Safaa Rachid's Architectural Portfolio 2023

Table of Contents

Verses Into Spaces | Architectural Undergraduate Thesis

Redefining

On Sacred Architecture On Past & Future Cities

On Housing

The Embrace House | Work Project 23

Urbanism in Other Forms

Inverted

The Wooden Spider | Design Built Exhibition

Verses Into Spaces:

An Ethical Narrative of Kuwait’s Judicial Court System

Kuwait University, 5th Year Thesis Project Class: Architectural Graduation Project I & II Fall 2019 & Spring 2020

Location: The Arabian Gulf Street, Kuwait City Supervised by: Meshari Ali

This thesis explores Quranic Verses, specifically ones that deal with ethics, and begins to translate them spatially and introduce their meanings into Kuwait’s Judicial Court System through a more ethical, honest, and humble lens.

Architectural Graduation Project

Where to Situate a New Ethical Court Complex?

The chosen site is a 34,000 m2 round plot in the heart of Kuwait City alongside the Arabian Gulf Street and overlooking the sea. It is surrounded by powerful monumental structures that are supposed to speak of justice and law such as the Kuwaiti Parliament, the place where laws are made and discussed. Even though being ethical according to the verses means that those important national buildings ought to be more transparent and engaging of society, the parliament and all its surrounding governmental buildings are hardly accessible by the public. The whole site is highly secured and filled with surveillance cameras and fences to the point where it gets uncomfortable for pedestrians to walk nearby, and it is also very white washed. It became a foreign image of borrowed western symbols trying to become sacred or “Islamic” but failing to relate to the original identity of the city.

How to Translate Ethical Verses into a Sacred Architecture?

The verses discuss how balance can be imposed on humans or on architecture as I interpreted it; the earth as a settlement and the sky as a ceiling, no form in between can escape the two opposites. Some verses tackle the concept of honesty and exposure as the essence of justice; a crime can be hidden from man but it cannot be hidden from God.

Architectural Graduation Project

The wrongness in society should not be buried and concealed, but revealed and judged. Thus, I started experimenting with very simple forms, taking the arch as a humble honest unit, and formally exploring its potential through repetition, junction, extrusion, recession, and modulation, trying to create a more humane architectural experience that is spatially rich with more honest materiality and transparency to the public.

The New Court Complex

Four important design guidelines for the site initiated the first concept:

1. Two opposite accesses for the site: One is public and open for the visitors, and the other is more private and secured for judges, lawyers, prosecutors, office clerks, and criminals with the police.

2. Views: An uninterrupted physical connection to the sea, and another visual connection to the parliament and the main street.

3. Unfenced walkways: Along the sea shore and between the different programs of the project to ensure honest transparency and absolute accessibility.

4. Invisible security: Three levels of security for cases in family courts or other private cases that should not be accessed by media.

These guidelines define the form of the first sweep of public buildings: The Library, Law School, Mosque, and Main Lobby. Then the second sweep of semi-public office buildings, higher than the public zone but still lower than the courts which take place at the third sweep and climax of the site, emphasizing that hierarchy of programs. The courts stand opposing the parliament, higher than anything else, transparent in the public courtrooms and more secure in private courts.

Architectural Graduation Project

Architectural Graduation Project

A Journey of Procession

The hierarchy of the courts reflects their status. The central structure is the Supreme Court, then the Jurisdiction of Constitutionality comes lower, followed by the Appeal and First Instance Courts, and lastly the smaller Family Courts on the sides.

The big vaults indicate the entrances of public zones, very welcoming and visible from faraway, while the private zones are more hidden where the visitor will have to go through a journey of ins and outs to get to his secured destination.

Architectural Graduation Project

Section A-A

Supream Court Pathways

North-East Site Elevation

Main Office Building Library

Safaa Rachid

The Jewel Skyscraper Towards a Transparent City

Nominated for RIBA Part 2 Silver Medal - Exhibited in RIBA President’s Medals Ceremony in London, December 2019, and the International RIBA President’s Medals Exhibition

http://www.presidentsmedals.com/Entry-50121

Class: Architectural Design VI Spring 2019 Location: Murgab, Kuwait City In Collaboration With: Ali Nabeel Role: Design, Site Analysis, 3D Modelling, Technical Plans & Sections Supervised by: Dr. Jawad Tabtabai

What Does the Jewel Represent?

