Disappearance of Modern Heritage in Kuwait, Adaptive Reuse of ‘Al Sawaber’ Housing Complex

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.