to maintain and take care of it. Whatever they design, they should not destroy nature or what makes Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh.Β
The future is in the hands of the youth. We need to empower them, I look at the youth as a seed and just as a seed, they need nurturing and guidance to grow into a tree of knowledge.
And lastly, who are your architecture icons? Β
Zhah Hadid and Louis KhanΒ
