A Palace of Potential…

After years of interest, the FCC recently made a deal on the old mansion across from the National Museum and plans to return the rococo palace to its roaring 1920s glory.

It’s one of Phnom Penh’s most visible architectural relics: a prime project for preservation and a developer’s dream. It’s known as simply the “Old French Mansion,” and now it has a new owner, and a bright future.

image copyright by eric de vries 2006

After years of interest and negotiations, the FCC Phnom Penh and its parent company Indochina Assets Limited recently obtained the title for the ornate colonial-era villa across from the National Museum at 32 Sothearos Boulevard.

The roughly 1,200-square-meter site is famous for the yellow-hued rococo palace that many Phnom Penh residents have at one time gazed at with appreciation, amazement or concern.

Complete with impressive Corinthian capitals and intricate sculptural designs, the building has sat in disrepair for decades — a gorgeous, crumbling mansion with an estimated worth of some $2 million.
Even in its current decayed state, the building is stunning. “It’s definitely a landmark. Just about everyone refers to it as ‘that run-down colonial building opposite the National Museum,’” says Darryl Collins, a historian at the National Museum.

Now, according to FCC management, the villa will be completely restored to its past glory and become a 24-room luxury hotel with a swimming pool, French bistro and a structural link to the adjacent FCC restaurant.

“We’ve been interested in the building for about 15 years, since we came here in the early 1990s,” says Anthony Alderson, FCC operations director. “We plan to renovate it in 1920s style.”

Alderson says a new FCC-affiliated company called Museum View is now conducting surveys and soil tests on the site, and it will soon open bidding to architects for design proposals. If all goes well, building will begin in mid-2008.

image copyright by eric de vries 2006

“It is one of the structures most photographed by visitors to Phnom Penh and the city would be much worse off were it destroyed,” O’Reilly says. “These are the kind of structures that lend charm to the city and increase its appeal as a tourism destination. Every time one of these structures is torn down the city loses an opportunity to attract visitors as well as losing a part of its identity.” (The Wires)

Photojournalist Alexandra Boulat Dies

We have learned that photojournalist Alexandra Boulat, one of the founding members of the VII photo agency, died last night in a Paris hospital. She was 45. Boulat suffered a brain aneurysm last June while living in Jerusalem, Israel. She was later transferred to Paris. She never regained consciousness.

Boulat was one of the most talented photographers of her generation. Her complete biography can be found on the website of the VII agency, which she helped to found in 2001. Prior to that she worked with the SIPA agency for 10 years. Shooting for Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, and Paris Match, she covered complex and often dangerous stories around the globe, including the conflict in Kosovo and the war in Iraq. Recently she had worked on an extended project on women in the middle east. (David Schonauer)