Vladimir Bodiansky, a Russian engineer who worked on Olympic National Sport Complex, first concept of the Teacher Training College (IFL) that was redesigned by Vann Molyvann, Port of Sihanouk ville, and many other projects in Cambodia in 1960s. -Vladimir Bodiansky Born in Russia in 1894, Vladirmir Bodiansky served as a pilot in the French Foreign Legion during Worl War I. He later worked as an engineer in the aeronautical and railways industries in France as well as Britain, Belgium, Germany and Italy. Vladimir Bodiansky designed and built his own aeroplanes and did extensive research into aeroplane structures and welding. He also worked on railway system, new lawns, coal mines, navigation and in the Belgian Cango. During the thirties, he worked on major housing projects on France and Britain. In 1945, Le Corbusier sent Vladimir Bodiansky and Gérald Hanning on an exploratory trip to the United States. Le Corbusier late recalled him to work as the structural and mechanical engineer for the Unité d’Habitation project in Marseilles. During the fifties, he taught at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA) in Paris and also designed the polar stations for Paul-Emile Victor’s expendtions in Greenland and Antarctica. It is not clear when Vladimir Bodiansky first arrived in Cambodia but he was working as a construction expert at the Ministry of Public Works in 1961. He is also known to have designed the Bassin des Sirénes fountain for King Norodom Sihanouk’s office at the State Palace in 1963. But he is best remembered for his work as the engineer for the National Sports Complex between 1962 and 1964. Vann Molyvann, the architect, said Vladimir Bodiansky made sure that his radical structural design was feasible. “My idea was to build a grandstand with a roof like a table standing on four legs. But I thought this was not possible because the span was so great and would require intermediary columns,” he recalled. “When I asked Vladimir Bodiansky, he came up with the structural solution with only four columns supporting the canopy. I was still sceptical. Vladimir Bodiansky said to me: ‘This project will make or break you. If you achieve great architecture, everybody will congratulate you. But if you do something ordinay, it will be the end.’ He gave me the strength of conviction and technical prowess to see the project through as I had initially designed it.” Source : Building Cambodia New Khmer Architecture 1953-1970 by Helen Grant Ross & Darryl Leon Collins with preface by HM King Norodom Sihamoni Photo : Google xD
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 14:50:10 +0000
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