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 KFAS NEW HEADQUARTERS COMPETITION IN KUWAIT

CLIENT: KFAS

VOLUME: 355.000 m3.

STATUS: finalist

PLACE: Kuwait City

YEAR: 2018

In the elaboration of our design, we have kept in mind aesthetic, physical, and psychological aspects, while setting man and research at the center of our intervention.

This project wants to attract interest, to stimulate our curiosity thanks to the use of simple forms but shaped in an unusual way, even within the same buildings. On the other hand this project narrates the metaphor of a journey meant as the tension towards knowledge and research. The two buildings foreseen by the competition as the bow and stern of a hypothetical ship, a futuristic vessel ready to sail to the discovery of life’s mystery. The recall to the local vessel is quite clear, the Dhow represents the testament of the historical beginning of innovation in Kuwait. The image of the vessel is rendered as a stand-alone building with a strong landmark connotation that can be appreciated from the city and from the water.
The redrawing of the outside space between the two plots provides for an actual course to approach knowledge and research activities – besides physically connecting the two parts of the architectonic complex – by lingering on the various points of interest set between the two buildings that perform a didactic function around the elements of nature and the themes of human life. A clear statement is the walk in right underneath the double helicoidal threads of the DNA, that extends towards the two buildings wrapping them in a large embrace and offering occasions of more articulated public spaces. Ideally, the DNA threads connect water and earth, a connection that refers to the origins of Kuwait, a relationship between sea and land. The crossing of the DNA threads open up to the possibility of enriching the structure with shading panels.

We wish to stimulate natural curiosity to ease hospitality so that each one can feel welcome, even in terms of human relationships without the fear of making mistakes. Finally, we have wanted to grant a symbolic perception of the new buildings capable of going beyond the average view of the constructive-technological complexity of contemporary architectures.

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