Category: Design

Four Seasons have published a press release a few days ago listing their new hotels that will be opening in 2016 and they had the below little tidbit on the Kuwait branch:

The first Four Seasons in Kuwait will be the 263-room Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya in the central business district. An Italian dining concept created around three wood-burning ovens as well as a pan-Asian restaurant – both with outdoor terraces on the penthouse level – will be among five food and beverage options. Interiors by Yabu Pushelberg will include a spectacular indoor pool in the beautifully designed spa and fitness complex.

I just checked out the portfolio of Yabu Pushelberg and based on his previous work, I’d say we’re going to be in for a treat. [Link]

Update: Hotel is now expected to open on February 15, 2017.

The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) promotes scientific and applied research, particularly in matters related to industry, natural and food resources and other primary constituents of the national economy. The project is located in the dense urban coastal neighborhood area of Salmiya facing the Gulf Road.

As well as its use for research and development of plants and sustainable technologies, the project aims to demonstrate the best practice in the field of research and development for the management of green space by current and future generations of Kuwait.

…

In addition to landscaping the site, Pace has designed nine buildings within the project, including an educational and research facility, observation pavilions, a demonstration greenhouse, and research offices.

The area where this project is proposed to be built is on the coastal part of Salmiya near where Gia and The Secret Garden are located and right down the road from where the worlds largest museum is being built. [Link]

The world’s fair officially launched in Milan on Friday and with it Kuwait’s pavilion pictured above. Here is some information on the architecture being the pavilion:

The Pavilion’s architecture evokes the Kuwaiti Dhow, the triangular-sail boat still used in the Arabian Gulf. The lateral facades display examples of the greenhouse and hydroponic cultivation used in Kuwait.

The first section of the visitor’s itinerary illustrates the country’s features and climate. The second shows how scientific study and research have made it possible to create fertility in arid landscapes. In the last section, guests can immerge themselves in Kuwaiti culture. [Source]

The three mini water towers in the front seem a bit tacky but other than that I like the sails structure. For more information on the pavilion check out this [Link] and also check out the Kuwait Pavilion instagram account @kuwaitexpomilan

It looks like the cop cars are getting a graphical facelift. The images in this post have been circulating social media showing four new car graphics for the cop cars. I kinda like the current blue and fluorescent yellow combo we have right now, the new colors seem a bit dull.

Snapchat Geofilters are special overlays for Snaps that can only be accessed in certain locations like the ones pictured above. If you’ve ever used Snapchat while traveling you’ll sometimes notice different special overlays depending where you’re located so if you’re in Paris near the Eiffel Tower you would get an Eiffel Tower overlay. Turns out you can design your own and submit them to Snapchat for approval. So if you’re a designer, go ahead and make one for Kuwait by clicking [Here]

Speaking of Snapchat, yesterday Dubai was live on Snapchat and there were a bunch of great Snaps. They’re actually still in my feed this morning so they’re probably in yours as well so check it out. Also if you want to add me on Snapchat my handle is “mark248am”

A couple of readers sent me a link to a feature on Dezeen, the world’s most popular and influential architecture and design magazine on a new apartment building in Salmiya. The building pictured above looks very cool but I can’t figure out where in Salmiya it is. If anyone has an idea let me know but for now check out the write up on the building and more photos [Here]

Hopefully this is a start to more tasteful looking residential towers in Kuwait.

Update: Apartment building is located behind AUK and rent start from KD450 upwards (that was a few months back)

Portuguese architect Ricardo Camacho and the popular architecture website ArchDaily have put together an intellectual expose on how the new Al Shaheed Park was conceptualized. Ricardo is the architect behind Al Shaheed Park and although I have yet to see it in person, based on the photos on ArchDaily I am already head over heels in love.

This has to be the most beautiful place in Kuwait at the moment, it just looks so stunning. In the article Ricardo takes us on a tour of the park explaining all the elements and buildings but even if you don’t want to read you can still enjoy flipping through all the photos.

Also someone needs to tell the people at Al Tijaria Tower across the street that the huge advert on the side of their building has turned their building into an eyesore. Someone should also put Ricardo in charge of all of Kuwait City including the new Kuwait Airways building. Anyway check out the article and photos on Al Shaheed Park [Here]

I passed by the Kuwait Airways Building in Kuwait City last night and noticed it was getting demolished. The new building that will replace it is pictured above (right) and looks like your typical lets build the ugliest and cheapest looking skyscraper we can. Kuwait City would look so much more prettier if all the buildings looked like KIPCO Tower or even the smaller Mazaya and KPT Towers.

Early on in the month graffiti artists Monstariam and Bufifty spray painted a gigantic spaceman mural outside Al Khaled Complex in Salmiya. It’s the same complex where Gia and Lorenzo are located and it right away became my favorite Monstariam graffiti work yet. Now TJC Films has uploaded a video of the making of so if you’re curious to see how the spaceman came to be check it out above. [YouTube]

Not sure how I missed this when I watched Interstellar two weeks ago but Cinescape has a new logo. Not sure how I feel about it since I just saw it now for the first time but side by side with their older logo it looks like a step in the right direction.

