Chalet Complex

Qattan Architects

Office #1, 14th Floor Building 7,
Elite Tower Qibla Block 11,
55 St, Kuwait
tel (965) 2244-9349 fax (965) 2244-9359
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Chalet Complex

Bneidar

On a sprawling beach front site, this project is a large scale vacation complex for a prominent family. It is primarily expressed as a series of chalets, private retreats from the city with views to the sea. The plan includes a separate chalet for the patriarch and each of his children, as well as shared amenities, a boat house, and service buildings. Near the entry to the complex is a dewaniyah–a gathering space for the patriarch and his visitors.
Approached by organically curving roads and traversed by a leaf-like configuration of winding paths, the plan is organized along the axis of the rising sun. Visitors catch a glimpse of the water as they arrive, and get a breathtaking view of the sea again from inside their chalet. The site has an unusually steep slope for the region–eight meters from one end to the other. This feature helps to optimize the view from each building and to permit construction into the hillside. It results in a more suitably modest appearance for the spacious structures, while also deriving advantages of natural cooling.
The design vocabulary of the chalets uses traditional geometries in plans and profiles to allow shaded patios, rooftop balconies amid rhythmic roof profiles. Accompanying finishes and details are in a modernist style that is a suitable contemporary update for longstanding regional elements. Instead of private courtyards, the chalets gather around a central space in which walking paths wind around a series of cascading pools and Jacuzzis on the way to the beach.
This project was developed entirely in BIM, which facilitated the artful design of the buildings in section and their carefully orchestrated grouping toward uninterrupted views.