Back in November a Golden Jubilee monument of Kuwait’s Constitution was revealed in Martyr’s Park in Kuwait City. The monument looked really cool surrounded by a beautiful garden and a water fountain. Fast forward a few months and the design of the monument and surround garden is being finalized and two things caught my attention.
The first is they’ve now erected a high metal fence around the monument and monument garden. There is literally another park inside the Martyr’s Park and one that is going to be closed off to the public.
The second issue is they’ve basically cut the Martyr’s Park in half by building the Golden Jubilee monument park across the Martyrs Park from one side to the other. The oval running track which people used for exercising now ends in the middle as roughly demonstrated by the yellow box in the image above.
These two issues kinda seem like poor planning to me. I understand they probably erected the high metal fence to stop barbequers from barbequing inside the monument park but I think they could have created some sort of path way that would still allow people to at least walk up close to the monument but keep them outside the monument garden. Right now there is a hole in the metal fence which is how I got in a took my picture but once the hole is closed you won’t be able to stand in front of the monument or even get near it. It also sucks that the running track has been sliced in half since they could have shrunk the Golden Jubilee monument space slightly and built the whole thing inside the oval instead of over it. Oh well…
14 replies on “Martyr’s Park sliced in half”
Sigh
That’s one of the many reasons the name of the country doesn’t begin with “D” and end in “I” yet !
And thank God for that … my dad’s wallet has been through enough already 🙂
its like putting a super modern building in a classic neighborhood . not only it doesn’t fit urban wise but also its not doing the job it was meant to do. usually monuments are made in piazza where people can sit on the stairs that takes you to the monument it self . here , people cant sit nor walk beside it :S poor Urban design indeed
BBQ discrimination
I’ll save myself the rant of this being a stupid decision [because it is] but in some way, this seems to be saving the monument.
Symbolism aside, monuments are supposed to serve as gathering spots and places to bring people together; in a sense, they interact with people as much as people do between one another. The Washington Monument in DC, for example, is virtually open to the surrounding area and is well-maintained by visitors and staff as well as people who feel it is their civic duty to keep their city presentable. Here in Kuwait, you’ll have people barbecuing, littering and leaving their crap behind, kids running around and tearing plants/flowers up and teens desecrating everything with cheap graffiti. Any security or cleaning crew would be mocked and dismissed since they’d most likely be from the Indian subcontinent and the whole area will look like a landfill by nightfall.
It’s a shame that things come down to this, but unless people become more responsible, respect law(s) and observe common courtesy then maybe keeping monuments and landmarks out of their destructive reach is a good thing.
plus twofortyeight.
From what I read in aroundq8.com, a royal family museum, as well as martyrs’ monument will be built in the park. Maybe, that is the reason for the whole dig up & park separation.
funny enough i was having a conversation about this very monument and park today while having a meeting in Tijaria Tower.
Apparently all the works and maintenance of the park stopped a minute after H.H inaugurated it officially. Right now all the greenery is really neglected and looks just sad, there is no work happening there whatsoever… what a waste!
actually a lot of work was done to the place since the inauguration. for example the fountain which was there for the inauguration was removed and the garden expanded. the fence was added and a lot of other work along the edges. The plants also seemed like they were being maintained when i saw them a few days ago. They’ve got a ton of beautiful large olive trees planted. I need to take one home.
Actually, Mark you have it all wrong. As you are well aware, Martyr’s square has been a landing pad for Alien aircraft for sometime now. Tt appears that the intake manifolds of the spaceship’s engines are easily clogged by pepsi cans along with kitko bags. Consequently, The Aliens have been petitioning the Kuwaiti government to do something about the litter. I’m happy the government has finally addressed their needs and made Kuwait an Alien-friendly nation.
Mark if you`ll allow me I`ll share with you the story of THAT fence.
Initially the monument and the garden hosting it were supposed to be opened to the public, as the garden was designed to tell a story, the story of the state of Kuwait before and after the constitution. The side of the garden as you enter it from the Tijaria tower represents the past, you`ll see only desert plants arranged in randomly and in groups, planted in sand, representing the tribes scattered over the deserted area of the country. Once you pass trough the monument, which represents the Kuwait Constitution (and which is actually built from titanium plates electroplated with bronze and the bronze blocks you see on the monument are representing the articles of the constitution, one block for each article) you enter the garden representing the present, on the right, and the future on the left. The fountain to the right has few vertical sprinklers representing the oil-wells. The flowers are representing the people of Kuwait (diversity of flowers for diversity of people) and a stream of water that goes to the roots of the monument is the symbol of the will of the people feeding/changing the constitution according to the modern needs. The left side has a mirror fountain, still water, beautiful flowers; is the future of Kuwait.
This is how the park was designed/imagined by the architect.
All those olive trees have been brought from Italy and carefully selected to look almost the same in shape & height. Flowers have been brought from outside most of them. The marble used for pathways is also from Italy.
A lot of work/expensive materials/money have been invested in this project. It was supposed to be a place for leisure/ relaxation.
Few days after it was inaugurated flowers/plants were uprooted, stones and plants thrown in the water olive trees with broken branches and the disaster continued. Two times the plants/flowers were replanted with the same effect on people (uneducated / unsupervised kids mostly).
As so.. the decision to place a fence around this area has been taken very easy. This fence will be in place until the second phase of the project (rehabilitation of the entire park) will start/finish.
In conclusion, THAT fence is there because of the people (not drawing a conclusion that all people are the same so don`t jump with lame comments, who wants to understand what i mean will understand; see Mark`s article related to the ZOO) not because someone wanted to stop access of the people to the park.
Hopefully one day will be open for everyone to see and admire.
My Thumbs Up to blackswan.
Well I was there yesterday,and was able to walk and touch the piece of art. Yes the Monument is so wonderful. The fence work in under finalization stage and it will be off limit to public soon. It is pity that all govt effort in erecting this monument will be diluted once the fence is completed. Public is responsible for their uncivilised behaviour at the same time designer must have considered this and allowed access to the monument as near as possible. I highly recommend if you have not seen it yet, this is the time!
Thanks for sharing this, blackswan.