Three architectural elements articulate Openwork House, a villa situated in Kuwait.

A fissure along the villa’s central axis houses a three-dimensional space that contains all circulation. Within this void, stairs and corridors transform into a generous living space that communicates with every room in the house.

 

Three light wells bathe the heart of the dwelling in natural light. Positioned along the same axis as the central fissure, these wells illuminate the intimate interior with natural radiance. The desire for privacy that characterizes Kuwaiti homes finds expression through this particular architectural strategy, one that brings warmth to the entire space. On each floor, open terraces nestle beside these vertical courtyards, while in the basement level, gardens unfold beneath the light wells.

 

A secret garden embraces the entire house. It occupies the plot’s perimeter, an area that building regulations prohibit from development. This strip becomes a garden, shielded from the outside world by a protective fence. From this arrangement springs the desire to connect the interior with this verdant refuge. The interior spaces open themselves to this garden. Openwork House sits on a corner plot facing a public plaza. The perimeter garden connects directly with this square, whose landscape design also forms part of our project, extending the private garden into public space and giving birth to a garden for all.

 

The fence, crafted in bronze-toned metal, is conceived as another garden element. Its framework permits the passage of light and fleeting glimpses of vegetation while preserving privacy, tracing an abstract pattern that reveals botanical forms. The shadows cast by plants in the exterior garden merge with those created by the fence’s latticework. They become one—a living shadow upon the facade.

 

Openwork House is a substantial villa that incorporates an independent apartment on the penultimate floor and a rooftop pool. Its prismatic volume finds relief through carefully placed windows. The window openings are gently sculpted, creating a subtle rhythm across the stone facade. The garden motifs embedded in the fence’s metallic design ascend to the rooftop, forming canopies and extending inward to shelter the stairs. The space of Openwork House articulates itself through these porous boundaries, drawn like a garden.