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Residential Nasima

Studio Madouh tries to connect a residential complex with its urban context, quoting the local building archetypes in an attempt to preserve the architectural values of Kuwait City.

Residential Nasima is a project by Studio Madouh that questions the key figures in the renovation of an urban context. As Kuwait City moves towards a drastic and rapid modernization, the architectural values that should protect the culture, traditions of the city, and the individual are starting to disintegrate.

To instigate the debate of preserving culture while allowing progress, Residential Nasima exemplifies, as part of a whole, a development that blends into the city fabric. Inspired by the historical background, the natural landscape and the urban clusters, it provides a contemporary design. The project questions two typical archetypes seen throughout Kuwait City and the region – the standard, rectilinear and symmetrical city plots, and the abundant use of native stone and white concrete. The design goes backwards from the basic volume of the zoning envelope, with a monolithic volume that is chiseled through a series of cuts informing on the internal use, providing sun shading and access.

The final design encompasses over 6000 square meters of built area and provides for eight unique residential units. The forceful exterior voids are cut into the building envelope, celebrating a reading of interior program and shading as well as allowing natural light to come in. Individual housing units are located into the larger site massing, allowing for privacy and open views at the same time.