UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Nation Building in Kuwait 1961–1991 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/91b0909n Author Alomaim, Anas Publication Date 2016 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Nation Building in Kuwait 1961–1991 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture by Anas Alomaim 2016 © Copyright by Anas Alomaim 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Nation Building in Kuwait 1961–1991 by Anas Alomaim Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture University of California, Los Angeles, 2016 Professor Sylvia Lavin, Chair Kuwait started the process of its nation building just few years prior to signing the independence agreement from the British mandate in 1961. Establishing Kuwait’s as modern, democratic, and independent nation, paradoxically, depended on a network of international organizations, foreign consultants, and world-renowned architects to build a series of architectural projects with a hybrid of local and foreign forms and functions to produce a convincing image of Kuwait national autonomy. Kuwait nationalism relied on architecture’s ability, as an art medium, to produce a seamless image of Kuwait as a modern country and led to citing it as one of the most democratic states in the Middle East. The construction of all major projects of Kuwait’s nation building followed a similar path; for example, all mashare’e kubra [major projects] of the state that started early 1960s included particular geometries, monumental forms, and symbolic elements inspired by the vernacular life of Kuwait to establish its legitimacy. The construction of ii specific building types with different functions such as museums, stadiums, and parliaments is significant to modern nation building and public assimilation. Those building types and/or institutions share the same origin, and all were (re)established during the early Western modern period and inspired by Ancient Greece as source of Western civilization. Such Western perspective of modernization as an evolutionary concept, dominated the view of international organization led by the new postwar powers. Kuwait was instructed by international consultants to follow a similar model of modernization to build its postcolonial nationalism. This dissertation critically analyzes the architecture of nation building in Kuwait City, with a focus on investigating key architectural projects such as Kuwait National Museum, Kuwait National Assembly, and Kuwait Sports Center in terms of their historical development, their formal language, their impact on the socio-cultural milieu, and their roles in Kuwait’s nation building. The importance of my research lies in the formal and critical analysis of postcolonial architectural modernization in Kuwait through various Arabic and Western literature, local newspapers and other periodicals, over 10 related archives around the world, and a number of personal interviews with local as well as international experts in related areas to this research. iii The dissertation of Anas Alomaim is approved. Dana Cuff Aamir R. Mufti Sylvia Lavin, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2016 iv Dedication To my late father, Abdullah, for teaching me how to be humble To my mother, Nawal, for teaching me how to be strong To my sisters, Shrouq, Shayooma, and Shahad; for bending the rules of their sisterhood v Table of Contents ABSTRACT.……………………………………………………………………..………ii DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………..….....v TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………….…vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS……..……………………………………………..……...xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.……………………………………...…………….……...xxiv BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.………………………………………………….…...xxviii CHAPTER I: THE FOUNDATION OF NATION BUILDING……………………...1 Research Introduction and Background……………………..………………….…2 Introduction……………………………………………………………...…….…2 Architecture as Nation Builder: Fabricating Nationalism…………………….5 Modernization and Nation Building in Postcolonial Arab States…………….8 From Romantic Nationalism to Postcolonial Nation Building………………11 Literature Review………………………………..……………………….…….13 Postcolonialism and Other Epistemological Frameworks……………...……22 Methodology…………………………………………………………………… 25 vi Historical Development of Kuwait’s Nation Building......................................…..32 Kuwait Between Arab and Islamic Nationalisms: 1899-1945...................…..32 Oil and Modernization 1945–1960…………………………………………….39 Independence and Nation Building 1961 – 1968……………….…..…………42 The Use of Architectural Competitions in Kuwait’s Nation Building.….…..47 Kuwait’s Second Master Plan 1968–1973……………….…..