The other day while picking up food from MEAT in Al-Seif I noticed the colorful graffiti-filled stairs next door was closed off. Turns out the stairs is being renovated and this is the text they had on the hoarding describing the project (yes I typed it out):
Al-Seif Staircase #s25k is a project sponsored by the Kuwait Amiri Diwan and donated by Tamdeen Group. It emerges as an initiative by Parallel Design Studio to restore the area that has witnessed significant contribution to cumulative Kuwait history given its heritage and ingenuity so that it contributes once and again to the consolidation and renewal of dialogue between generations.
Al-Seif Staircase #s25k design intent evolves beyond a morphological statement, to which serving the passing by dwellers from level to another. It seeks to highlight the main concept of urban design, which is to draw attention to this particular area as a semantic symbol of the rehabilitation and renovation efforts of the private sector in collaboration with the Kuwaiti Government and to strengthen the advanced social and urban status thus far accomplished by the State of Kuwait while retaining the legacy of the all original past. The main design approach in a geopolitical understanding is to call out for a renovating dialogue, to enhance a social situation where the evidence of the public realm is very highly assertive, this creates a means of instruments enclosing yet democratize a privilege of social proximity and content of vitality.
In a morphological manner of the stair design, it weave a series of faceted geometrical characters that cascades between levels as an evidence of order and balance for an intrinsic aesthetical appearance, on the other hand a nostalgia and a recall to the sense of place where a remaining of materials is set as a viable option by the architect to be re-used and recycled in the content of the staircase design. Moving from linear progression to a faceted discipline is evidence of a transitional transformation of a too platonic geometry to a threshold of clarity of various immersive elements cascades through levels. The seating on the sides of the stair act as a discipline of appreciation and serenity to the old demographic ages and those who want to spend quality time. Above and beyond the definition of a stair, storytelling to encroach appreciation and a triumphal perception to the new design.
I honestly didn’t understand anything from their description above, but going by the rendering, it looks like the stairs are getting a redesign and there will be seating integrated into the steps. I hope they’ll still allow graffiti on the walls once the project is done since it’s what made that stairs fun and special to begin with.
17 replies on “Al-Seif Staircase #s25k”
It took me longer to read the description than it takes to go up the stairs. that says a lot about the stairs. i mean that literally.
Mark
On an unrelated subject the below is really good news:
Municipal Council approves Amiri Diwan takeover of Entertainment City development
https://news.kuwaittimes.net/website/municipal-council-approves-amiri-diwan-takeover-of-entertainment-city-development/
oh wow! this is great news! Cant wait for the renovated entertainment city to be opened.
Someone, somewhere thought… U know what this country reallllyyy needs? A renovated staircase to no where.
Could be our Spanish Steps one day!, or probably just an Instagram spot for being cool and trendy for a while.
When u gotta hit that word count
Nobody:
Not even the stairs:
Tamdeem Group: We are going to build stairs that line up with astronomical calculations which were pulled right out of the Aztec calendar. We sought help from the Mayans too with a little help offered to us by the Indus civilisation.
We built this so you could go up and down, and also sit on it.
Mark: Hmm….
+100 😂
“Morphological statement?” “Semantic symbol?” “Intrinsic aesthetical appearance?”
Wow. Throw in ‘dissonance,’ ‘pastiche’ and ‘zeitgeist’ and you have a winner in all things pretentious.
took the words right outta my mouth. spot on
you forgot “Juxtaposition”
“The main design approach in a geopolitical understanding is to call out for a renovating dialogue, to enhance a social situation where the evidence of the public realm is very highly assertive, this creates a means of instruments enclosing yet democratize a privilege of social proximity and content of vitality.”
Jeez… does this have an effect on oil prices?
🏅2019 award🏅 For the best three paragraphs of archispeak verbiage I have heard in a looooong time!
Looks like they collaged you at the forefront of their render, Mark.
hahaha
When you use a thesaurus for every damn word.. they couldn’t write this without all the fancy jargon? They’re stairs ffs not a portal into the cosmic abyss.
It’s a let down really, with tamdeen and diwan amiri and this elitist jargon-ation I was expecting a portal of some sort