In a city where the government continues to put limitations on the flow of information, the Jewel Skyscraper aims to support the new Kuwaiti vision of 2030 by introducing a landmark that celebrates data, knowledge, and transparency. The site was chosen because it stands in an edge between the city with its governmental buildings, offices, private companies, and skyscrapers, while overlooking the residential neighbourhoods of Kuwait on the other side.

The Jewel then becomes a representation of a new era of transparency, connecting the public with what they need to know from the other part of the city through Data and Research Centers.

OFFICES

LIBRARY, PRINTING PRESS, & RESEARCH CENTERS

LIBRARY, PRINTING PRESS, & RESEARCH CENTERS

TRAINING CENTER

OFFICES

Design VI RETAIL

OFFICES RETAIL

Architectural LIBRAIES, PRINTING PRESS, & RESEARCH CENTERS

The Jewel proposes an open-source hub of information in Kuwait, including an underground data center, six research centers facing important locations in Kuwait City, a research college, and public libraries on a continuous ground connecting the whole skyscraper. The research centers are divided into six categories positioned according to their secure sensitivity including: Art & History, Environmental, Social, Islamic, Economic, and Political.

The position of the research centers is symbolically charged. For example, the economic center is facing the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while the political center is confronting the Ministries Complex. Each research center serves as a reminder for transparency in a city were knowledge can be considered taboo.

Research Centers - 15the floor Plan

Transparency & Data Centers

Data Centers are highly secured because of the sensitive information they contain about the country. Also, they are technically challenging due to the vibration problem of the heavy servers and machines used, but that can be solved by putting them underground. Those underground Data Centers are then mirrored above ground in the middle of the skyscraper as inserted transparent research centers that are public and accessible by anyone who seek knowledge.

To support that, the whole skyscraper is lifted up freeing the ground and releasing it to the public, allowing for a 14 meters high open ground which celebrates the existing garden in the site, in addition to pop up shops, and a spiral ramp that takes visitors from the ground to the commercial center in the first level and up above.

A Continuous Ground

The separate research centers are connected by a continuous ground with ramps and staircases marking the open library and publishing press. The inserted sphere is a conference and performance center that serve the research centers as well.

The typical offices are then connected through open atriums and shifted masses. The whole skyscraper is accessed through the core or the spiral ramp around the sunken base of the building in which the ground is freed of any mass, making it open to the public.

Mosque - 40th Floor Plan

The Flying Mosque

A mosque was introduced high in the skyscraper, sandwiched between offices, and re-imagined in a new inverted typology. It sits with its minaret pulled horizontally into the city rather than vertically, and the minaret now functions as an observation deck, while the dome is turned vertically to represent the Mehrab.

Redefining Open Spaces in Kuwait City

Youm AlBahar* as a Public Square

Research + Design Project Class: Architectural Design V Fall 2018

Location: Sailor’s Day Village overlooking the Arabian Gulf In Collaboration With: Noura Saleh, Sarah AlEnezi, & Zainab Marafie

Role: Research, Design, Visualization, 3D Modelling, Rendering, and Physical Modelling Supervised by: Dr. Shaikha AlMubariki

*Youm AlBahar in Arabic translates to The Sailor’s Day

Physical Model

Design Brief: How does Urbanism affect Architectural Heritage?

As one of the few historical cultural villages still standing in Kuwait, Youm AlBahar’s authenticity was questioned in this project. Starting from a warm up project of history analysis, through storytelling, we represented a hidden socio-political aspect of the urban site. The second step was a thorough research of the site’s architectural, urban, and cultural elements, which led to the decision not to renovate the site but to rethink it again as a public square, we found out that the original Youm AlBahar barely represents any Kuwaiti heritage as it stands now.

The Truth Behind Pearl-Diving

Before the discovery of oil, Kuwaiti men used to go pearl diving in the Arabian Gulf water. It was a dangerous journey, but the only means of living for many of them. However, it was not just the sea dangers that they ought to fear. The untold harsh concept of pearl diving is that the Nawkhedha* takes men with him in his ship in exchange of money or their property’s ownership. If men failed to collect pearls, they are in debt to him, having to give up their houses or find any other means to pay back the money. Because of that, many men have gone missing.

This story depicts a past where this harsh truth was hidden by the myth of a sea monster called Bu Driyah. This mythological creature was believed to cause storms and steal men. The story unfolds to the realization that Bu Driyah was in fact no other than the evil Nawkhedha.

