Architect Spotlight: Martin Aerne

Image Credits: Jolanda Flubacher

Designing Cambodia’s Tomorrow with Integrity, Intention, and Local Soul

As Phnom Penh undergoes one of the most dynamic urban transformations in Southeast Asia, a new wave of architects is shaping how our city grows not just upward, but forward. At Mekarcube, we believe in building with purpose, and that includes shining a light on the design leaders driving meaningful progress. For the July 2025 edition of Mekarcube’s Architect Spotlight Series, we feature Martin Aerne, Founding Director of Aerne Architects & Associates. Martin Aerne brings a deeply reflective, context-driven approach to design. He is also a professor at the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA) and serves on the board of the Architects Association of Khmer (AAK), playing a crucial role in shaping both projects and professionals in Cambodia’s built environment.

Rethinking the Urban Future: From Glamour to Grounded Living

Cambodia’s skyline has been rapidly rising but Martin Aerne believes the next chapter of growth must prioritize substance over spectacle.

“As the past decade gave much attention to size, shine, and glamour,” he shares,

“I hope Cambodia’s architecture will now focus more on people’s well-being, social cohesion, and connection to a green, livable environment.”

He sees a timely opportunity for the industry to pivot not simply to catch up with international trends, but to lead with locally rooted ideas that respond to urgent global questions. By focusing on livability, social

connection, and sustainability, Cambodia could become a model for more thoughtful urban development.

“It is time to shift gear from catching up with the world to creating smart, unique, and local answers… that create case studies influencing the worldwide quest for better cities.”

Cultural Clarity Over Compromise

When asked how he balances global trends with Cambodia’s cultural and environmental uniqueness,

Martine Aerne offers a striking answer:

“For me this is not a question of balance or compromise, rather of radical honesty and a deep search for the best possible response based on all the wealth of heritage, traditions, and the latest knowledge of the

world."

He cautions against mixing styles just for the sake of trend or familiarity. True design, he argues,

must reveal the culture it serves not wear it like a mask.

“If we take a bit of the past and a bit of today, a bit of Khmer and a bit of the foreign, we’ll be left

with neither, nor void of a soul.”

“Architecture and cities are not capable of portraying a façade, they reveal the true current

culture.”

At Mekarcube, this perspective resonates strongly with our philosophy: architecture should not

just look Cambodian, it should feel Cambodian, live Cambodian, and age Cambodian.

The Power of Early Collaboration

“If the engineer cares for architecture, and the architect cares for engineering, a collaboration of

the two from the very beginning will yield the best outcome.”

He points to the structural beauty of ancient temples where engineering and spirituality were

deeply intertwined and compares it to modern breakthroughs like the Eiffel Tower. Though initially

controversial, Eiffel’s structure ultimately redefined Paris’s identity.

“Building structure, like the columns and architraves of a temple, are one of the main sources of

the atmospheric value and inherent beauty of the building.”

This philosophy aligns with Mekarcube’s multidisciplinary approach. From day one, our engineers,

designers, and project leads sit at the same table because we believe great buildings come

from shared vision, not siloed effort.

Sustainability in Practice: Beyond Technology

Sustainability often evokes images of solar panels or imported tech. But for Martin Aerne, it starts

with mindset especially in Cambodia’s fast-changing context.

“Sustainability is at our heart in any design process. However, the current environment often limits

how far we can push sustainable solutions not primarily because of cost, but perception.”

He emphasizes the power of low-tech, high-impact design decisions: reducing air-conditioned

areas, minimizing sealed surfaces, improving cross-ventilation, and adding greenery for shade.

These strategies, he believes, are not just more culturally relevant, they’re more effective in the

long run.

“Though construction materials, passive design, and equipment play an important role, the less obvious factors like air-conditioned space reducing travel distance or increasing greenery are often neglected.”

At Mekarcube, we embrace this pragmatic, locally grounded view of sustainability. Green design

should be both intelligent and intuitive, rooted in climate, context, and common sense.

Legacy and Mentorship: Advice for Cambodia’s Young Designers

Having mentored many architecture students at RUFA, Martin Aerne shares a reflective and heartfelt

message for the next generation:

“Though look and beauty are not to be despised, going deep, asking yourself essential questions,

cultivating your values, and paying careful attention to what makes life precious and in balance is

essential.”

He urges young Cambodian architects to value substance over surface to create places that

support mental wellness, emotional connection, and long-term community health.

“The impact the architecture we create has on the user and the environment outweighs the value

of the very thing we build by far.”

Martin Aerne's Advice for Cambodia’s Young Designers

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At Mekarcube, we echo this call. Design is not about the signature, it’s about the service it offers

to those who live in, move through, and grow within a space.

Martin Aerne’s architectural philosophy is a timely reminder for Cambodia’s construction industry:

buildings are not trophies, they’re trust. They reflect not only what a city can afford, but what it

believes in.

By featuring architects like Martine Aerne, Mekarcube aims to celebrate a new design culture in

Phnom Penh. One that balances innovation with integrity, ambition with humility, and heritage with

progress.

Because at the end of the day, we’re not just building projects. We’re helping build Cambodia’s future, one thoughtful design at a time.