The entire teaching block of Leroy and Mondet's university rests on pilotis, concrete stilts which were one of the key design elements in Le Corbusier's design program. View Larger Map
I thought I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't include some images of the universities to the east and west of Vann Molyvann's IFL. Built around the same period are, to the west, the Royal University of Cambodia, now the Royal University of Phnom Penh and, to the east, the Institut de Technologie du Cambodge, or ITC. The Royal University was designed by a French firm, Leroy and Mondet, which worked on a number of projects in Cambodia. The ITC was designed by Soviet specialists and is something like a Cambodian version of Hanoi's Polytechnic University, or Truoug Dai Hoc Bach Khoa. I foolishly missed my opportunity to photograph the ITC, and so am including both the photograph and description produced by the National Museum of Cambodia. Including Vann Molyvann's IFL, the three schools offer a comprehensive example of various mid-century modernist approaches to building educational spaces.
The pilotis on which the education block rests are truncated obliquely, their twisting facets play with light. The exposed ground level allows for better circulation of air, helping to cool the building above.
As with many universities in Vietnam, stairwells and corridors are exposed, aiding in the circulation of air. They are also prime example of the modernist interest in expressing the formal beauty of pure function. The whole appraoch of accessing class rooms through verandas and exterior stairs uses the building's circulation space as a barrier against sun and rain.
Not the best picture. I felt a little invasive photographing classrooms. You see here how airy the classrooms are however.
Leror and Mondet's design consists of two primary blocks: the education block and this meeting hall, whose curved shape it broken up by its geometric bris soleil. This is a view from the education block.
The meeting hall was recently renovated, suggesting a renewed interest in the maintenance of these buildings.
And from the National Museum of Cambodia:
"Designed by Russian architects and built with Soviet funds, this gift to Cambodia was an important addition to the growing number of tertiary educational facilities that were planned along the aptly named former boulevard USSR on the western outskirts of the city at Tuol Kok. Probably better known by its abbreviation ITC, this complex of buildings is superbly designed to accommodate students in airy classrooms and corridors through louvered screens that extend over the entire façade of the main building. Renovated with French funds, the university functions to teach the subjects for which it was originally designed."
