Wafra Living By AGI Group Of Architects

AGi architects’ design for Wafra Living proposes an innovative housing organisation in Kuwait, a new type of multi-family living as a social response to the country’s housing needs. The design is guided by contemporary life’s requirements while balancing traditional norms, and it reintroduces urban life to the building level. Wafra Living is conceived as a high-rise structure set back from the street, with an L-shaped structure defining the street edge. It is designed to provide ample natural light and usable indoor and outdoor common spaces while maximising privacy within the community. The ground floors of the front building have been cut to provide better views for the tower apartments.

Combining Domestic And Collective Scales Into The Structure

At various levels, the complex combines domestic and collective scales that are both private and public. The architecture defines the block’s edge and creates a series of open spaces within the plot for the community to use in a variety of ways. The building cantilevers off the ground in order to draw street life into the structure. The ground floor level connects to the neighbourhood through an inclined, stepped garden and opens up to the neighbourhood with accessible retail facilities on the street level, integrating into the urban fabric. The project is made up of 16 different types of living typologies ranging from two bedrooms to four bedroom duplexes that are distributed across five cores to accommodate a wide range of tenants.

Multiple gardens, gyms, pools, children’s play areas, squash courts, public terraces, and community multi-purpose space are among the project’s public amenities. This results in the formation of a “High Square.” It serves as a large-scale, private communal area for all tenants, with various landscaped pockets, pools, and access to the gym for more private leisure activities.

The Internal Facade Containing The Emergency Routes

The building envelope protects the residents from the hustle and bustle of the street and provides a safe environment for them. From this level, one can see an aluminium mesh: a double skin that climbs the internal facade containing the emergency routes and conceals the various non-public service spaces. The five cores that connect the residential floors are hidden behind the lattice. Passive design techniques and innovative materials are used to maximise thermal insulation and minimise light consumption while also improving ventilation and avoiding the “heat-island” effect common in this type of urban development. With the pandemic, typologies like this one have regained popularity because they provide a variety of ‘communal’ and public space and how important it is to our well-being as a society. Wafra Living is socially conscious, environmentally conscious, and behaviorally aware. This development has served as a model for others to follow.

Written By Ankit Lad | Subscribe To Our Telegram Channel To Get Latest Updates And Don’t Forget To Follow Our Social Media Handles Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter. To Get the Latest Updates From Arco Unico