*Nwakhedha in Arabic translates to the Captain of the Ship

Warm Up Project: A Story

This story was written, illustrated, and directed by the author and partner Noura Saleh

Activities, Behaviours, and Public Spaces in Youm AlBahar

In order to evaluate Youm AlBahar’s authenticity, we analysed the site which overlooks the sea through two critical lenses. The first is a social lens including traditions and cultures that were present in the site since the 1980s but started to disappear after its rebuilt in 2005.

The intangible cultural heritage consists of non-physical aspects of a particular culture, more often main-streamed by social customs during a specific period in history. The concept includes the ways and means of behaviour in a society, and the often formal rules of operating in a particular cultural climate. It was found that only 25% of these original activities of Youm AlBahar were carried on until today, in addition to a new protesting activity taking place in the public area of the site, while all the other site activities were diminished after the rebuilt.

The Surrounding Context of Important Cultural Buildings such as: The National Museum, The National Evangelical Church, The American Cultural Center, and The Palace of Justice.

03| Youm AlBahar as a Public Square

Traditional Kuwaiti Architecture: Now vs Then

The other analytical lens is the architectural lens where we compared between the objects and monuments representing Kuwaiti heritage in their authentic form and their form in the site.

The conclusion was that the site did not represent architectural heritage in any way. The objects and monuments in the site, trying to mimic the past without any authenticity, were a cliché version of traditional Kuwaiti architecture. Therefore, we decided to wipe out those structures in our design proposal, and in order to bring back the essence of the site, we revived the most needed social activity in today’s modern Kuwait, through the introduction of a big public square dedicated for dialogue, goods exchange, and protest.

A B

*Diwaniya is a traditional room in Kuwaiti houses dedicated to men’s gatherings where they discuss politics, economics, and social life

Traditional Kuwaiti Gates

Youm AlBahar’s Gate

Traditional Kuwaiti Mosque Youm AlBahar’s Mosque

Youm AlBahar’s Market

Youm AlBahar’s Diwaniya*

Traditional Kuwaiti Market

The Original Youm AlBahar Site

Traditional Kuwaiti Diwaniya*

Site Issues that are Addressed in the New Design

Unwelcoming fenced site

Buildings giving their back to the sea

Blocked views

Youm AlBahar

AlSafat Square AlErada Square AlAlam Square

A Platform to Speak Up

Around Kuwait City, there are only three main public squares, each played an important role in forming the history of public expression in the urban life of Kuwaitis. The most influential of them is Sahat AlErada*, the square where protests takes place. It is located in Youm AlBahar but kept outside the fence of the site as a clear indication of the unacceptability of such spaces where freedom of speech is oppressed. As a reaction to that, a place for protest was created in this proposal, in addition to a new typology of Diwaniyas where both men and women can gather and discuss politics, economics, and social life. This platform is welcoming for people from all social groups and nationalities, encouraging all mediums of self expression.

*Sahat AlErada in Arabic translates to The Square of Determination

Architectural

Top View 03| Youm AlBahar as a Public Square

As a response to the critical location of Youm AlBahar cultural village by the Arabian Gulf waters, and beside the not-any-longer Sahat AlErada where people used to protest: The new image of the site became a place encouraging the freedom of speech and protest.

This project aims to redefine the meaning of a public space in Kuwait City after it had been manipulated throughout the years, creating a space of expression and expansion in an urban context that witnessed a lot of voice oppression throughout its history.

This is achieved through the introduction of an art gallery and a library dedicated to this purpose, a Bazaar with pop-up shops for local small businesses, and a Cross-Cultural Diwaniya for both men and women integrated with a big elevated platform for protest.

Sunken Gallery

Bazaar in the Ground while the Public Square is elevated up

Safaa Rachid

The Embrace House Work Project

Design-Built Project

Firm: Bonyan Architectural Company Client: Abdullah AlBuraih Designed in 2022 Construction started in January 2023

Location: Kaifan Residential Area, Kuwait City Area: 325 m2

Project Scope: Architectural Design, Landscape Design, and Construction

Role: Client Meetings, Site Analysis, Lifestyle Analysis, Conceptual Studies, Architectural Plans, Furniture Layout, Ceiling Layout, Electric Layout, 2D Drafting, 3D Modelling, Material Selection, and Project Coordination

Software: Revit, Corona Render, Photoshop, & illustrator

Work Project

A Nature-Embraced Resort House

The main concept of this project was inspired by the client’s desire to have his house like a resort within mountains and natural urban settings. However, since his plot of land was located in an arid desert city like Kuwait City, I brought nature into the house instead of the opposite because of the lack of natural sceneries around.

