The World Monuments Fund has launched a new campaign on social media to bring attention to meaningful modern buildings around the world, why they matter, and the threats they face. One of the buildings they’ve selected is Al Sawaber Complex in Kuwait City.
An enormous futuristic-looking apartment complex, Al Sawaber was designed in 1981 by Arthur Erickson with the idea of providing a community for Kuwaiti families of modest means. To accomplish this, the layout provides easy horizontal circulation between the apartment blocks, and the placement of the buildings creates intimate spaces sheltered from the rest of the city. In recent years a lack of maintenance, arson in some of the units, escalating land values in the surrounding area, and gentrification have rendered Al Sawaber vulnerable to demolition.
It isn’t very clear what will happen with the buildings that gets the most votes other than they would move over to the second phase of the campaign which will be announced in the fall of this year.
So check out the list of buildings and vote for Al Sawaber Complex by clicking [Here]
11 replies on “Vote for Al Sawaber Complex”
The government is definitely going to demolish them. It’s concrete monument of failure.
Pretty sure they were the first apartments for divorced Kuwaiti women who had kids…..
No they were the first government attempt for vertical housing through the housing program for citizens.
I work near that nasty thing. It should be NUKED!
This place should be demolished ASAP
They should refurbish it not demolish it. They’re beautiful buildings with lots of parking and greenery. If they demolish it they’re just gonna replace it with some generic looking ugly tower
Should be renovated. I personally consider it a historical monument of the golden age of Kuwait in the late 70s and early 80s.
Also government should’ve put more effort in maintaining the area for the families living there.
Shame!
I witnessed this building being constructed when I was attending school in the early 80s, our school (Al-Siddiq) was facing the road where the complex was to be. I have some pictures taken at the school with the Al-Sawaber complex showing in the background during its construction.
upload them to imgur.com and share them with us!
I will see if the photos are suitable for uploading, the photos were taken during a school activity about keeping your school clean and tidy 🙂 so some students are showing up in the photos acting for the class assignment, like intentionally littering the school 🙂
lol its fine it was in the 80s!