Abandoned Garage, Kuwait...

A few photos from an abandoned garage in Kuwait, located on a site next to the, now demolished, Al Salam building, a stone-throw away from SAM Street...

Old Abandoned Villa by Bagdad Street, Kuwait...

 Above and Below: The residence has become almost camouflaged by the, somewhat overpowering, surrounding towers...

 Above and Below: Two of the inner courtyards...

 A (formerly) pink room... 

 Double-decker room...

 A burnt out interior...

 Above and Below: The original ceiling and wallpaper revealing themselves...

 Above and the five pictures below: Magazine cuttings glued to the walls... 

 Cut out patterns...

 Above and Below: Broken mirrors...

The Other Salhiya, Kuwait...

Salhiya, an area in downtown Kuwait, is usually affiliated with its 'uptown' mall and hotel complex which contains the 'creme de la creme' of international (mostly French and Italian) fashion-retailers within its, somewhat hermetic, confines. However, only about a hundred meters outside, crossing the street by the main entrance and heading towards the back of the row of up-market coffee-shops and restaurants, a completely different universe of retailing and socializing takes place. On an area that only covers a few city blocks and is mainly defined by a commercial spine stuck between a multi-storey Brutalist parking garage and a stretch of abandoned apartment blocks a truly mixed (both culturally & commercially) and 'buzzing' (and perhaps gritty) neighborhood practices its daily trade. This mixture (and physical proximity) of individuals from a variety of places and social stratum is truly unique occurrence in Kuwait. It's the only urban locale in Kuwait that, at least for me, sounds, smells, feels like a city. A place for casual conversations, people-watching, a quick cup of tea or Turkish-coffee, that do not necessitate one to adapt ones mannerism to the more regimented social confines set by the persnickety establishments around the corner. In its droll and density it embodies the anonymity and individuality that a truly cosmopolitan city needs to contain. Places like this are difficult to design, and are usually the result of planning related ennui rather than something intentional, something designed. However, as suggested by people like Jane Jacobs and other thinkers of her calibre and genre, places like this are what make a city so attractive to many of the urbanites that occupy its various nodes and arteries... These back-streets of Salhiya, rather than the gilded shops nearby, contain the true life-blood and character of Kuwait City. They should be celebrated rather than lambasted. Let's hope the nearby city-planners have the astuteness to let this neighborhood be and thrive, rather than neutering it (in the name of 'progress') with yet another lifeless shopping mall...

The main venue is stuck predominantly between a Brutalist multi-storey parking garage and an abandoned apartment complex...

An internal stretch of shops selling anything from plastic sandals to perfumes...

A stretch of abandoned apartment complexes flank the shopping district...

A, roughly, 180 degree, panorama showing (to the far left) the narrow entry leading to the buzzing (workers) shopping district, and the more grand entry (on the right) to the more high-end shops within the interiors of the 'Salhiya Complex'...

Favourite Buildings Visited – The Al-Salam Complex, Kuwait...

Adjacent to SAM Street (Salem Al-Mubarak Street) in Salmiya stands one of Kuwait's most recognizable landmarks. The Al-Salam Complex, with its undulating cylindrical shape, has become am icon in its own right, which is familiar to most who have spent a bit more time in Kuwait. Owned by Saud Sahoud Al-Mutairi, the building is, as it stands, scheduled for demolition only to be replaced by a shopping mall. This would be a true pity as the area is already severely 'out-malled' as it is. There has to be a more better way to adapt the site than using the, by now, tired old template/ business-plan of building an additional mall along this stretch of road.

The Al-Salam Complex is still standing, for now, but wouldn't it be great if it was allowed to continue fulfilling its role as a city node - a referential landmark that has already been a part of the collective unconscious and connective tissue of a number of Kuwaiti generations? Why not instead find a new use for the Al-Salam Complex? Provide it with a new occupation which would take advantage and build upon its historical and iconic status, a quality which is very difficult to recreate, and allow it to continue to radiate its understated, bur charismatic, presence in the future...

Above and below - photos of the stalactite ceiling and wall reliefs in the lobby...

The interior of the cylinder in its current dilapidated state...

Some of the original tiled walls...

Three seats ready for recycling...

Apparently there is still a sole inhabitant occupying a fifth floor flat in the Al-Salam Complex...

SAM St. (Salem Al-Mubarak Street) - Initial Analysis & Proposals...

A birdseye view of SAM St. (core image sourced from Google Earth)...