Thus, the Embrace House was designed with a double height core extending from the first floor where an outdoor floating swimming pool is located, all the way to the open roof.

The idea was to have staggered gardens where in each floor, a designated terrace/ outdoor garden was introduced. The opento-above Basement courtyard contains a garden of medium sized trees and plants cornering its edge. The First Floor has a swimming pool area with light greenery, the Second Floor is highlighted with an interior garden that is directly accessible from the parents suite, and the Rooftop garden is the most open with outdoor seating and an accompanied glass lounge.

Accessibility and Aesthetics

The Ground is surrounded by an outdoor garden of palm trees and local plants that can survive the harsh weather of Kuwait and need little maintenance. The house has two main entrances for guests and family members, in addition to one side entrance that leads to the kitchen and the main vertical circulation core. The Ground was carefully designed with respect to persons of special needs to ease their movement and access to the house.

The Design’s Balance: Contrasted Materials and Disconnected Lines

The form is divided horizontally into two unique parts. The lower part of the facade is treated with Smoky Black Granite Stone with a hydro-leather finish which gives the villa its earthy aesthetics. The upper part of the facade is left minimal with a light grey micro-cement textured paint that contrasts and balances the natural stone, resulting in a vibrant yet cohesive façade. The design is then brought to life with double height curtain walls and strategically located windows providing ample visual connections and embracing natural daylight. The family’s high-valued privacy is protected by introducing a focal horizontal extrusion that embraces both main façades of the villa, contrasted by vertical louvres which allows for more privacy for the floating swimming pool.

On-going

Research

A Culture of Demolition

about the Architecture and the Original Urban Fabric of Kuwait City

As part of my MSc in Architecture program, I explored the architecture of Kuwait City that is either under threat of demolition or already demolished. These structures, which were built between the 1960s and 1990s, marked the modernization period of Kuwait City after the eradication of the original urban fabric in the 1950s. My photographic documentations collaged with illustrations done by Korean artist Kim Daehyun explore the narrative of a little boy who’s left alone with the ruins of his house and has to adapt with the new urban renewal and gentrification of his old city.

Inverted Cities - A Series of Manipulative Images A Visual-Narrative Article

In this article, which was published in the 22nd issue of T-Square: The Architectural Magazine in November 2020 with the theme PLOT, I explored the idenity of the city and its urban form through a series of photographs taken from the most inaccissible spaces of Kuwait city, including the rooftops of skyscrapers, abandoned buildings, underconstruction sites, and deserted islands. I imagined how a city could be if these places where utilized in an unconventional manner, raising some questions that challange the usual physical way of seeing our cities and urban environment.

“I came from the city of the tallest skyscraper.”

“I came from the city of the inverted pyramids.”

“I came from the city where buildings are floating.” “Yes! It’s the city of the continuous war; the city of destruction and ruins.” Wherever you are, your city’s story is told through its architecture.

The Wodden Spider - A Parametric Design Prototype Design Built Exhibition by Kuwait Architecture Students Association

This EXPO showcases excellent Design Projects from the academic year of 2017 Location: The Avenues Mall, Kuwait - February 2018

In Collaboration with: Ding Ciguanug, Ali Nabeel, and Reem AlFarhan

Role: Conceptual Design, Exhibition Layout and Renders - Media & Curation

Sponsored By: AlHafiz Printing Press - PBC Kuwait - Gulf Consult

Special Guests: The American Ambassador, The Pakistani Ambassador, & The Dean of the College of Architecture in Kuwait University

Construction Drawings: Four Structural Prototypes

The Urbanity of the Mall

In this project, we had to think of a structure that is both functional and catchy to attract people in a very busy and crowded shopping mall.. The Avenues Mall in Kuwait blends into its urban environment, blurring between the inside and the outside, where some parts of the mall are designed like European boulevards with a tree-lined street and a transparent glass roof which allows for the outdoor weather to blend into the indoors. The mall becomes a new form of urbanity by its own. Following this concept, the paramatric design of the exhibiton consists of a wooden prototype that is dynamic, where it gets higher for entrances and closer and tigheter together in the middle of the path. The path is designed in an oblong form with four entrances which allow vistors to come from any direction of the mall and enjoy the journey starting from any point they want.

Extracurricular Project

05: The Wodden Spider Parametric Prototype Design