Gulf Construction Online - Diverse and distinctive

Kuwait

Jaber Al Ahmed City ... infrastructure work in progress.

Diverse and distinctive

01 December 2011

FROM cities to private residences, from dignified courthouses to corporate and bank headquarters and from five-star hotels to elegant fine dining venues, Pan Arab Consulting Engineers (Pace) is designing and supervising work on some of Kuwait’s most distinctive landmarks and townships. This multi-discipline planning and design practice, built on ventures with prominent international conceptual design consultants, is now offering the full range of design services.

'We have had many successful projects in association with world-class architectural firms from around the world and we will continue to do so. However, during those ventures we have steadily built a design capability to deliver the same quality entirely from within the Pace family,' says Tarek Shuaib, managing partner of Pace. 'The determining factor for deciding which path to take, a joint venture or full service delivery, is determined, as always, in the best interest of the client. We are not a one-size-fits-all enterprise. We bring the best and brightest team, custom configured to each unique opportunity. This is the best way to serve our clients and to have the satisfaction of a job well done.'

Grand Avenue at The Avenues ... brings Europe’s pedestrian shopping-streets to Kuwait.

The Avenues

An example of the team approach is in Pace’s continued involvement in the development of one of Kuwait’s most distinctive malls – The Avenues. On a fast-track pace since 2009, the Phase Three expansion is nearing completion. Built by Al Rai Real Estate Company, this phase will add a total built-up area of 445,527 sq m to what is already one of the largest shopping malls in the world. Pace is providing design of structural, mechanical, electrical, public health and fire-fighting systems. It is also responsible for the construction supervision in collaboration with Gensler of the UK, which provided the architectural design for the project.

'This addition takes the concept of shopping malls to a whole different level, providing such urban elements as neighbourhoods, piazzas, and streets as part of the experience to the customer,' says Gustav Hasselgren, Pace architect. 'It will feature six distinct ‘districts’, each with its own character as well as target customer group. For instance, the Grand Avenue is a clear reference to pedestrian shopping-streets in Europe; the Jewellery Zone with its traditional gold traders will feel like a traditional suq, with narrow alleyways and bustling business. In contrast to this, there is the off-beat SoKu, a take on Soho in New York; and Prestige, the luxury district with high-end fashion and services to match.'

All of this is in a setting that is richly landscaped and animated with fountains inside and out. It is also made more convenient with new entry roads and underground parking for ease of arrival and departure.

'With Phase Four already being planned, The Avenues is set to enhance its position as one of the most exciting shopping destinations in the Middle East,' Hasselgren says.

The Mahboula commercial complex ... a year-round dining destination.

Mahboula Complex

The Mahboula Complex, a fine-dining development on the drawing boards today exemplifies the full service strength of the Pace team. This fine-dining destination in Mahboula employs proven traditional Middle Eastern architectural devices in its response to the climate and culture of a changing Kuwait. It does so with a fresh and contemporary fashion. 'At Pace, we value the centuries-old vernacular approach to design and appreciate its innate sustainability. The use of courtyards, mashrabiya and arcades to provide privacy, shade and decoration are as valid today as they have been for centuries. We have the opportunity now to ground contemporary expression and current technologies with the roots of the past,' explains Colm Dunphy, architect for the project.

The complex does this by providing each of the boutique restaurants with an array of settings and conditions for indoor and outdoor dining and relaxing. The two-storey restaurants are arranged along an arcade that is wrapped vertically and horizontally with an aluminium mashrabiya. These traditional devices create a tall shaded porch, animated with fragmented and softened sunlight. Richly landscaped patios provide seating shaded by trees and cooled by fountains and breezes channelled through the courtyard. A series of single-storey pavilion restaurants forms a partial enclosure for the court while offering enticing glimpses from the adjoining Coastal Road into the garden court. The pavilions add a dimension to the dining experience with rooftop, trellised patios open to the night sky. This 30,000-sq-m development, sited atop two levels of structured parking, is expected to open in the fall of 2012.

Jaber Al Ahmed City

This new town for the Public Authority of Housing Welfare (PAHW) provides residential accommodation for 65,000 people. It includes a town centre and all support facilities, roads and infrastructure, and will encompass an area of 12,450 hectares. The new town’s location, 25 km west of central Kuwait and bounded by Kuwait Bay, makes it convenient to transport services and numerous nodes of activity in and around Kuwait City.

