Category

Qortuba

Barrak Al-Babtain 4
0
NeighborhoodQortubaUrban
October 14, 2011

Park Fence Removal

They are going to start demolishing all the fences that surround public parks. I've asked for this a couple of times (here and here) and it seems their reason for removing them was mainly to stop people abusing the parks for 'immoral acts'. I can…
Read More
Barrak Al-Babtain 7
0
NeighborhoodQortubaUrban
April 21, 2010

Anonymous Neighbors

I admit that the following exercise is almost comically biased, but I think it serves well to illustrate the point i'm always trying to make. People have become anonymous within their own neighborhoods and mosques have become the only place where a strong sense of…
Read More
Barrak Al-Babtain 19
0
ArchitectureQortubaUrban
February 28, 2010

Fences

Why are Arab architects and engineers obsessed with fences? There's always a big fence surrounding every building, usually around the site perimeter. I can understand a fence around a prison, maybe a zoo, but why everywhere? What's the point? It don't think security is a…
Read More
Barrak Al-Babtain 11
0
NeighborhoodQortuba
February 18, 2010

Facebook Activism

I was strolling through Qortuba Public Park this afternoon. The place is actually pretty decent, there's a fair amount of benches and lots of trees and grass. The problem is that it was filthy. There was litter everywhere. The bathrooms were disgraceful. The security guard…
Read More
Barrak Al-Babtain 5
0
QortubaUrban
February 14, 2010

Qortuba Block 2

I'm going to try a quick redesign of Qortuba Block 2. First, here it is as is: I'm going to restrict myself into not altering the inlets to Qortuba, and leave the institutional buildings on the main road as they are. What I can change…
Read More
Barrak Al-Babtain 8
0
NeighborhoodQortubaUrban
December 30, 2009

Neighborhood Character

We talked about varied urban densities in a previous post, but what would those look like? Most residential neighborhoods in Kuwait have lost all sense of character and have become glorified parking lots for bigger and bigger houses. Cars fill the sidewalk entirely. People are now…
Read More
Barrak Al-Babtain 1
0
MetroQortubaUrban
November 4, 2009

Streets

Our neighborhoods have gradually evolved to become almost exclusively dominated by the automobile. A neighborhood is more than a random collection of houses. We should strive to create rich, safe and healthy places to live. We need to create a strong framework that can help…
Read More
Barrak Al-Babtain 6
0
NeighborhoodQortubaUrban
October 31, 2009

Kid-Friendly Neighborhood

Childhood obesity is an epidemic in Kuwait. Computer games and television has made it easy for kids to live a sedentary lifestyle. For some, the only exercise is the few hours of PE class in school every week. Neighborhoods have a social duty to provide…
Read More
Barrak Al-Babtain 2
0
NeighborhoodQortuba
October 20, 2009

Neighborhood Center

Neighborhoods in Kuwait have lost their charm and have become glorified parking lots. What can we do about it and are there any guidelines that can help us in designing better neighborhoods? According to Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, a husband-wife team of town planners…
Read More
Barrak Al-Babtain 28
0
QortubaUrban
October 17, 2009

An Anti-Mall

Why do we have so many malls? People seem content to walk inside them in circles. Lots of people walking, but only a few with shopping bags. They're there for the experience. People attracting people who attract people. The mall itself seems almost irrelevant in…
Read More