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Title: | Disappearance of Modern Heritage in Kuwait, Adaptive Reuse of ‘Al Sawaber’ Housing Complex | Authors: | Mosquera, Diana MOORS, Marie |
Advisors: | Moors | Issue Date: | 2021 | Publisher: | Docomomo International and Docomomo Japan | Source: | Tostoes, Ana; Yamana, Yoshiyuki (Ed.). The 16th International Docomomo Conference Tokyo Japan 2020+1 Inheritable Resilience: Sharing Values of Global Modernities, Docomomo International and Docomomo Japan, p. 352 -357 | Series/Report: | 03. Modern Housing | Series/Report no.: | Book 1 | Abstract: | After the discovery of oil in Kuwait in 1940, a tabula rasa of the historic city centre made place for modernist buildings and structures. However, the replacement of the original built fabric inhabited by fishermen and functioning as trade route from the Persian Gulf to Aleppo, was seen as an historical and socio-cultural loss; the same is happening today. In this light, the paper addresses the current modernization process of the city of Kuwait, which is resulting in the disappearance of modernist housing all over the city, in particular the 'Al Sawaber' housing complex. The first part of the paper presents a brief history of the various planning processes Kuwait went through. The emerging modern state embraced the 1960s utopian movement. And therefore, renowned members of TEAM X were invited to rethink the city of Kuwait. The second part zooms in on the extraordinary case of the 'Al Sawaber' housing complex; constructed in a period of modernist experimentation. Nowadays 'Al Sawaber' is being demolished, like many other modernist constructions in the city, 'to make the Kuwait's future regeneration possible'. Questions are raised about the arguments pro-demolition. In conclusion, we explore alternative strategies for urban renewal and adaptive reuse of the 'Al Sawaber' project. The analysis of the modernist approach of housing in the 1970s provides significant material on how to reuse this mass housing typology. Our personal project investigates the importance of the public spaces and the necessary economic development of the city without losing sight on the social aspects connected to a dynamic process of modernization. Therefore, it is important to enhance the potential of the existing built fabric, but at the same time invest in new functions that adapt this heritage to current needs. | Keywords: | Modernist housing;Kuwait;Al Sawaber;Adaptive reuse;Modernism;Arthur Erickson | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/34778 | Link to publication/dataset: | https://docomomo2020.com/ https://my.ebook5.net/casabella/f4ToLJ/# |
ISBN: | 9784904700693 | Rights: | Fig. 1 Planning timeline, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 1952–2030. © Credits collage by Diana Mosquera,2019, based on plans by Mohamamd Alsayegh, 2017. Fig. 2 Proposals for demonstration buildings in Kuwait, Kuwait city, 1961. Selections of four areas of development to restructure Kuwait city. © Kuwait Municipality, 2019, https://www.baladia.gov.kw/sites/ar/Pages/main.aspx Fig. 3 ‘Al Sawaber’ initial design by the architect Arthur Erickson, Kuwait City, 1976. © The ‘Al Sawaber’ Project, National Housing Authority Kuwait: Development Study, part C. Arthur Erickson Architects, Canada, May 1977, Kuwait Municipal Archive, Kuwait. © Credits for image Arthur Erickson Foundation. Versus ‘Al Sawaber’ built project by East Asia Contractors, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 1989. © Plans and section by Diana Mosquera, 2019, based on East Asia Contractors Corporation © Credits for image Mishal Al Musaileek, 2016, http://mlalmusaileekh.blogspot.com/2016/10/al-sawaber-with-my-indulgence.html Fig. 4 Scheme and masterplan of adaptive reuse interventions at ‘Al Sawaber’, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 2019. © Plans by Diana Mosquera, 2019, based on East Asia Contractors Corporation before demolition. Versus during demolition of ‘Al Sawaber’. © | Category: | C1 | Type: | Proceedings Paper |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
210529_PresentationTokyo_MosqueraMoors.pdf | Conference material | 36.69 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
MosqueraMoors_DocomomoTokyo_Disappearance of modern heritage in Kuwait_Authorsversion.pdf | Peer-reviewed author version | 1.09 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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