After being open since the early 80s, last year Al Muthana Complex closed down and all the tenants and residents were asked to vacate so the building could be renovated. Multiple design firms submitted proposals, and a couple of months ago PACE won the project and will be leading the redevelopment of the complex.
Although the project is still in the early stages and the design hasn’t been finalized yet, I managed to find renders from the initial proposals by PACE, as well as two other firms, DKEC and Bernard Khoury (DW5). Bernard Khoury caught me by surprise since he’s based in Lebanon and I’m a fan of his work. I’m not sure how many firms pitched for the project, but these are the three I was able to find.
The ones above are the directions PACE proposed while the ones below are from Bernard Khoury.
3 replies on “Al Muthana Complex Revival Project”
I miss it most of all for the elegant chandeliers from before the invasion and for Kuwait Bookshop. Post liberation, they had an altogether tacky chandelier which was a far cry from what used to be.
I really like PACE’s designs, it feels like the old building, but newer and more modern. Got any more photos from back in the day?
So many memories of Muthana Complex.
Used to live there as a child, and my dad stayed there during the invasion to protect the furniture from being looted.
I loved the design, and the tiles.. and everything really…
Good times.