• architects Studio Toggle
• location Al Yarmouk St, Kuwait City, Kuwait
• lead architects Hend Almatrouk, Gijo Paul George,
• area 2500.0 m2
• project year 2017
• photographs Gijo Paul George
• manufacturers Moooi, Tom Dixon, Wicanders, Sanitana, TAL,
JNF
The open-plan ground floor brought natural light into the living
and dining area through its wide sliding glass panels leading
to the outdoor garden space towards the edge of the plot.
While maximizing the natural light, overhangs were employed
strategically to decrease direct sunlight and solar heat gain.
The garden, with its high walls and louvers fosters greenery
and light for the social spaces, including the banquet room in
the basement, while affording total privacy from neighboring
buildings.
A similar technique is applied on the first floor, placing all
bedrooms on the parameter to ensure windows in each room for
their own natural lighting. A large skylight lights up the resulting
interstitial area turning it into a brightly lit communal reading
spot. The exterior of the house is finished in an austere palette
of white cement render contrasted against the rough grey finish
of the window frames and louvers. The louvers afford necessary
privacy to the stepped entrance foyer and the roof garden and
soften the impact of the crisp white massing.
sustainability
The design and its requirements birthed a duality between the
necessity of natural light and Kuwait’s scorching hot climate.
Studio Toggle approached this duality with a multi pronged
strategy in which light pockets are distributed along the
buildings mass, increasing it porosity while avoiding direct
sun. These light pockets, by virtue of their strategic locations,
helped in lighting up the interiors while avoiding the harsh direct
sunlight.
White heat reflecting, and self-cleaning exterior paint system
was used to reduce the heat gain as well as repel dust, which is
a recurring problem. Louvers and overhangs were generously
incorporated to avoid and reduce direct sun and glare.
Sensors and smart irrigation systems were incorporated to
reduce electricity and water usage and demonstrates a measured
saving of almost 20 percent electricity and 40 percent water
used for irrigation. Low VOC paint and coating systems were
used for better indoor air quality, as the client was very specific
in this regard. The project also employs extensive use of eco-
friendly cork for acoustic insulation and as underlays below the
parquet flooring.