Shades of Green...

The ruins of an old palace, fronted by posters from its more prominent past...

Came across an article in Building Design, a UK based architectural weekly newspaper, and thought that in its, call it, 'softness', it provided a nice approach to 'Green' Building. Even though clearly not directly related to this region, it nevertheless seems to accept that sustainability is more of a 'qualitative' than a 'quantitative' art - i.e. it provides a nice way to avoid the usually more numerical way of using percentages or quota based means to justify an (environmental) aim. Such 'shades of green', to provide a more regional comparison, was also something practiced by architects such as Hassan Fathy or Charles Correa, who mostly relied on 'passive' (non technological) methods and an evolved understanding of the climate and cultures in which they realized their plans. (As stated in the 'Kuwait School Manifesto') We learn everything from history, but this doesn't mean we have to duplicate it - just walking around some of the, now abandoned, traditional buildings/ ruins in Kuwait there is abundant evidence of some inherent 'age old' sensibilities that make sense when constructing in an arid climate. We need not necessarily replicate these, but there is much empirical wisdom saturated in those old walls which we could learn from and apply in the way we practice our discipline today...

A mid 20th century residential house...