Congratulations to Parsons SCE faculty Brian McGrath on the release of his recent book, “Genealogy of Bassac.” Genealogy of Bassac is the story of the White Building’s conception, inhabitation, abandonment, rehabilitation, eviction, and demolition in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (1963 – 2017).

From introducing a culture of independence and modern living, to witnessing mass evictions and the purge of cultural workers under the Khmer Rouge regime, to enjoying a period of revival and activism after 1979, the building provides a complex genealogy thanks to the generations of artists and residents who have lived through five decades of genocide, exile, return, and eviction.