Phu Quoc, a former prison island located in the southwestern tip off mainland Vietnam, is home to a luxurious resort under the guise of a university.
“WELCOME TO LAMARCK UNIVERSITY,” a hotel staff and our guide greeted us as i stepped into the lobby of JW marriott Phu Quoc emerald Bay. University? isn’t this a hotel, or more specifically, a five-star resort? Before i could ask any further, she continued. “Our university was founded in 1894 by the French scientist Jean Baptiste lamarck. The current dean, ty collins’ great, great, great, greatgrandfather used to be the dean here, back in those days.”
We are standing in the lobby of a hotel on the island of Phu Quoc (pronounced “foo wok”), which lies just off vietnam’s southwestern tip.
This is the apparent backstory to the place: this “university” is a cluster of Hoi an-style architecture that started out as a boys’s school for european immigrants to the area. When the first and second wars descended, these families fled and left all their belongings behind. Artefacts from the library, tennis team, rugby teams have all been preserved and now sit proudly on display, in glass cabinets.
Architect Bill Bensley and his team spent years sourcing vintage collegiate objects such as these books, trophies, and suitcases from around the globe for the fictitious lamarck university.
As the in-depth historical run-down wrapped up, our guide said, “that’s why Bill Bensley is so amazing. I sometimes wonder how he even thinks [up] of things like that.” That one sentence made me realise that the “history” she had just shared was all made-up by one man — american-born, Bangkokbased architect Bill Bensley. There were no immigrants, no scientists, and no universities.
This story is from the January 2019 edition of T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine.
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This story is from the January 2019 edition of T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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