The new logo along with the website gives the brand a much needed facelift, it looks brighter and more current than their previous logo which I really liked back when it was first introduced. One thing I’m curious about it where is the Arabic version? Their website uses the same English logo for both the English and Arabic sections and I didn’t spot the Arabic logo on their Instagram account either. Curious if they’ve decided to completely drop the Arabic (which I don’t mind honestly).

In any case maybe Avenues can give them a call and find out who did their branding because two years later and the Avenues logo still looks like crap.

Graffiti artists Monstariam and Bufifty spray painted a gigantic spaceman mural over the weekend outside Al Khaled Complex in Salmiya. It’s the same complex where Gia and Lorenzo are located and this has to be my favorite Monstariam graffiti work yet. I love it.

Doodles by @browneyesstudio

Last week I wasn’t posting as much since I was taking two workshops at the Nuqat design conference, a furniture design workshop from 9AM to 1PM followed by a fashion design workshop from 2PM to 6PM. They both turned out to be a lot of fun and the whole experience was memorable.

Furniture Design: Defy the Existing Function
The furniture design workshop was done in collaboration with IKEA and was run by the award winning furniture designer Younes Duret. It was basically an IKEA hack workshop in which we had to repurpose one product out of the 35 they had made available to us. There were around 26 people taking the workshop with many of the participants coming in from around the region to take part. The final work was pretty astounding since there were quite a bunch talented people taking part.

Fashion Design: Fashion Meets Technology
The second workshop I took part in involved wearable technology and as a geek/designer I wanted to see if there was anything I could possibly bring to the table. The workshop was run by the super talented Sarah Hermez of the non profit fashion school, Creative Space. While the furniture design workshop was held at the Sadu House, the fashion design workshop was held at Fab Lab. What is Fab Lab? Fab Lab is part of MIT’s Fab Foundation and the Kuwait Fab Lab is part of the world wide network which spans 30 countries. It’s a ridiculously cool place where you can go fabricate products as well as take part in educational workshops (all for free). They have 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters, a robotics lab and even an in house patent registration office. I’m actually going to post a separate post about them since the place is just insane. After experimenting with different technologies over the four days, for my final project I ended up creating a fashionable and functional pair of mountaineering boots that came with a built in frostbite detector (pictured above). I also just for the experience learned how to drape a dress which if you were following me on snapchat you would have gotten a glimpse of my undeniable talent in making sexy dresses.

The Nuqat workshops were filled with positive energy and I got to meet a lot of people and learn quite a bit. I’ll definitely be taking part again next year although most likely I’ll take just one workshop next time since two was just too exhausting.

Although Kuwait isn’t known for holding the best events, every now and then we do get some spectacular ones that are world class. The most recent one that took place was the Battle of the East event two weeks ago and the next great event is taking place starting tomorrow. Nuqat has now become the largest creative conference in the MENA region and they’re into their 5th year. It’s such an impressive and organized event that its hard to believe its a locally created concept. Every year it just keeps getting bigger and this year isn’t any different.

Lectures
Nuqat will be taking place at the Amricani Cultural Center and will comprise of two main parts, the first is a three day lecture that will be taking place this weekend starting from tomorrow Thursday 13th and ending on Saturday the 15th. There will be 24 short lectures taking place over these three days that will be given by different speakers from around the region (pictured above). The cost to attend these lectures is just KD30 for the three days and you can check out the full schedule on their website [Here]

Nuqat 2013 [YouTube]

Workshops
The second part of Nuqat is the workshops. This year there will be 11 workshops ranging in subjects that will be held over four days either 9AM to 1PM or or 2PM to 6PM. I’m personally considering taking two workshops, the first is “Furniture Design: Defy The Existing Function” and the second is “Wearable Technology: Fashion meets technology 101”. Furniture Design and Fashion Design are two topics I have no experience in which is why I’m excited to try out. It’s something new for me and new is generally always fun. The workshops cost KD110 which is ridiculously cheap compared to regular workshop prices in Kuwait and also considering who the lecturers are. To sign up and check out all the workshops available click this [Link]

Cultural Entertainment
There will be a lot of food stalls and pop up shops in the courtyard of the Amricani Cultural Center so even if you’re not signing up to the lectures or workshops it should still be a fun social event to check out. I tried my best to condense as much information as I could into this post without making it too long and boring which is why I’ve left out other activities that are taking place like film screenings, book signings and more. To really get a proper idea of what exactly is taking place you need to visit the Nuqat website. It’s a great event that shouldn’t be missed. [Link]

Back in April I was lucky enough to get access to photograph the inside of Al Salam Palace (or Qasr Al Salam). There were rumors that Al Salam Palace was going to get demolished and I wanted to see the place before it was gone. Turns out those rumors were just rumors and instead Al Salam Palace was going to be restored and turned into a museum. I was shown renderings of the museum back then but I wasn’t allowed to share them online until now. A member of the skyscrapercity forum yesterday posted renderings of Al Salam Palace which means they’re out now and I can share them here. So if you’re interested to see how Al Salam Palace is going to look like once renovated click [Here]

Also if you want to check out the photos I took of Al Salam Palace before the renovation work began click [Here]

[YouTube]

In honor of Q8 Bookstores one year anniversary, graffiti artist Monstariam created a mural for the store. The video above is the making of that mural. If you haven’t been to the Q8 Bookstore before or don’t know what it is, check out this [Link]