Within two years of Cambodia's independence in 1953, King Norodom Sihanouk had abdicated and was embarking in an unprecedented public construction boom that would last a decade and a half before going bust in an American-backed coup in 1970.
The rapid urban and rural development that preceded Norodom Sihanouk's overthrow ranged from ambitious infrastructure projects to entirely new towns. Of the thousands of new buildings that mushroomed across the country, many stand out for their high stand...