Docomomo International wishes to convey the most sincere condolences at the passing of the Cambodian architect and researcher Yam Sokly, to his family and friends.
“We have just lost a young architect and modern Cambodian architectural heritage advocate, Yam Sokly (速利任), on 28 June 2020. He received a bachelor’s degree from the Royal University of Fine Arts in Cambodia (2003-2009) and a master’s degree from Kyungmin University in Korea (2016). He was a staff of Heritage Mission at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in Cambodia (2009-2012) and at the Royal University of Fine Arts (2012-2020), and worked as director of Space for Architecture Cambodia Association. During his undergraduate study, he helped to establish Khmer Architecture Tours (KA-Tours) as an independent non-profit organization in Phnom Penh in 2003 and worked as a part-time tour guide. KA-Tours is the first and foremost tour dedicated to Asian modern architectural heritage, focused on buildings built after Cambodia’s independence in 1953, described as “New Khmer Architecture.” Sokly was inspired by Helen Grant Ross and Darry Collins, the author of the seminal book Building Cambodia: New Khmer Architecture 1953-1970. Helen introduced him to mAAN (modern Asian Architecture Network, established in 2001). In an interview with Eleanor Ainge Roy published in The Phnom Penh Post on 7 May 2009, he expressed his love for Architecture, his passion for researching the diversity of Cambodian architecture, and his dreams for improving the housing and quality of life of Cambodian people. Sokly was actively involved in heritage-related activities in East- and Southeast-Asia, including mAAN programs and workshops (around 2006-2010), he participated in the inaugural stage of mASEANa[i] (modern ASEAN architecture) project, in 2015, Asia Heritage Network and many others. We lost a young scholar with a strong sense of social justice, an admirable advocate of modern Asian heritage, a kind-hearted and cheerful person. May he rest in peace.”
Johannes Widodo, National University of Singapore
Docomomo will remember him with joy and proud.
[i] mASEANa Project is a collaboration platform set up by modern Asian Architecture Network (mAAN), Docomomo International and Docomomo Japan. Inaugurated during its first meeting in Tokyo, 2015, mASEANA Project set a 5-year collaborative platform for researchers working on the documentation, inventory, historiography, and preservation of the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, and Myanmar).