أرشيف الوسم: gcc

Time passes over cities and leaves its impact on people and buildings alike. Time is relative, and its impact varies from one location to another. Similarly, science and technology impact the notion of time and affect the way people live everywhere. Life in the country differs from city life in terms of timing and the need for speed. In traditional societies, seasons govern the way people use space; and for Muslims, the five prayer times determine their daily activities.

With modernization and the changing nature of work, work became a routine; and the clock now rules the daily activities of people. Also, means of transport altered the way people view time. While in the past walking controlled how we perceived time, today the vehicle speed organizes how people communicate.

Additionally, the mobile phone revolutionized communication.  It removed barriers from the public and private spheres. It canceled the notion of space completely. As such, people’s activities could take place anytime, anywhere; and as a result, the physical place lost its value completely.

Even buildings that used to be designed and built to last were designed carefully with attention to minute details that allow pedestrians to enjoy their elegant facades. Today, buildings are designed, built swiftly and expected to last for 40 years only. We no longer justify the need to supplement buildings with details as the fast-moving eyes can only notice their silhouettes.

Places and buildings carry traces of memories, meaning and history. Thus, world cities preserve historical sites and buildings. Cities act beyond that and also preserve modern buildings that carry architectural and historical significance. We can import stones and technology, but we can’t buy history, memory and meaning. Such intangible qualities carry the secrets of specificity, the chests of the past and the keys to the future.

We need to replant the value of place and time through the design of our cities, public spaces and architecture. The built environment determines the quality of the places we live in. When designed carefully, it can create a lively environment that brings us to reality and enriches our daily experiences.

Kuwait as well as other GCC countries faced severe rainstorms that broke rainfall records and exceeded the capacities of stormwater networks. Further, extreme flooding on certain roads and urban areas caused tremendous damage to public and private properties and paralyzed movement and businesses, leading to direct and indirect financial losses of enormous scale. According to Kuwaiti officials, the damage resulted in 300 Million KD (1 billion USD) in damages.

Flowing and drifting stormwater carries a variety of microbes and bacteria as it reaches the shores of the gulf. In turn, this contamination leads to many environmental and health problems. The core problem is the geographic changes, the urban expansion, and construction — which covers wide areas of land. The covering of natural land with pavement, asphalt, buildings, and other civil structures also obstruct torrent movement and prevent natural soil from absorbing excess water.

The conventional solution is to construct wide networks, deep tunnels, and underground tanks at the cost of millions of dollars. However, this problem is more complex and requires a holistic solution to treat the underlying problems presented by stormwater. This holistic solution is based on three axes: social awareness, respect for the environment, and smart design.

Social awareness:

A smart city cannot be created without smart citizens. Smart citizens prioritize the protection of the natural environment. They are active and support governmental efforts to execute environmentally friendly projects.

The aware citizen — whether an individual or a member of a business — is law-abiding and does not pollute the network. In some cases, citizens may participate in the upkeep and cleaning of the infrastructure.

Respect the environment:

Smart cities respect the environment and intelligently integrate their infrastructure with the land’s unique characteristics in mind. Strategic decisions, such as the allocation of land for future cities, contain the natural terrain. Despite public and political pressures, some land must be left undeveloped. And so, respect for the environment entails understanding and acknowledging that development in some areas is untenable — regardless of these pressures.

Smart Design:

Establishing a smart city begins with a design concept based on accurate data and deep understanding of site, topography, and history. The form of the city and land-use distribution must fit with the natural land, its slopes, and torrent paths. Smart cities must allocate open spaces to collect stormwater and green land to allow the natural soil to absorb rainwater. Even walkways must be paved specifically to allow for the penetration of water to the ground. The same goes with landscaping which should use tree trenches and water ponds to collect water and allow it to be absorbed and infiltrated into the ground.

Smart city employees use the latest technology to monitor infrastructure and allocate failures into their systems. Today, the internet of things (IoT) is supported with geographic information systems that allow for smart monitoring of performance and efficient management of stormwater networks.

Architectural design can also work to contribute to the environment that it occupies. Today, most buildings are designed to push excess water toward roads and neighbors; this practice increases the pressure on the networks. Also, smart buildings use green roofs to collect water for future use, or at least, slow the flow of rainwater toward the network during storms to mitigate its negative impact during peak hours.

Cities can adapt to natural climate and become safe, comfortable places for residents to live. Although heavy rains present challenges to communities, it can also be transformed into a source of natural water. However, to meet these goals, we must raise awareness, respect the environment, and design our urban projects smartly.

