Khmer shophouses: From Chinese origins to the present day

Abstract

In Cambodia, Phnom Penh’s architectural history reflects a complex interplay of local mythology, trade networks, and colonial influence. Since the pre-Angkorian period, it has undergone significant transformations shaped by cultural, economic, and political forces. Notably, the contributions of Chinese mercantile communities and the impact of French colonial urban planning played a pivotal role in these changes. This paper examines the architectural evolution of Phnom Penh’s shophouse typology, tracing its development from pre-colonial trade settlements to its contemporary manifestations in satellite cities. The Chinese merchant shophouse, introduced in the 19^th century, played a pivotal role in shaping Phnom Penh’s urban fabric, blending Chinese, Khmer, and later French influences. During the French colonial period (1863 – 1953), the shophouse evolved into hybrid forms, integrating French design elements while maintaining its traditional mixed-use functionality. Post-independence, the shophouse further adapted to modernist architectural principles, influenced by Soviet urban planning, giving rise to larger multi-story blocks that accommodated increasing urban density. In the post-war era, the shophouse re-emerged as a key component in peri-urban expansion and satellite city development, reflecting Phnom Penh’s rapid economic and urban growth. Its adaptability to technological, economic, and social changes underscores its continued relevance in shaping Phnom Penh’s urban landscape. Through fieldwork and literature review, this study provides a typological analysis of shophouse variations, exploring their role in defining the city’s architectural identity. The findings highlight the shophouse’s resilience as an adaptable urban form, preserving architectural traditions while responding to modern urban challenges.

Keywords

Mixed-use typology / Urban development / Socio-spatial organization / Cambodia

Acknowledgments

The documentation for this article was collected by the author between 2017 and 2024 during his tenure as an associate professor of architecture and urban design and as lead researcher of the Urban Lab at the American University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The author extends his gratitude to all his colleagues in the Department of Architecture for their invaluable support and mentorship throughout this period.

Funding

None.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

Author contributions

This is a single-authored article.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data

The data used in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

References

[1] APUR. (1997). Phnom Penh, Développement Urbain et Patrimoine [Phnom Penh, Urban Development and Heritage] . France: Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme.

[2] APUR. (2003). Phnom Penh à L’aube du XXIe Siècle [Phnom Penh at the Dawn of the XXIst Century] . France: Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme.

[3] Bertrais, D., Fauveaud, G., & Choplin, A. (2023). Fabriquer la ville—verte en Asie: La green city, de Singapour à Phnom Penh [Constructing the green city in Asia: From Singapore to Phnom Penh]. Espaces et Sociétés, 189(2): 39-57. https://doi.org/10.3917/esp.189.0039

[4] Blancot, C. (1997). La Reconstruction [The Reconstruction] . Phnom Penh, Développement Urbain Et Patrimoine. France: Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme, p. 61-71.

[5] Blancot, C., & Hetreau—Pottier, A. (1997). 1863—1953, Une ville neuve dans un site d’occupation ancienne [1863—1953, A new city in an old settlement area] . Phnom Penh, Développement Urbain Et Patrimoine. France: Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme, p. 29-39.

[6] Boswell, S. (2016). King Norodom’s Head . Denmark: Nias Press.

[7] Carrier, A. (2019). Phnom Penh Privatisée [Phnom Penh Privatized] . Bangkok: Irasec and Péninsule.

[8] Chandler, D. P. (1991). The Tragedy of Cambodian History: Politics, War, and Revolution Since 1945 . Connecticut, US: Yale University Press.

[9] Collins, D. L. (2006). Siem reap: Then and now. Udaya, 7: 73-99.

[10] Dai, M., & Zhou, X. (2019). Research on the overseas Chinese shophouse culture in Penang, Malaysia in Qing Dynasty a case study of Penang Island. In: Proceedings of the 3^rd International Conference on Art Studies: Science, Experience, Education (ICASSEE 2019) . Vol. 368. p. 190-192.

[11] Doyle, S. E. (2012). City of water: Architecture, urbanism and the floods of Phnom Penh. Nakhara Journal of Environmental Design and Planning, 12, 135-154.

[12] Fauveaud, G. (2014). Mutations of real estate actors’ strategies and modes of capital appropriation in contemporary Phnom Penh. Urban Studies, 51(16): 3479-3494. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098014552767

[13] Fauveaud, G. (2015). La Production des espaces urbains à Phnom Penh [The Production of urban spaces in Phnom Penh] . Paris: Publication de la Sorbonne.

[14] Filippi, J. (2012). Strolling Around Phnom Penh . Kenya: Kam Editions.

[15] Fujisawa, T., & Kuzuhara T. (2023). Historic cityscape characteristics in the city center of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. KEIO SFC Journal , 23(1): 5-24.

[16] Guérin, M. (2011). Domination coloniale et modernisation au cambodge [Colonial domination and modernization in Cambodia]. Siksacakr: Journal of Cambodia Research, 13: 30-38.

[17] Han, S. S., & Lim, Y. (2019) Battambang City, Cambodia: From a small colonial settlement to an emerging regional centre. Cities, 87: 205-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.10.003

[18] Han, W., & Beisi J. (2015). A morphological study of the traditional shophouse in China and Southeast Asia. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 179: 237-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.427

[19] Han, W., & Beisi J. (2016). Urban morphology of commercial port cities and shophouses in Southeast Asia. Procedia Engineering, 142: 190-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.02.031

[20] Hap, L. B., & Moritz, (2021). “I wanted to marry Cambodia with the occidental world”, Lu Ban Hap in conversation with Moritz Henning. In: Contested Modernities, postcolonial architecture and the construction of identities in Southeast Asia. Switzerland: Birkhauser, p. 48-52.

