The Kuwait Towers are a group of three thin towers in

Kuwait City Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...

, standing on a promontory into the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

. They were the sixth, and last, group in the larger

Kuwait Water Towers The Kuwait Water Towers are a prominent group of 31 water towers in Kuwait City, Kuwait that were completed in 1976. Design and construction In 1965, the government of Kuwait commissioned the Swedish engineering company of VBB (since 1997 Sweco) ...

system of 34 towers (33 store water; one stores equipment), and were built in a style considerably different from the other five groups. The Kuwait Towers were officially inaugurated in March 1979Kuwait Towers closed due to maintenance
''KUNA''. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2014. and are regarded as a landmark and symbol of modern

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

. The towers were closed for maintenance from March 2012 to 8 March 2016, with a massive

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

festival commemorating the re-opening. Kuwait Towers facility is operated and managed by the state-owned Touristic Enterprises Company. The Main Tower served as the venue for TEDxKuwaitCity event in 2018 and 2019.

Design and construction

The main tower is high and carries two spheres. The lower sphere holds in its bottom half a water tank of and in its upper half there is a restaurant that accommodates 90 people, a café, a lounge and a reception hall. The upper sphere, which rises to above sea level and completes a full turn every 30 minutes, holds a café. The second tower is high and serves as a

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

. The third tower does not store water, housing equipment to illuminate the two larger towers. The two water towers hold of water altogether. The Kuwait Towers were designed by Danish architect Malene Bjørn as part of a water distribution project run by the Swedish engineering company VBB (renamed

Sweco Sweco (originally "Swedish Consultants") is a European engineering consultancy company, active in the fields of consulting engineering, environmental technology and architecture. Sweco is Europe’s leading architecture and engineering consult ...

in 1997). Chief architect of the company and husband of Malene Bjørn, Sune Lindström, erected five groups of his typical "mushroom" water towers, the

, but the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed, wanted a more attractive design for the sixth site. Out of ten different designs, three were presented to the Amir, who chose the design built.Kultermann 1981''Water Towers'' VBB contracted construction of the three Kuwait Towers to RAD construction company of

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

(now part of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

). The towers were built of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion ...

and

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted ...

. Building took place from 1971 to 1976 and the main tower was opened to the public on 1 March 1979. Approximately 41,000 enameled steel discs cover the three spheres in eight shades of blue, green and gray, recalling the tiled domes of historic mosques. The discs are arranged in spiral patterns around the spheres. According to the architect, the Kuwait Tower group refers to ideals of humanity and technology, symbolised by the globe and the rocket.Kultermann 1981 p. 41

Recognition

In 1980, the Kuwait Water Towers system, including the Kuwait Towers, was an inaugural recipient of the

Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the field ...

Gallery

Kuwaitobservation.jpg Kuwait towers.jpg

Notes

Printed sources

* Kultermann, Udo, 1999. ''Contemporary architecture in the Arab states: Renaissance of a region. ''New York; London: McGraw-Hill. * Kultermann, Udo, 1981. Kuwait Tower. Malene Bjorn's work in Kuwait. ''MIMAR: Architecture in Development'', 1981:2. pp. 40–41. Hasan-Uddin Khan, ed. Singapore: Concept Media Ltd. ISSN 0129-837

* Water Towers, 1983. In: Renata Holod, editor; Darl Rasdorfer, associate editor. 1983. ''Architecture and Community: building in the Islamic world today: the Aga Khan Award for Architecture''. pp. 173–181. Millerton: Aperture; Oxford: Phaidon.

Sources

Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Retrieved 5 August 2012

Website of the Kuwait Towers. Retrieved 5 August 2012

External links

Architects of Kuwait
*

Kuwait Towers: History, Art, Architecture and Eternity
{{Kuwait City 1979 establishments in Kuwait Towers completed in 1979 Buildings and structures in Kuwait City Water towers in Kuwait Tourist attractions in Kuwait