تعرَّضت الكويت وبعض بلدان الخليج العربي لموجة أمطارٍ غزيرةٍ استثنائيةٍ، حطَّمت المعدلات القياسية، وتركَّزت عند ساعات محدودة، وفاقت القدرة الاستيعابية لشبكات تصريف مياه الأمطار، الأمر الذي أدَّى إلى حدوث فيضانات في بعض الطرق والمناطق الحضرية، مما خلّف أضراراً جسيمةً في: الممتلكات الخاصة والعامة، وتسبَّب بشللٍ في حركة الناس والأعمال، وأدَّى إلى خسائر مباشرة وغير مباشرة بلغت بحسب التقديرات الحكومية في دولة الكويت إلى 300 مليون دينارٍ كويتي.

فهذه المياه التي تسيل ويتم تصريفها باتجاه البحر، تجرف معها أنواعاً مختلفة من الجراثيم والبكتيريا والميكروبات، التي تؤدِّي إلى حدوث عددٍ من المشاكل البيئية والصحية، إلا أننا يجب أن ندرك بأنَّ المشكلة الأساسية تعود إلى التغييرات الجغرافية الكبيرة التي أحدثناها، والتوسُّع العمراني، والتَّعمير الذي غطَّى مساحات شاسعة من الأرض، إذ أنَّ تغطية مساحات واسعة بالإسفلت والبلاط والمباني والمنشآت أدَّى إلى إعاقة حركة السيول، ومنع امتصاص الأرض للمياه.

إنَّ الحلَّ التقليدي هو إنشاء شبكاتٍ فعَّالةٍ، وحفر أنفاق عميقةٍ، وخزَّانات تكلِّف ملايين الدنانير؛ لمعالجة هذه الظواهر الطبيعية، و لكن -كأي مشكلة معقدة- فإنَّ هذه الأمطار الموسمية تتطلب حلولاً وإجراءاتٍ مُركَّبةً، وهذه الإجراءات المُركَّبة قائمةٌ على ثلاثة محاور رئيسية: الوعي المجتمعي، واحترام البيئة الطبيعية، والتصميم الذكي.

الوعي المجتمعي:

لا يمكن إقامة مدينةٍ ذكيَّةٍ دون مواطنين أذكياء، فالمواطن الذكي يُعطي أولويةً للمحافظة على البيئة، وينشِّط حكومته ويساندها؛ من أجل تنفيذ مشاريع صديقة للبيئة، كما أنَّ المواطن الذكي يدعم خطط الحكومة في إنشاء مشاريع حديثة لتطوير شبكات الصرف، وغيرها من البنى التحتية الصديقة للبيئة.

المواطن الواعي فرداً كان أو مؤسسةً تجاريةً،  لا يخرق القوانين و لا يرمي النفايات في شبكات الصرف،  ولا مانع في أنْ يقوم المواطن في المساهمة في الحفاظ على البنية التحتية، وإبقائها نظيفةً وسليمةً.

احترام البيئة:

المدينة الذكية تحترم البيئة وتتكامل معها، والقرارات الاستراتيجية كتخصيص مواقع المدن يجب أن تراعي الطبيعة الطبوغرافيا، و مهما يكن الضغط السكاني والسياسي، فإنِّ بعض الأراضي يجب أن تترك خاليةً !

التصميم الذكي:

إن إقامة المدينة الذكية يبدأ من فكرة التصميم الذكي، المبني على المعلومات الدقيقة، والفهم العميق للموقع، والطبوغرافيا، والتاريخ، ويجب أن يتماشى شكل المدينة وتوزيعها مع طبيعة الأرض وميولها والممرات الطبيعية لمرور السيول، كما يجب أنْ تضم المدن فراغات كافية لتجميع مياه الأمطار، ومساحات خضراء مفتوحة تمكن التربة الطبيعية من امتصاص مياه الأمطار، وحتى ممرات المشاة المبلطة يجب أن تنفذ بأسلوبٍ يسمح لمياه الأمطار من المرور خلالها، ثمَّ الوصول إلى باطن الأرض، كما أنَّ المزروعات التجميلية يمكن تنفيذها بأساليب تسمح بمرور أكبر قدر من مياه الأمطار الفائضة إلى باطن الأرض، ومن الحلول أن تصمم ساحات عامة ذات ميول معينة وأحواضٍ تعمل على تجميع مياه الأمطار، وتسهِّل ترشيحها إلى قاع الأرض.

