Yal Living in Messilah, Kuwait

yal living messilah kuwait home a220524 n9 520x361 1 — Photos by Nelson Garrido

Table of Contents

Yal Living, Kuwait

The “Yal Living” building has, without a doubt, been a real challenge. This housing complex on a long and narrow plot has been designed for most homes to enjoy sea views, where the narrowest facades are those parallel to the beach.

With restrictive local planning regulations that only allow building up to three floors, AGi architects chose a horizontal hierarchy with a tiered arrangement of homes and views. The traditional housing block model with homes on the exterior and internal circulations inside was not an option due to the barriers posed by adjacent neighbours to the south and north, and views to the exterior were not guaranteed.

After several design approaches, the closed block model was fragmented and AGi architects decided to use the circulation as a separating element towards the neighbours on the south side, also the most exposed by Kuwait’s arid climate. All the rooms in each home face north and are staggered so that the living rooms occupy the corners and enjoy the sea views.

Different typologies were included, with one, two, three or four bedrooms, arranged on two levels and creating different outdoor public or private green spaces, around which the shared services are distributed, such as the pool or gym. The basement is used for parking and service facilities.

Ezoic

On the beach-facing façade there are two premium four-bedroom duplexes, with direct access to the beach from their ground floor gardens. The material quality of the project is characterized by the curved elements that work as shades for the openings and windows, as well as the brick in reddish tones used on the outer envelope, contrasting with the white ceramic of the interior spaces that provides luminosity to all the circulation spaces.

Yal Living house in Messilah, Kuwait home

Yal Living in Messilah – Property information

Project team: AGI Architects – https://www.agi-architects.com/

Name: Yal Living
Type: Residential |11,000 m2
Location: Messilah,Kuwait
Date: 2024
Client: Private
Cost: Confidential

Main Architects: Nasser Abulhasan and Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea

Architectural Team: Justo Ruiz Granados, Stefania Rendinelli, Pedro Moreno, Ameenah Al Qabandi, Sara Barranco, Luis, Garcia Martinez, Jean Awkar, Aisha Alsager, Sayer Alsayer, Babu Abraham, Eugene Torralba, Ibrahim Abu Fayyad, Mohammad Naga, Shaik Mohammad Rizvan, Haroon Abdulaziz, Robert Varghese, Vinil Killikat, Mohamad Trad, Abhilash C. Thilakan, Naseeba C. Shaji, Remya Nair Ezoic

Structural Design: GOGAITE Ingenieros Consultores
MEP Design: Euring Ingenieros
Main Contractor: Al Ahlia Contracting Group

About AGI Architects

The international design firm AGi architects was founded by two architects educated at Harvard University, Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea and Nasser B. Abulhasan. With a prominent international character and a multidisciplinary focus, AGi architects offers a professional service emphasizing quality, creativity and exclusive design.

AGi has a vision to create environments that create a lasting value for clients through distinctive and imaginative solutions. At present, the studio has offices in Kuwait and Madrid, with a team comprised of more than 50 professionals.

The studio’s architecture is based on four founding pillars: innovation, an inherent life component, ecological and social interventions and research. AGi architects provides comprehensive services in architecture, interior design and urban planning.

AGi architects has been recognized with more than 50 international awards such as: Lafarge Holcim Awards, WAF Awards, Middle East Architect Awards, MIPIM Architectural Review, Identity Design Awards and Cityscape Awards, as well as the recognition of Mies van der Rohe-“European Union Contemporary Architecture Prize”-and Aga Khan Award for Architecture, amongst others.