………………...49 Late 1970s–1980s: Political Unrest and the Islamic Revolution……………..51 After 1990: The Desert Storm and a Peak in Kuwaiti Nationalism…………53 CHAPTER II: KUWAIT NATIONAL MUSEUM…………………………………...54 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….55 The Role of International Organizations in the Construction of KNM……..57 The Educational and Symbolic Role of the National Museums…………….61 The First Kuwait National Museum and a Similar Example……………..…63 Constructing the KNM: Competition and Background……………………...66 Michel Écochard………..…………………………………………………..…..70 Organization, Structure, and Symbols…………………………..………...….72 vii Bahrain National Museum as a Comparable Example……………….……..76 KNM in Kuwaiti Press, 1977 to 1991……………………………….…….…...79 Obliqueness and the Quadrangular Courtyard………………………………82 KNM’s Connection with Dar al-Athar al-Islameyah………………….……..85 KNM after the Gulf War, Renovations, and Contemporary State………….86 Conclusion: Capitalism and Dominant Postcolonial Missions..…………..…87 CHAPTER III. KUWAIT NATIONAL ASSEMBLY……….……………………….91 Introduction……………………………………………………….…………….92 Competition and Analysis of the Submitted Proposals…………………...….93 Jørn Utzon…………………………………………………….………….……..99 KNA’s Additive Architecture and the Grid………...…………………….…100 Monumental Elements: Hybrids of Universal and Local Symbol…………103 Organization and Branching: Controlled Freedom………………….……..111 The KNA Mosque…….……………………………………………….………112 Critical Regionalism and the Interior of Utzon’s KNA Mosque …………..114 Kuwait Grand (State) Mosque………………………………………………118 viii Budgets and the Other Centers of Power.……………………………….…..122 KNA and the Iraqi Invasion 1990s…………………………………………...125 Conclusion…………….………………………………………………….……126 CHAPTER IV. KUWAIT SPOSRTS CENTER ……...…………………………….129 Introduction…….……………………………………………………………...130 Competitive Spirits and Olympic Stadiums.……….………………….…….131 Kuwait Sports Center Competition…………………………………………..134 Analysis of Submitted Proposals ………………………………………..…...136 Kenzo Tange and Frei Otto…..……………………………………………….140 Tent, Climatic Control, and Axis…..……………………………………..…..142 Spectacular “Teflon Architecture” and the Stadium’s Materiality………..145 Cancelation of the Project…….……..………………………………………..148 Other Stadiums……………………………………………………………..…149 Games as Tarweeh: Recreation of the Soul….……………………………….152 Waterfront Development Competition: a Recreational Project ……..….....153 Beach Clubs, Green Islands, and Residential Areas………………………...157 ix Conclusion…….……………………………………………………………….159 CHAPTER V. THE FUTURE OF THE OLD CITY………………………..…...…161 Introduction…..……………………………………………………………..…162 Background……………………………………………………………………164 The Future Development of Old Kuwait City……………………………….167 Green Belt and Rampart Gardens..……………….…………………....……177 Mat-Building in Kuwait…………………………………………………...….179 Mat-Building Typology…...……………………………………………..……182 Politics of the Mat-Building…………………………………………………..185 Kasbah as a Poetic Image……………………………………………………..190 The “As Found” and the Everyday Mosque………………………………...193 Re-reading the Void: the Void as an Apparatus of Public Control..………197 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..200 ILLUSTRATIONS ……………….…………………………………………..………209 APPENDICES…………………………………………..……..………………….….. 285 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………..……...………………….….. 311 x List of Illustrations Figure 1: Old Kuwait City, the illustration demonstrates the three walls of the old city. Source: Rashid al-Rashid. Planning and Urban Development in Kuwait. (Kuwait: Kuwait Government, 1977). Figure 2: A close-up of an aerial photograph showing the old vernacular fabric of Kuwait before its demolishment. Source: Gian Banfi, Ludovico Belgiojoso, Enrico Peressutti, and Ernesto Rogers (BBPR), Architectural Report for the Future Development of Old Kuwait City project, 1969 (The Archives of Franco Albini, Milan). Figure 3: A series of areal photographs of the progress of the urban fabric of Kuwait from organic/vernacular to modern radial grid allowing for wider streets for automobiles. Source: Gian Banfi, Ludovico Belgiojoso, Enrico Peressutti, and Ernesto Rogers (BBPR), Architectural Report for the Future Development of Old Kuwait City project, 1969 (The Archives of Franco Albini, Milan). Figure 4: Kuwait’s first master plan by Minoprio & Spencely and Macfarlane (1952) showing the new residential neighborhood (in orange) outside of old Kuwait City. Source: Kuwait Municipality Archives Figure 5: Diagram highlighting the radial grid and its center (the Seif Palace): Source: author. Base map from source: Saba Shiber, The Kuwait Urbanization (Kuwait: Government of Kuwait, 1964) Figure 6: The new structure of the government demonstrating the importance of the newly established Development Board. Source: Saba Shiber, The Kuwait Urbanization (Kuwait City: Government of Kuwait, 1964. Figure 7: A sketch of Kuwait