The Academy RUPP

Project Type: Commercial

Services: Architecture, Interior Design and Landscape Design

Status: Design Proposal

Architects: Hok Kang, Satya Seang, Vitou So, Sunheng Lek

The Academy RUPP is situated next to the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). The cafe is designed to seamlessly add a modern element to the six-storey RUPP structure, which was built in the 1960’s. Each design element was carefully considered to suit RUPP’s specific environment and natural climate. A transparent facade highlights design elements in the RUPP building, while still maintaining a unique otherness. The separate contemporary space houses a cafe, an online library and seminar space, and a public courtyard. A canopy of trees provides plentiful shade to seating areas within and blends the architecture into the site typography. Daylight filters through the skylit corridor that acts as a path from coffee to library space, bringing maximum indirect light into the interior spaces. The interior spaces integrate concrete, timber, and copper to inform the experience with a modern style.