Pace was commissioned by the PAHW to carry out the masterplanning services and to complete the design of the roads and infrastructure.

In keeping with the 'New Urbanism' movement for humanely designed communities, Jaber Al Ahmed City will ensure convenience and ease of access to daily services. 'Within each of the three neighbourhoods, the ability to walk to commercial, religious, and recreational facilities is a refreshing departure from the automobile domination of much of Kuwait,' says Shuaib. 'This is a key to creating a more livable community.'

In keeping with these values, a series of parks linked by pedestrian greenways, and aligned with the prevailing breezes contribute to the grace and comfort of the town. The neighbourhoods are arranged about the town centre, which features a full complement of institutions and services. From 300,000 sq m of retail and office space to municipal government buildings and two institutions of higher education, the town centre provides the essentials for a quarter of a million people. A large park will also be a landmark space within the new town, as it fosters recreation in a green and inviting setting.

The construction of roads and infrastructure on this new town has begun to bring this vision to life.

The Hawalli courts complex.

Judicial Buildings

'In the design of the Hawalli courts complex, we wanted to communicate the stability, permanence and stature that the judicial branch of government should have in civil society,' says Mohammed Ghaddar, Pace’s architect for the court complex at Hawalli.

The architecture expresses these qualities with the use of clear, simple geometry and form, and a straightforward hierarchy of spaces. The plan arranges the courtrooms about formal square lobbies, which are filled with natural light introduced by an atrium that rises along the north facade. 'We wanted to use the extensive introduction of natural sunlight as a metaphor for the transparency and openness of the judicial system,' Ghaddar says.

A play with traditional Arab square geometries in plan with square and Arabesque motifs in elevation create a tower that is clearly modern, yet evocative of a traditional Islamic vocabulary for civic structures.

Commenting on the development of interior finishes and furniture, Ben Backhouse, the lead interior designer, says: 'We recommended the interior finishes with an eye for dignity, permanence and warmth.'

Pace provided a full range of design services for this 30-storey, KD48-million ($173.2 million) structure, working in association of SGS Group, which provided the court interior programming and space planning. The 146,000-sq-m complex will include 52 courtrooms, 12 cafes, structured parking and support offices, meeting rooms and an auditorium.

Teaming again with Fentress Architects, the partnership that created the landmark Arraya Tower, Pace also designed courthouses in Al Farwania and Al Jahra. These high-rises feature prototypical designs of about 200,000 sq m respectively and include 160 courtrooms and substantial supporting services. 'Our role as consultants, production and landscape architects, MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) and structural engineers as well as construction supervisors allows us to work within our broader team to bring the appropriate meaning of court buildings to reality,' says Shuaib. 'In addition, these buildings offer several ways to enhance their sustainability. The use of solar photovoltaic panels, shading devices, motion-detection lighting controls and off-peak air-conditioning strategies will help keep down energy costs and its related pollution.'

Estimated at about KD80.5 million ($290.5 million) each, these designs are about to be tendered for construction.

Jazeera Airlines

Pace has been engaged to transform the arrival and departure areas for Jazeera Airways at Kuwait International Airport. 'Pace is currently working on a series of phased plans that will eventually become distinct and separate facilities to cater to the discerning budget airline traveller. Jazeera Airlines is keen to strengthen its brand presence by offering customers a complete Jazeera experience from the moment they check-in through to boarding their flight,' says Backhouse, lead interior designer for the project.

Al Nafisi Hotel ... Pace
is providing design and tender
documentation services.

Al Nafisi Hotel

Pace has been commissioned by the owner to design the 15-storey Al Nafisi Hotel to be operated by Marriott. The rooms of this 140-key service hotel, which command excellent views of the sea and the Kuwait City skyline, will be given new life and vitality. All amenities such as fitness, conference, and dining will be updated to offer first-class accommodation.

'We are fortunate at Pace to have such an array of challenging and exciting projects. At the end of the day, our passion, talent, experience and hard work benefits our clients and gives us great professional and personal satisfaction,' Shuaib concludes.