Multifamily Highrise Buildings in Kuwait

Kuwait, a small Arab country with arid land, went through a considerable amount of development in the last four decades. The discovery of oil and its commercial exploitation attracted immigrants to the country and created paramount changes in both social life and the urbanization of the country. The high rate of increase in population continued in spite of harsh geographical, topographical, ecological, and climatic factors. These factors with their distinctive characteristics are the determinants of the urban architectural design of the country. Such determinants are harsh and very difficult to deal with. Planners, architects, engineers, and builders had little experience in dealing with such determinants. However, a city plan was laid out, amended, then carried out. Residential, commercial, and other buildings, low and highrise, were built to fulfill the rapid and ever growing demand. In the beginning of the development, construction projects were carried out like military operations. The city plan and buildings were inadequately designed; building materials were inadequately used; and the climatic factor was most often neglected. The lack of an adequate prototype, especially for multifamily highrise buildings on which the demand is persistent, still exists, and presents a question to be solved whenever a project comes into existence. Is there a better prototype which fulfills the needs of such a unique case? This study will examine a multifamily highrise building prototype which improves site planning, design, mechanical system, and electric system, with emphasis on building systems and materials. It will show how to utilize design to reduce the predominance of air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation, considering the country\u27s natural resources for building materials, the growing labor problems, and the importance of the economical factor