In collaboration with the members of the re:kuwait blog (architects Barrak Al-Babtain, Jasem Nadoum and Amenah Benjasem) as well as architect Aisha Al-Sager, I've been exploring the idea of pedestrianizing and revitalizing Salem Al-Mubarak Street (SAM St.) in Salmiya. The focus here is on the commercial stretch of the street, between the Fourth Ring Road and the Al-Salam Complex (the cylindrical, now former, residential building at its western end; more pictures of this in a future post). The collaboration began after much 'tooing-and frowing' between the parties various blogs, where we all were lamenting about the various urban, with a particular focus on the ambulatory, shortcomings of Kuwait in comparison to other, even regional, locations. These virtual communiques eventually turned into an actual meeting between the above mentioned individuals at a local coffee-shop, where a number of options were discussed for what and how something could be done to improve the situation. We eventually decided to focus on Salem Al-Mubarak street, which seemed to have the right 'bones' (foundations) to develop into a pedestrianized area. The ultimate aim is to do a, or a set of, short videos and perhaps a publication dealing with various aspects of urbanism in Kuwait.

Below are some of the initial musings (slides from the lecture), introduced for the first time at Wednesday's presentation at DAI (thanks everyone for coming, it was fun!). They were here used in conjunction (as a linked design to) the Kuwait School Manifesto's maxim number eight, which suggests that Kuwait could/ should be developed as the Design Capital of the Middle-East, something that's not too far fetched as, in comparison to Kuwait's neighbours which all have well developed plans to enhance their cultural standings but which none, however, have laid a particular emphasis on design, opening up a potential niche for how Kuwait could distinguish itself. As Kuwait already has a skilled craft-based workforce this should be something that is already implementable, all it will require is a set of dedicated designers (be these designers of products, furniture, buildings or cities) and a sustained doze of faith and perseverance. The SAM Street proposal could be the first physical manifestation of such aspirations.

If needed, please 'click' on the images to enlarge them...


Existing

A brief analysis of some of the existing features and conditions which apply to SAM Street.


Features/ Elements...


The landmark Al-Salam Complex at the western end of SAM St., currently being demolished...

A stretch of three storey office buildings, are also in the process of being demolished...

The street has an extended row of, seemingly self-sustaining, shade providing (at least three decades old) trees, stretching all along its commercial fronts...

SAM St. also retains a well proportioned set of mixed-use residential buildings, with retail premises on the ground level and residential units above...

There are a number of, somewhat unfortunate, developments being erected adjacent to the street...

Panorama view of the street's western stretch...

A cross-section taken of SAM Street's eastern, a bit narrower, end...

Plans...

The vehicular areas of SAM Street...

The sidewalks of SAM Street (note how much more pedestrianized areas there is in comparison to street area allocated for cars - a condition quite unique for Kuwait)...
Car parking on SAM Street (which, in turn, is surprisingly sparse compared to other comparable locales in Kuwait)...

The open areas along and adjacent to SAM Street...

The native (seemingly non-attended) trees along SAM Street...
The main access points to SAM Street...

The traffic routes and directions along SAM Street...

Proposed...


The aim is to pedestrianize the whole commercial/ retail stretch of SAM Street, something that lends itself quite naturally to this street, which, with its mirrored back-to-back u-turns, cannot be used as a vehicular thoroughfare (as can be observed in the image above this one)...

One of the proposals involves putting a university (a design school/ research institution?!) at one end of SAM St. as an anchor tenant. This is not too much of a stretch as there has already been proposals to provide a number of additional state universities to Kuwait, and it would be a dynamic way to breathe new life into this part of town.

Another appropriate (quasi) anchor tenant would be to provide dormitories and residential units at the other (eastern) end of the stretch. This would create a natural circulation for the area...

The stretch between the two nodes would be filled with more communal elements - various cultural (galleries, theatres, film screens...), dining (restaurants, coffee-shops...) and retail (with emphasis one more unique and individual 'speciality' stores)...

As a collective, the institutes of higher learning and in combination with the communal open and public areas, the neighbourhood would hopefully develop into a creative hub for the city...

Eventually it would be great to (gradually) expand the pedestrianized areas and link them to some of the other key nodes in Salmiya, such as the beach, Marina Mall (less than a 5 minute walk away) and the remains of the western end of Salem Al Mubarak Street (by Al Fanar and Sultan Center), as well as (as noted by re:kuwait) the future Salmiya Park...