أرشيف الوسم: modernism

Today’s city planners oppose urban sprawl and the construction of new cities. Planners tend to encourage the development of existing urban conditions based on sound urban and environmental principals through increasing densities, mixed land-uses, improving infrastructure and environmentally friendly public transport alternatives.

The state of Kuwait is moving toward the establishment of the Silk City and islands project under the banner of the New Kuwait Project. The government has taken numerous steps toward this goal, including the establishment of a dedicated agency and signing a framework agreement with the government of China. Due to the unique natural setting of the land planned for development, it’s important to shed a light on a similar experiment that China carried eleven years ago, the city of Tianjin.

In 2008, China and Singapore’s government signed a framework agreement to create an environmentally friendly city in Tianjin on 30 KM² of land to accommodate 35,000 residents. The project attracted more than 600 companies and more than 7 billion USD in investments.

The master plan of Tianjin’s city was based on 22 mandatory indicators and four guiding indicators. Further, all indicators were quantitative to allow monitoring and ensure adherence.

The master plan was aimed to create an environmentally friendly city that applies the garden city principals. Subsequently, the plan sought to mitigate the dependency on private cars through well-distributed land uses, the provision of high-quality public transport systems and pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes — in addition to strict building codes and energy use.

It’s also worth noting that the location of the city was heavily polluted due to 40 years of dumping wastewater as well as industrial waste. Inovative technology was used to clean the site. China received three patents as a result of research and technology invented for this project.

Today, eleven years after the start of its construction, the city is successful and considered a world-class smart city. It houses 100,000 residents and created more than 30,000 jobs.

Such outstanding experiments and success merits attention, and we Kuwaitis can learn many lessons such as:

 – Collaboration with advanced nations can strengthen relations, transfer technologies and produce successful results.

– In this age, regional collaboration among nations became inevitable, common and successful.

– New Cities must be designed as smart, environmental cities. This is a necessity and no longer a luxury.

– Megaprojects provide opportunities to conduct scientific research and experiments with new technologies, which provides a clear path to improve the quality of research and academic institutions in the country.

– New cities create a platform for the propagation of a new social spirit, correcting the negative lifestyles that the general public is accustom to.

Thus, if we must create new urban areas and urbanize some of the most valuable Kuwaiti islands, we should implement high standards for design. These high standards will ensure that the land will be developed to better serve society at large and not used in the creation of sites for cheap real-estate investment, delusive speculations and empty concrete masses.

“What defines the character of a city is its public space, not its private space.” — Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN Habitat

In Kuwait, it is an unfortunate reality that public spaces suffer from neglect. Along this line, a wide gap exists between the level of care between public and private spaces.

Kuwait is rich, spending generously on public buildings and infrastructure. Furthermore, Kuwait’s people are highly-cultured and properly maintain their homes and private properties. These residents also possess elevated tastes and can distinguish between what is aesthetically pleasing and what falls short. This is present in the way residents display personal presentation and private image.

On the other hand, neglect for spaces that fall outside the realm of personal properties is evident. People tend to neglect, sabotage, and even infringe on public spaces. Due to the consequences of this phenomenon, it deserves investigation and deep analysis.

Public spaces consist of all open spaces to the general public in a given city — such as roads, sidewalks, plazas, squares, beached and others.

Public spaces have significant roles in the economic value of surrounding properties. These areas also play a social role, providing opportunities for meetings, gatherings, and entertainment. In addition, public spaces have environmental and health values, as they offer spaces for sports, vegetation that beautifies the city, lower temperatures, and enhances air quality.

How to improve the level of care for our public spaces:

Awareness of the concept of public ownership

Awareness of the concept of public ownership will generate a profound impact on how residents and communities interact with their public spaces. Higher opinion about the performance of the government and the integrity of official practices strengthens awareness about public ownership.

Laws and regulations

Our laws and regulations that govern public places are insufficient. They are not enough to force public institutions to properly care for public spaces. In both past and present, these institutions are shown to be inadequate in the prevention of vandalism and violations directed toward public spaces.

