Kuwait

إن المحافظة على المدن القديمة بكل معالمها، من أحياء وبيوت وشوارع وأزقة وأسواق وأسوار وآبار وغيرها، هي أفضل سبل حماية الهوية الوطنية وإثبات وجودها التاريخي والحضري. وللأسف الشديد، فإن معالم مدينة الكويت القديمة، التي تقع داخل سور الكويت الثالث الذي تم إنشاؤه سنة 1920م، ومعالم القرى الكويتية، قد أزيلت ضمن سلسلة من عمليات الهدم وإعادة البناء من أجل "تطوير" المدينة وتحديثها. وقد بدأت عملية الهدم وإعادة البناء منذ تصدير النفط وبداية التثمين في أواخر الأربعينيات. وأخذت البيوت الطينية وأقدم المساجد والشوارع والسكك والمراسي (النقع) وسور الكويت بالاختفاء تدريجيا إلى أن ضاعت ولم يعد باقيا من المباني الطينية إلا النز اليسير مما يمكن أن يكون شاهدا على حقبة قديمة عاش الكويتيون في ظلها مكافحين ظروف الحياة القاسية.
ورغم ذلك، فإن الأجيال الحالية والقادمة ممن لم يرَ مدينة الكويت القديمة وقراها، من حقها أن تتعرف على المكان الذي عاش فيه الآباء والأجداد، وتفهم طرق معيشتهم، وما تكبدوه من ضنك العيش والسعي في طلب الرزق، خاصة في مدينة مثل الكويت التي لها جذور تاريخية تمتد لأكثر من ثلاثة قرون، وكانت تتميز بموقعها الجغرافي المطل على الخليج العربي، والذي جعلها ممرا تجاريا هاما بين الشرق والغرب. فمدينة الكويت القديمة راحت ضحية للافتنان بالحداثة والإثراء بعد ظهور النفط. ولسوء تقدير إداري لمصير المدينة، وللأهمية التاريخية والاستراتيجية لها؛ فقد كان من الممكن أن تشكل لدولة الكويت إرثا حضاريا خالدا ومعلما سياحيا مهما يشهد على عراقتها وأصالتها، ويحميها من موجات العولمة وحملات تغيير الهوية التي بدأت تطل برأسها في الوقت الحاضر.
وحرصا من مركز البحوث والدراسات الكويتية على تعويض جزء من تلك الخسارة الفادحة، فقد رأى تشكيل فريق من الباحثين الخبراء في معالم المدينة والقرى القديمة، ليقوموا بمشروع علمي منهجي لاستظهار مدينة الكويت القديمة وقراها وأبرز معالمها من خلال الوثائق الشرعية والسجلات الحكومية القديمة والصور الفوتوغرافية.

The site of Kharaib el-Desht on Failaka Island, Kuwait, was explored by an archaeological Kuwaiti–Polish team for the first time in 2013. The project included a survey and underwater archaeological research. Preliminary results indicate a dating of the site to the late Islamic period. Pottery collected from the survey of the site and from the excavations has been studied in a sepearate appendix to this report. As for the underwater and waterfront archaeology project, the main objective was to locate and describe seashore archaeological sites, provide documentary evidence and manage proper preservation of the discoveries in order to further educational opportunities.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality worldwide as well as in Kuwait. People with diabetes have two to five times greater risk of developing CVD as compared with non-diabetic individuals. To date, little information exists on the prevalence and characteristics of cardiovascular risk factors in Kuwait. The objective of this survey was to address the growing burden of diabetes and related cardiovascular risk factors, and to estimate, for the first time, the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the State of Kuwait. The study was carried out using the World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach for surveillance of non-communicable disease risk factors. This study represents a national survey for Kuwaiti nationals aged between 20 and 65 years. All participants were involved in an interview for gathering sociodemographic information, underwent focused physical examination and donated a blood sample for the study-specific laboratory investigations. A total of 1970 subjects, with a mean age of 48.9 ± 10.5, were screened. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was as follows: diabetes 17.9%, dyslipidaemia 70.3%, hypertension 25.3% and obesity 48.2%. Over 62% had a sedentary lifestyle, and 17.8% were smokers. The prevalence of diabetes and dyslipidaemia increased with age and body mass index. Diabetes was also significantly associated with age above 40 years (OR = 10.5), family history of diabetes (OR = 2.79), hypertension (OR = 2.22), obesity (OR = 2.87) and lower literacy (OR = 4.23). This study found that advancing age (≥ 40 years), diabetes mellitus, obesity, positive family history of diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia are significant risk factors for developing CVD in Kuwait as in other parts of the world. Understanding these factors allows for preventive measures to be taken for Kuwaiti population.

Photos by Nelson Garrido
Graphic layout by Abdalla Abdelrahman

Softcover
8 x 10 in. | 20 x 26 cm
416 pages, 1000 illustrations
ISBN 978-3-03768-166-4


Spring 2016

• The first systematic analysis of Modern Architecture in Kuwait
• 150 projects fully illustrated and analyzed
• Original drawings and pictures  as well as contemporary photographical survey
• All projects from prominent international and local designers
• Designers and contractor biographical section
• Timeline relating to the regional context
• Unknown hidden treasures, including design competition entries and unrealized projects

From the late 1940s to the late 1980s Kuwait experienced an extraordinary social and civic transformation, deeply reflected in its urban environment. The complete demolition of the Old City centre and the comprehensive redesign of the urban form, together with the creation of the new neighbourhood units, catalysed the attention of major international designers working in synergy with local firms and authorities and leaving on the ground important examples of late Modern Architecture. Over a span of 40 years  the process of reshaping Kuwait involved designers such as Kenzo Tange, Alison and Peter Smithson, Georges Candilis, Alfred Roth, Sayyed Karim, Hassan Fathy, Dar Al-Handasah, Mohammed Makiya, Rifat Chadirji, Basil Spence, BBPR, Pier Luigi Nervi, Felix Candela, I.M. Pei, SOM and TAC just to name a few. 
As Kuwait gained independence and autonomy, the necessity of a new landscape to represent the freshly founded state grew high. A new urban environment was envisioned for a new state, therefore architects found here the possibility to expand their professional horizons and the challenge to compose an entire city, building by building, almost from scratch.
By following the professional trajectories of major practitioners and by reading the presence of the building in the urban context at the architectural scale, the study offered in this book examines and analyses a wide selection of buildings, finally presented as an architectural atlas.
The repertoire of more than 150 projects, spanning of over 40 years, is revealed as a collection of specimens, selected for their specific qualitative aspects, as examples of particular design methodologies or typologies, or else for their different adaptations to the severity of local environmental conditions.
This publication, supported by the prominent Kuwaiti institutions Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, is based on several years of research, which included on-site visits, photographic surveys and interviews with architects, planners, contractors, historians, and former city officials. The analysis was also supported by extensive archival investigation, which provided old city plans, drawings, original photographs, film footages, correspondences, legal documents, contractors’ brochures, architectural and construction press, journals, local magazines, popular press and a range of other documents.