Category: Design

These renderings are the final approved concept for Burj Al Shaya designed by Gensler, the same architects behind The Avenues. The building consists of two towers, the tall tower will serve as the new Alshaya headquarters while the second shorter tower will be the Four Seasons Hotel. The location of this building is next to Burj Jassim in Kuwait City and it’s expected to be completed by mid 2015. From what I understood Alshaya haven’t released the renderings to the public yet but some people have leaked them online. Those two in this post are the only ones I’ve been able to find.

[Source1] [Source2]

I would love to spend a day inside Zaha Hadid’s mind. Construction will supposedly start this summer and be completed by 2017. [Link]

And Kuwait, where’s our metro at?

My friends at Monstariam are organizing a super cool event, a “Pop Up Graffiti Picnic”. They’re going to provide you with walls to graffiti (legally) and you just need to come down with your own spray cans and food and just spend the afternoon tagging the walls while eating and socializing.

The event is on May 10th in the park outside Discovery Mall in Kuwait City. I’m going to be there for sure.

Art Kuwait recently posted about Boushahri’s Art Library in Salmiya. The library is filled with both Arabic and English art and design books and you don’t need to be a member to access the books. You just pass by, sign in and read whatever books you want.

The library is located in the Boushahri building on Baghdad Street in Salmiya and it’s open from 9AM to 1PM and then again from 5PM to 9PM. Their phone number is 25621215 ext 110. For more information click [Here]

Note: Art Kuwait mention that it’s the first art library in Kuwait but I believe CAP (Contemporary Art Platform) have had a similar library in their space for some time now. Photo below.

The Wall Street Journal has a feature on 9 Artsy Vines and one of the featured Vine users is locally based artist Pinot. Vine is similar to Instagram except it’s with video that’s limited to just 6 seconds. Out of all the Vine users in the world it’s pretty cool that Pinot made it to their top 9 list.

You can check out the WSJ article [Here]
You can also check out Pinot’s Vine videos [Here]

I previously wrote about Pinot a few years back when he came first place on the IKEA Hackers competition.

AGi architects – General Department of Information System, Kuwait from AGi architects on Vimeo.

I honestly have no idea what the General Department of Information System are in charge of but this is the design that got approved for their new offices and I think it looks really beautiful.

The project is based on three principles: representativeness, security and functionality, turning the complex with a total gross area of 135,482 sqm into a strong civil icon representing Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior Affairs.

Building design aims for the clear transmission of a conceptual duality it derives from: technology, innovation and transparency on the one hand versus strength, stability and security, which are inherent to the Ministry of Interior Affairs that will occupying the building, on the other.

This concept is driven in the building by two contrasting layers that are superimposed onto one another. From afar the building is perceived as a light volume elevated from the ground floor, becoming a landmark in the urban landscape for the citizens, while a closer approach will show the massiveness of the stone plinth, a lower part of the building that is opened to the public the main gates and lifts from ground to hold the upper levels lighter glass structures that house the offices of the various departments.

You can also check out some 3D renderings of the building on the AGi Architects website [Here]

The Dubai Comic Con was held this past weekend and the Dubai based Brownmonkeys design collective designed some cool posters merging the Gulf culture with Western characters. My favorite was the Beavis and Butthead poster above.

Check them all out on the Brownmonkeys website [Here]

Last year it was announced that the legendary architecture firm OMA would be designing a department store at 360 Mall and a few days back the design was finally revealed. Judging by the 360 Mall floor plan they have on the website it looks like the department store will be built as an extension to the current building and not a separate structure like I had previously thought. There’s a bunch of pictures as well as more information on the OMA website which you can check out [Here]

Kuwaiti graphic designer Fahad AlHunaif who’s based in New York struck gold a few days ago when one of his cap designs was worn by the British fashion model Cara Delevingne. She was backstage at the Jeremy Scott Runway Show when fashion photographer Terry Richardson snapped some pictures of her wearing the cap. Sadly I have no idea where you can get one from. You can check out the pictures taken by Terry Richardson [Here]

If you want to check out some of Fahad’s work you can do so on his tumblr [Here] or you can follow him on [Instagram]

I’d say it’s just slightly better than their previous version. The colors are much more subtle but I think all the graphics and icons are a bit too big and bulky. You can check it out yourself [Here]

Monstariam are three guys who were united by their shared passion for creating art. This exhibition is their first and will feature a multitude of artworks from intricately designed canvas posters to framed A4 prints and original sketches to exclusive bespoke vehicles.

The winners of the 2011 Emporis Skyscraper Award was recently announced and Kuwait’s Hamra Tower came in second place. The Emporis Skyscraper Award is a renowned architecture prize for new skyscrapers and the winners were chosen from over 220 skyscrapers completed in 2011. The tower that came in first place was the 8 Spruce Street which looks pretty impressive as well. [Link]

A friend of mine runs a local women’s fashion magazine and is looking for full time graphic designer (preferably female) to work on the magazine layout. If you’re interested send her an email [email protected]

StudioToggle is a design studio for Kuwaiti architect Hend Almatrouk and Gijo Paul George. They’re the same team behind the coolest movie theater design I’ve ever seen which I posted about last year.

The same team have now created a temporary pavilion called Pneumatic_Grove, which they’ve installed infront of the National Library of Kuwait facing the Gulf Road. It is part of the Housing Sessions conference which started a few days back at the National Library. The pavilion is an urban intervention which comments about the inaccessible landscapes of Kuwait. The official opening for the pavilion was two days back but it will be running until tomorrow the 8th of November. If you’re also interested, they’re having panel discussion about the pavilion today at 4PM as well.

Their old logo (above) was not that great but their new one (below) is just horrible. They should have just hired the agency that did the 360 Mall branding.

Getting close to the opening of The Avenues new districts and our plans for future expansion of The Avenues we created a new iconic logo with a distinct personality that conveys a more abstract thought of simplicity and boldness. It’s an interactive logo with maximum flexibility for messaging.

Iconic? Don’t think so.