Vision and standards:

Currently, public places are neglected in Kuwait. The state lacks a vision that reflects the same passion and consideration that residents display regarding private spaces. Kuwait does not have adequate codes and standards that govern the design, execution as well as the maintenance of public places. This has a direct impact on the low quality of our public realm.

Public participation

The involvement of the private sector and the general public in the planning, design, and execution of public places within the city enhances the quality of public spaces. Once we encourage public participation in the decision making process, we will develop a feeling of shared ownership. And every citizen and institution will, in turn, take proper care of it.

Supervise and interaction

Many good public realm projects are executed in Kuwait — however soon after — they are let for decay and vandalism. Active supervision perpetuates interaction, and media coverage for public places projects will have a positive impact on the preservation and proper maintenance.

When celebrating our national days, we need to take this opportunity to call for the public to care for public spaces and properties. Moreover, paying more attention to all things that improve the quality of our cities and neighborhoods fortifies the public’s connection to these spaces and inspires further involvement. To close the gap between our concern for public and private spaces; we must understand and correct the divide resulting from a lack of interest and awareness.

Some may ask, “What is the value of this project?” Why do some people bother to call for its preservation and the prevention of its demolition? Some activists, such as Arch. Dema Ak Ghunaim, Arch. Dalal Al Hashash, Dr. Aseel Al Ragam, Dr. Mohamad AL Jassar, Dr. Hassan Ashkanani and others, led the efforts to overturn the government’s decision. In this article, I will try to enumerate a few points that may play a part in convincing the decision makers and the public opinion to preserve the project and rehabilitate it:

1- Some may see the project as an ugly, unworthy structure. However, the concept of beauty and utility changes over time. What we see as ugly today may be seen as beautiful in the eyes of the future generation. Moreover, what we see as useless the future generation may find ways to utilize it wisely.

2- Al Sawaber represents the spirit of a prominent period of the country and carries part of the history of Kuwait. It is a civil and cultural landmark that carries the marks of the eighties period, which is characterized as the development and growth period.

3- Regardless of the quality of the design and our opinions about the success or failure of the project, the project used to house a large number of families. Many people spent an important period of their lives within its boundaries. As such, this compound carries memories and meanings. The value of spaces derives from the events that occurred in them. Cities in general make up their values from the sum of these memory-charged spaces.

4-We need to note that the project has an architectural value; it is a landmark that was designed by a world-renowned Canadian Architect Arthur Erikson. Despite our variable opinions about the success of the design, it is considered an architectural experiment that sought to react to the local environment of Kuwait and its special social requirements. Thus, it is crucial that this project be saved to allow the specialists to evaluate in the future.

5-Such mega projects expend huge human efforts. As the process of planning, designing, constructing and handing over must have taken prolonged periods, deciding to demolish the project will waste all those valuable times that went into the realization of the project.

6-The world today and more than ever is keen on protecting historic buildings and rehabilitating them rather than demolishing and rebuilding. As such practices play a role in the protection of the environment and saving the waste of resources and materials, advanced nations protect the environment and take decisions that reflect their integrity in honoring their commitment to the environment.

7-Before we demolish Al Sawaber, we should review the economic and financial impact of such an act. We should study whether the rehabilitation of the project could be feasible and more attractive. As far as the investors are concerned, this is the most important factor. Why don’t we evaluate alternatives and test them financially, and invite investors and real estate developers to compete on proposing alternative models in order to take our decisions based on accurate information?

8- From an urban point of view, the project has a potential to become an additional value to Kuwait City. It can become a mixed-use development model that houses living, working and entertainment spaces. It can provide alternative venues for the small business and the creative classes who seek an alternative lifestyle. Kuwait City lacks diversity and is filled with the repetition of the same banal commercial model that adds very little to the overall built environment of Kuwait City.

In conclusion, it is dangerous to swiftly take such crucial decisions. Let us be aware of the over confidence that what we are proposing will be better than what currently exists. Let us study the project thoroughly. We have qualified professionals and smart developers who are able to create opportunities, which we can currently benefit from and for the future generations as well.

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.