[21] Hirohata, D., Shiraishi, H., & Wakita, Y. (2007). Space organization of markets in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Case study of the old market. Proceedings of Annual Research Meeting Chugoku, 30: 569-572.

[22] Igout, M. (1993). Phnom Penh then and Now . 2^nd ed. Bangkok: White Lotus.

[23] Kolnberger, T. (2014). Between planning and spontaneous order: The ‘equifinal’ production of urban space in colonial Phnom Penh (1860s—1930s). Geographische Zeitschrift, 102(2): 86-105. https://doi.org/10.25162/gz—2014—0009

[24] Kolnberger, T. (2015). Between water and land: urban and rural settlement forms in Cambodia with special reference to Phnom Penh. Urban Morphology, 19(2): 135-144. https://doi.org/10.51347/jum.v19i2.4027

[25] Leakhana, K., & Brugman, J. (2022). Affordable Housing Policy in Cambodia and Southeast Asia . [Report]. Cambodia: Equitable Cambodia.

[26] Lemarchands, G. (1997). Phnom Penh, Capitale De l’état Independent du Cambodge [Phnom Penh, Capital of the Independent State of Cambodia] . Phnom Penh, Développement Urbain et Patrimoine. France: Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme, p. 44-49.

[27] Luengo, P. (2021). Architecture in eighteenth—century East and Southeast Asia Chinese quarters. Journal of Urban History, 49(4): 745-766. https://doi.org/10.1177/00961442211029249

[28] Menzies, N., Ketya, S., & Adler, D. (2008). Land, Development and Conflict: Urban and Peri—urban Phnom Penh , [Working Paper]. United States: Center for Advanced Study.

[29] Mialhea, F., Gunnella, Y., Navratil, O., Choi, D., Sovann, C., Lejot, J., Gaudou, B., Se, B., & Landon, N. (2019). Spatial growth of Phnom Penh, Cambodia (1973—2015): Patterns, rates, and socio—ecological consequences. Land Use Policy, 87: 104061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104061

[30] Ngo, M.H. (2021). A critical view of tube—house architecture on urban type in Vietnam. Horizon Journal of Humanities Social Sciences Research, 3(1): 111-122. https://doi.org/10.37534/bp.jhssr.2021.v3.n1.id1100

[31] Ongsavangchai, N., & Funo, S. (2004). Consideration on formation and typology of shophouse in Ratanakosin area. Bangkok, Thailand. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 577: 9-15. https://doi.org/10.3130/aija.69.9_2

[32] Osborne, M. E. (2008). Phnom Penh: A Cultural and Literary History . United Kingdom: Signal Books.

[33] Paling, W. (2012). Planning a future for Phnom Penh: Mega projects, aid dependence and disjointed governance. Urban Studies, 49(13): 2889-2912. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098012452457

[34] Percival, T. D., & Waley, P. (2012). Articulating intra—Asian urbanism: The production of satellite cities in Phnom Penh. Urban Studies, 49(13): 2872-2888. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098012452461

[35] Phillips, R.A. (1977). The Garden city Movement, Its Origin and Influence on Early Modern Town Planning , [Master’s Thesis]. Canada: University of British Columbia.

[36] Pierdet, C. (2011). Private investors in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and the reconfiguration of the city center in relation to the periphery since the 1990s. Annales de Géographie, 681(5): 486-508.

[37] Ross, G. H., & Collins, L. D. (2012). Building Cambodia: ‘New Khmer architecture’ 1953—1970 . Lincolnshire: The Key Publisher.

[38] Savage, V. (2001). Singapore shophouses: Conserving a landscape tradition. SPAFA Journal, 11(1): 5-22.

[39] Shiraishi, H., Wakita, Y., & Maki, N. (2020). Habitation characteristics of city blocks consisting of shophouses: A case study in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 85(768): 329-337.

[40] Silva, G. (2021). Journey through Cambodia . Contested Modernities, Postcolonial Architecture and the Construction of Identities in Southeast Asia. Switzerland: Birkhauser, p. 27-45.

[41] Stetten, G. (1997). La ville et l’eau: Phnom Penh, Développement Urbain et Patrimoine [The City and Water: Phnom Penh, Urban Development, and Heritage] . France: Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme.

[42] Traub, E., & Sweeting, D. (2020). Affordable Housing in Phnom Penh — Ensuring Decent Housing Opportunities for All , [Report]. Cambodia: The Urban Plan Platform Studio.

[43] Wakita, Y., & Shiraishi, H. (2007). Considerations on space organization of shophouse and block formation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 615: 7-14.

[44] Weinberger, N. (2010). The Shophouse as a Tool for Equitable Urban Development: The Case of Phnom Penh, Cambodia , [Master’s Thesis]. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania.

[45] Willmott, W. E. (1969). Congregations and associations: The political structure of the Chinese community in Phnom—Penh, Cambodia. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 11(3): 282-301.

[46] Yam, S., & Ju, S. R. (2016). Transformation of shophouses in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: In the aspect of spatial organization. Family Environment Research, 54(1): 13-26. https://doi.org/10.6115/fer.2016.002

[47] Yen, Y., Wang, Z., Shi, Y., & Soeung, B. (2016). An assessment of the knowledge and demand of young residents regarding the ecological services of urban green spaces in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sustainability, 8(6): 523. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8060523

[48] Zahrah, W., Loebis, M N., Ginting, N., Aulia, D. N. (2020). Community perception and adaptation about living in shop house in Medan, Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 452: 012020. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755—1315/452/1/012020

[49] Zhao, C., Zhang, L., Zhao, K. & Gan, G. (2024). A study on the block pattern and spatial characteristics of gara in Surat, India. Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, 6(1): 1979. https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1979