المدينة الذكية توظِّف أحدث الأنظمة التقنية لمراقبة البنى التحتية، ورصد الطوارئ، وتحديد مواقع الخلل في البنى التحتية.

واليوم (إنترنت الأشياء)  وما يرافقها من أنظمة المعلومات الجغرافية التي تتيح مراقبة أداء الشبكات بل والتحكم بها بسهولة.

إنَّ التصميم المعماري الذكي يُراعي البيئة كذلك، وتكمن المشكلة اليوم في أن ما يقوم به المصممون هو دفع مياه الأمطار باتجاه الطرق أو الجيران، وهذا يزيد المشكلة سوءاً، أمَّا المباني الذكية الصديقة للبيئة تستعمل أسطحاً خضراء، وتعمل على تجميع مياه الأمطار، والاستفادة منها للمستقبل، أو على أقل تقدير إبطاء دفعها باتجاه الشبكة أو الشوارع، مما يُخفف من الأضرار أثناء فترات العواصف المطرية.

الإنسانُ قادرٌ على التَّأقلم مع الظروف الطبيعية، وإنشاء بيئةٍ مريحةٍ للعيش بأمانٍ وراحةٍ، كما أنَّ الأمطار الغزيرة يُمكن أن توفر فرصاً للاستفادة من المياه، و لكن لكي يتم تحقيق هذه الاهداف لا بد من رفع مستوى الوعي المجتمعي، وتحقيق احترام البيئة، وتصميم المشاريع بذكاء.

Kuwait City is divided into three primary neighbourhoods: Sharq, Qibla and Mirqab. In the sixties and after the implementation of modern urban planning, Qibla gained prominence as the main commercial hub, especially for offices and retail, while Sharq mostly maintained its residential and low-density use. Sharq is bordered by the old market area to the west, Dasman Palace to the east, and the industrial crafts area to the south. Sharq is characterized by low density traditional Arabic houses, ranging in size from 250 to 500 square meters.

In 2002 — after the end of the Iraq war and tumbling of the old regime — Kuwait’s market was optimistic, and it was ready for a new economic and urban renaissance. And as usual, the real estate market was the most active sector. In turn, Kuwaiti developers began to search for opportunities. However, scarcity and the high cost of land hampered the development of Qibla neighbourhood and brought attention to Sharq.

The Municipal council reacted to this demand and issued decrees to change the use of some sites in Sharq (East Moqwa) to commercial land use with the maintenance of high-density residential FAR’s. Also, developers were allowed to build higher buildings and purchase additional air rights for a certain period of time.

During the last fifteen years, Sharq flourished and housed outstanding projects, such as Al Hamra, Al Raya, Al Awadhi, Mazaya, KIPPCO towers, and others. Currently, the capital tower and the NBK headquarters are other architectural landmarks located in Sharq and are under construction.

However, what we observe today is that Sharq suffers from severe urban problems, which negatively affects the quality of its projects and impedes the success of its business environment; this is due to the lack of urban forecasting and planning as well as the bowing of the planner to the pressures of the market and developers that seek quick gains.

This fast and unstudied transformation led an emergence of various urban problems that can be summarised as follows:

 – Traffic congestion occurred, as roads were not planned to accommodate these major commercial developments.

 – Lack of parking spaces led to chaos in parking and blocked roads and sidewalks, which denigrated the overall scene.

 – Deficiency of land use balance and the improper mix-use — especially the provision of adequate residential units to accommodate a portion of those who work at Kuwait City.

 – The absence of an adequately connected pedestrian network that is safe and encourages walkability.

 – The nonexistence of public open spaces that are well-designed and provides an outdoor breather for residents.

 – Disharmony in use and scale, which negatively impact the urban form and urban fabric.

Sharq is a vibrant part of Kuwait City, and today, it houses a group of outstanding architectural landmarks and is the address of leading companies and locations for small entrepreneurs. In addition, there are three main roads that pass through Shar: Ahmad Al Jaber, Jaber Al Mubarak, and Al Shuhada. Once properly designed, these streets possess the ingredients to be successful avenues and can contribute to achieving the vision of Kuwait City as a vibrant centre. This being said, Sharq must be rethought out carefully because it can be developed to protect its projects and environment and prepare it for the future. However, if left to chance, Sharq will face an urban catastrophe and life for residents will become unbearable.