A Ribeira de Siem Reap

Abstract

The present rehearsal aims to reflects about the underlying questions to an intervention in informal settlements, located by the river side in Siem Reap, a city near Angkor Temples in Cambodja. This proximity motivated a desregrated urban development, as a result of the high touristic flow, leading to the proliferation of undeclared occupations all over the city. Both a one year study in Paris-Belleville that enabled the contact with this reality, and the willingness to deepen and continue the work already developed. This way some questions were formulated as background of this work: what is the future of this settlements? To eradicate or to redevelop this non planed areas? Related to this problem others occur, on different scales, that lead to the exacerbation of the natives living conditions, pushing the country even further towards poverty. This is the essence of this essay. In a time where tourism is the main economic pulse of this country, there is a governmental policy that neglects the needs of its people in order to support consecutive investments in infra-structures in this sector. Hotels, restaurants and guest houses are built at a faster pace, clashing with the light, flexible and traditional architecture of the Khmer people. The confront between this two different ways to understand the same problem, lead to development of this practical project that frames the rehabilitation of an informal tranche, near the river side of Siem Reap, trying to join both the government's interests and the fulfillment of its people needs. There is the ambition to keep the locale traditional lifestyle and appearance, allowing the area to become visitable and attractive to the tourists, taking therefore the opportunity to economically boost the area, hence providing sustainability for the project. This project has the aspiration of serving as a basis or reference to future interventions or refections in the developing countries context.