Needlab_Kuwait Matters Pavilion

January 2017

Implemented in collaboration with Kuwait University, focused on building and exhibiting an architectural-scale structure made of local sand-lime bricks.

Students tested new methods of construction using the local sand-lime brick, in an environmentally responsive way. To create and construct the pavilion, we collaborated with Fab Lab Kuwait, a fabrication community that has three labs in Kuwait with advanced fabricating facilities. For the material, we collaborated with a local material manufacturer National Industries a leader in the construction and building material sector in Kuwait.

Built for Kuwait using materials from Kuwait.

The brick structure standing in Al Shaheed Park is built by the Kuwait University Architecture Department students during the Needlab_Kuwait Matters Project. This structure has been designed based on the solar and structural analysis done during the design process for Kuwait. The structure is also a proof of concept of bricks working in pure compression and was developed to take advantage of the thermal inertia of the brick as much as possible. The perforations created by the placement of the bricks is to climatically enhance the internal space by ventilating it. The sand-lime bricks used for construction are made in Kuwait using the local materials which reduce the carbon footprint.

Construction Process

Details

Students involved in the project:

Wid Alenizi, Reem Alfarhan, Lulu Alroumi, Reem Khattab, Khulood Al Asfoor, Sadiqa Al Awadh, Jasim Aljazzaf, Zahraa Aljazzaf, Lulwa Al Zamami, Amna Busalha, Dana Al Olaimi, Faisal Khalaf, Hadeel Almeftah, Abrar Asrawi, Sara Okasha, Ghanimah Aldabbous, Saba Alhabashi, Mariam Al-Shawaf, Ghadeer Al-Enzi, Abrar Alghawas, Shaikha Alrahmani, Sara Hassan, Rashed Almubarak.