The complex, of 56,000 m2, is located in the Kuwaiti district of Jabriya. Wafra Living offers three types of apartments for renting: medium, upper-middle and upper category. The difference between them lies in the different finishes, the type of facilities at your service and the size. This type of exclusivity allows a better return on investment and at the same time breaks the scale of the complex, customizing it according to the user.
The project is committed to creating a quality environment that differs from other residential developments in Kuwait and is based on international and regional cultural influences. To this end, the creation of a distinctive “brand” and identity for Wafra Living is pursued as one of the main objectives.
Wafra Living advocates for contemporary, attractive, unforgettable and safe open and public spaces, as well as environmentally sustainable. It combines comfort, ease of maintenance and commonly used facilities that enhance social interaction. While responding to privacy and security needs, the building is integrated in its environment, establishing a relationship with the rest of the city.
The design strategy is based on traditional architectural models, where daily life is placed within a framework developed for both private and public environments, naturally. Modern design and technological contributions serve to improve and present the overall concept of twenty-first century housing.
One of the main goals of the design is to maximize privacy within the community, while providing abundant natural light and indoor and outdoor common spaces. This is achieved with an L-shaped building along the street margin at the northern and eastern boundaries, and a block in height at the back, which helps defining the rear, more private street. Several cuts have been made in the front building to provide better views of the apartments located on the lower floors of the rear tower.
At the same time, the façades adjacent to the neighboring buildings have been completely closed, to prevent unwanted views and offer privacy to those tenants.
To enhance the public/private relationship in this vertical development, the ground floor is offered to the surrounding neighbourhood through a commercial area of 316 m2. The necessary security controls are in place through access points related to a specific part of the building.
Vehicle access is planned by three points around the site to relieve traffic at rush hour times.
On the other hand, the sixth floor becomes the private pedestrian zone for the community, allowing the ground floor to become an extension of the street that is mainly public, for pedestrians, and private, for car access. This Elevated Plaza, located on the sixth floor, serves as a community space for tenants. The decision to raise it was based on the need to create a safe social gathering space that acts as a buffer from the busy street. It will minimize noise and create a private community space for families. Here the swimming pools, the gym and a basketball court have been located.
As you ascend the building, access to the common areas is restricted according to the category of the apartment. The network of stairs and platforms helps to relate these spaces and can be used as a walking/exercise route protected by the mesh.
The mesh, an element that houses common facilities
A “mesh” has been created on the façade as a layer that hides several service spaces in the apartments that do not directly relate to the public. It is a uniform element throughout the project that is perceived as a built space that has several uses, rather than as an aesthetic façade cloth.
It also serves to solve the needs of emergency exit – fire stairs – and even as an access and exercise route for users, since it leads to several outdoor platforms that could be used as meeting points for leisure activities and free time.
The mesh has materialized in the building in L,which allows to place the main living spaces of the apartments in front of the streets, while the services -kitchens, bathrooms, etc.- face the inner courtyard. The mesh ascends the interior façades and climbs to the roof to wrap around several common installations. It offers greater privacy to the apartments that are behind and better views to those that are in front.
