KUWAITI ARCHITECTURE
Published in Host City magazine

Known as one of the busiest financial and trade centers in the Middle East, it’s not surprising that new developments are taking hold in Kuwait. With two new city projects on drawing boards, the Gulf epicenter is emerging as the new Dubai, and not on a small scale.

The Kuwaiti economy has expanded substantially over the last three years, mostly due to
the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003. As the economy wakes up from the damage, huge building developments are emerging, and evidence of this can be seen around Kuwait. Added to the fact that Kuwait sits on 10 per cent of the world’s oil reserves and the government is looking more and more at inward investment, companies all over the world are bidding for new development projects to be built on the most up and coming country in the Gulf.

Following in the footsteps of Sydney and Athens, UK architects Eric Kuhne and Associates has drawn up plans to create an Olympic city in Kuwait. Madinat Al Hareer (City of Silk), is a 21st century city, planned to be developed directly across the Kuwait Bay from Kuwait City, and will be linked by a 23.5 km bridge.

Although there are no immediate plans to hold the Olympics in Kuwait, preparation is the key if the Gulf country is going to reach it’s projections of population increase to more than five million by the year 2030 (an increase of approximately 40 per cent). The government is already benefiting from tourists being drawn to the diverse country, and the Olympics will give an even larger opportunity to draw tourists, and further strengthen the infrastructure.

“The concept was to create a city for 700,000 people, and an Olympic city tied in with leisure and health. Working with the Kuwait government, the Emir and the prime minister, we are hoping to lift the Kuwait posture globally and create a centre of excellence in health and athleticism,” says architect Eric Kuhne. “We were aware of Dubai sports development and the aim of this project is to rise up and compete. We wanted to make sure the recreation facilities and athletics facilities are world class, and fit into the vision of global capitals.”

The project is much more than simply an Olympic City. Although it comprises a health and leisure area, plans also include three more primary employment centres; business, finance and trade, culture and diplomacy, and ecology. A wildlife sanctuary covers a third of the 250 sq km development, with the culture and diplomacy area facing the Gulf coast, the business and commerce centre facing Kuwait Bay, and the leisure area directly backing onto the river. The centrepiece for the whole project is the Mubarak al-Kabir tower, deemed to be the tallest building in the world.

The tower will extend to more than 1,001 m tall, and house more than 200 floors. With the exception of the three communications towers, Kuwait City is still predominantly low-rise, thanks to building height restriction of 40 storeys. Now building rules have been relaxed to encourage investors to the country, such a skyscraper can be built. The tower will overshadow the previous tallest Gulf coast skyscrapers including the Burj Dubai in Dubai (808 m). The twisting, tapering structure of the Mubarak al-Kabir will feature three blades, terminating at different heights to provide residents, workers and guests with cultural, civic and religious amenities.

The KD 25bn project is expected to contribute KD 45bn to Kuwait’s National income over the life of the project and is estimated to create 500,000 jobs for the area, which is a welcome addition to the country’s economy.
Kuhne concludes that,“The project is conveyed as a balance between commerce, culture, leisure and ecology, and in doing so it is an independent city centre, and a 21st century city centre.”

It’s not only foreign investment that is building up Kuwait’s portfolio of extensive development. Kuwaiti estate and investment company, EFAD Holdings showcased its plans to create a future city near Fahaheel at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) earlier in the year.
The KD 500,000,000 project plans to enhance Kuwait’s status as host for international investment and events, while regenerating the Fahaheel area of Kuwait. Wholly financed by the private sector, the range of residential areas, hotels, retail, plus services in the shape of a specialised hospital and education establishment will encourage investors around the world to inject money into the Kuwaiti economy.

The project will cover 770,000 sq m and will feature hotels, hotel suites, 25 residential units, 20 residential buildings (to house 7,200 people), eight office towers, one shopping mall, entertainment and commercial units, plus a whole new transport system. The focal point for the project is an undercover walkway that stretches from one side of the city to another, and utilises the latest technology to keep the area cool through all seasons.
British architectural visualisation company, Designhive, has been brought onboard to create the branding identity for the project.
Designhive is one of the leading architectural visualisation specialists in the UK. The 17-strong team works independently with architects, planners and specifiers to create realistic visualisations of future environments. The company’s extensive portfolio includes London 2012 and Turkey Resort.

“Khabary is a future city outside Kuwait City that was designed by Make Architects on behalf of Al Dar [a subsidiary company of EFAD Holdings]. The investment company needed to win government approval and we were commissioned to produce branding and marketing for the Kuwaiti government,” says Designhive commercial director, Janine Tijou. “We were supplied drawings by Make of the original masterplan, which they had been developing for about 18 months beforehand with Al Dar. We then developed the original drawings into format using 3DS Max software.”

“We needed to composite the future city into the context to fit in with the surrounding area. We first took aerial photographs of the proposed site, and used Bijou, which is a programme used in the film industry, to create the 3D effects. As we came down to ground level we had to create what the surrounding city looks like in CGI. To do this, we created block models in the style of the existing buildings. This was done quite generically to give the feel of being in that environment,” says Tijou.
Another integral part of the marketing of the design was to create visualisations of the project to show how it will look being used by people. “Animating people within scenes was a big challenge. It’s quite easy creating populated scenes with easy shortcuts, but when the shot requires flying through buildings, past people, they need to be realistic. For this, we used green screens and actually went out to Kuwait to film people wearing traditional costumes, and people who are likely to be using the city,” says Tijou.

As a result of Designhive’s work, the government has granted permission for Al Dar to start constructing the project. The Future City is due for completion in 2009, and Designhive has created marketing materials to present the idea to potential investors.

Although Kuwait is currently lagging slightly behind Dubai in construction and economy terms, new developments such as the Madinat Al Hareer and Khabary Future City mean it will soon be playing the same game. With the tallest onshore skyscraper proposed, and whole city projects in the making, it is only a matter of time before Kuwait becomes much more than just another developing county in the Middle East.