Phum Sambo Café & Eatery by Khoan + Partners: A Living Frame of Renewal in Phnom Penh

Reviving an Unfinished Structure with Respect and Purpose

In the heart of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Phum Sambo Café & Eatery by Khoan + Partners transforms an unfinished concrete shell into a vibrant, climate-responsive retreat. The 680-square-meter renovation project reimagines a once cold, utilitarian frame into a warm, tactile, and nature-integrated space that bridges the gap between structure and landscape.

When architect Pengly Khoan first encountered the building, it stood as an exposed concrete grid—strong in geometry yet disconnected from life. Rather than erase its history, the design team chose renovation with reverence, preserving the raw structure and layering it with warmth, adaptability, and ecological sensitivity. This approach celebrates what already exists while redefining its relationship with nature and human experience.

Honoring the Existing Frame

The original framework—slabs, beams, and columns—remained untouched, serving as a foundation for renewal rather than demolition. Khoan + Partners approached the project as an act of adaptive reuse, turning the rigid concrete skeleton into a flexible architectural pavilion.

New timber elements were thoughtfully introduced to complement the concrete, establishing a dialogue between hard and soft, heavy and light. Wooden louvers, railings, soffits, and cladding lend texture and rhythm to the building while performing a crucial climatic role. These operable wooden systems diffuse harsh tropical sunlight, regulate airflow, and create ever-changing patterns of shade throughout the day.

Through this careful layering, the design achieves both aesthetic harmony and functional sustainability, transforming the once sterile structure into an inviting public space for gathering and reflection.

Integrating Nature as a Design Material

Phum Sambo Café & Eatery stands as a living frame, where architecture becomes a vessel for greenery. Cascading vines and climbing plants trace the contours of the concrete, softening its edges and connecting it seamlessly to the landscape.

The lush vegetation performs more than an ornamental function—it acts as a natural cooling system, filtering air, providing shade, and creating microclimates that enhance comfort in Cambodia’s tropical heat. The result is a building that blurs the line between indoors and outdoors, built and grown, static and evolving.

By positioning plants as architectural components, Khoan + Partners embrace the philosophy of biophilic design, crafting a sensory experience rooted in climate, ecology, and human well-being.

Spatial Openness and Environmental Sensitivity

The café’s spatial configuration reflects the architects’ commitment to sustainability and comfort through passive design. The ground floor is a shaded, open-air environment that dissolves the boundary between interior and landscape. This layout encourages cross-ventilation, reducing the need for mechanical cooling and creating a naturally comfortable environment for diners.

The upper floor utilizes green roof insulation and filtered daylight, achieving thermal balance and visual comfort throughout the day. Each floor contributes to a holistic environmental strategy—where every structural and material choice enhances energy efficiency while maintaining aesthetic simplicity.

A Model of Sustainable Renovation

Phum Sambo Café & Eatery exemplifies how thoughtful renovation can breathe new life into forgotten structures. Instead of erasure, the project embraces continuity and transformation, showing that architecture can grow from what already exists.

This sensitive intervention turns an abandoned building into a serene café that reflects the rhythms of Cambodian life—open, welcoming, and attuned to its climate. It’s an architecture that listens before it speaks, embodying the idea that true sustainability lies not in newness, but in renewal.

All photographs are works of Serey Soursdey