Page 98 - JCAU-7-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism The evolution of Khmer shophouses

The dissemination of reinforced concrete technology urban development surged (Menzies et al., 2008). This
combined with prefabricated elements in the 1960s – period saw the densification of Phnom Penh’s peri-urban
introduced from the Soviet Union under the direction of fringe and the adoption of a polycentric urban model,
Lu Ban Hap (1931 – 2023), head of the Municipal Planning leading to the rise of satellite cities (Paling, 2012; Percival &
and Housing Department – facilitated the construction of Waley, 2012). These developments marked a distinct shift
multi-story blocks, typically four to five floors in height in urban form, moving away from the compact growth of
(Hap & Moritz, 2021). These buildings featured regular the traditional city center toward more sprawling, planned
subdivisions with dual street access: a main street designed environments (Mialhea et al., 2019). A notable example of
for vehicular traffic and a secondary pedestrian alley this transformation is the reclamation of Koh Pich island,
for service purposes. Architectural elements included shaped by private developers seeking to capitalize on
mezzanine levels, vertical circulation components such Phnom Penh’s growing population and economic potential
as staircases and courtyards, as well as balconies. This (Pierdet, 2011). This development has been particularly
typology facilitated the reorganization of internal layouts, geared toward accommodating the influx of the Chinese
allowing for the creation of micro-units served by common community, which began resettling in this part of the city
corridors, thereby fostering a higher degree of inclusivity in the early 2000s.
within the community (Weinberger, 2010).
At the center of Koh Pich Island, around the
This evolving shophouse typology developed in parallel multifunctional city hall, a new iteration of the shophouse
with the Vietnamese “tube houses” of the same period, typology emerged (Figure 7). This variation was adapted to
supporting increased vertical expansion (Ngo, 2021). The meet the needs of middle-income households, particularly
model not only facilitated the accommodation of a greater in accommodating car ownership, while preserving
number of residents but also aligned with urban planning pedestrian-friendly urban design principles. These
objectives that prioritized compact and efficient land use modern shophouses incorporate underground parking
(Shiraishi et al., 2020).
and larger residential units while retaining the mixed-use
Despite the Cambodian Civil War (1970 – 1980) and functionality of their historical predecessors, especially
the subsequent impoverishment of the population, which on the ground floor. The evolution of the shophouse in
impeded significant construction projects, the adaptability Koh Pich, along with other peri-urban areas, illustrates its
of the modernist shophouse design enabled its resurgence adaptability, ensuring its continued role as a key element of
at the beginning of the 1990s, particularly as Cambodia Phnom Penh’s urban landscape as the city expands.
started to embrace private entrepreneurship (Blancot,
1997). These buildings grew beyond 6 stories, contributing
to the development of entire mid-rise neighborhoods
and expanding the city further west of Orussey Market
(Figure 6), reaching the Toul Kork district.
5. Peri-urban expansion and the emergence
of neo-liberal satellite cities
In the wake of Cambodia’s economic liberalization efforts
in the 1990s—accelerating significantly in the beginning
of the 2000s—along with the advent of new land laws Figure 6. Westward expansion areas of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
facilitating private ownership and foreign investments, Source: Photo by the author (2024).

Figure 5. Modernist shophouses in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Figure 7. Peri-urban shophouses in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Source: Photo by the author (2024). Source: Photo by the author (2024).

Volume 7 Issue 3 (2025) 5 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.5410