50 Years of Architecture in Kuwait Exhibition | WEFT

The exhibition designed by WEFT marks the 50th anniversary of Pace and celebrated architectural and engineering excellence in Kuwait throughout the history of this pioneering practice.

From its beginnings in 1968 until the present day, Pace has worked on over 2,000 projects across 35 countries. With this vast body of work, the practice’s archive serves as a key resource for understanding the influence of architecture and engineering in Kuwait and the wider region. As one of the most complete archives available, it documents the growing urbanisation of the region uniquely, as well as offers insights into building and urban design practices employed during the country’s rapid development.

The exhibition borrows elements of Kuwait's iconic architecture and goes beyond just their architectural properties to present them as the dramatic sculptural forms we recognise.

The permanence and brutal form of the iconic Kuwait Fund building is re-introduced to host interviews with architects who have left their mark in Kuwait.

The rich tapestry of Pace’s architectural heritage is presented with a display of architectural models abstracting façade details and forms, shown alongside an exhibition of ‘Pan Arab Modernism’, where a fragment of the upcoming architectural publication of the same name is previewed. On an adjacent screen, rare video footage of Kuwait’s built environment can be seen. 

Pace’s current work is presented as a show of colourful illustrations reinterpreting some of Kuwait’s most interesting architecture. Pace invited artists and illustrators based in various parts of the world to select their favourite architectural monuments and bring the sandy tones of the city to life through a spectrum of colours. In parallel, the exhibit symbolises the present-day by touching upon the subject of the ever-changing perception of architectural space.

Finally, and at the heart of the exhibition, is the extraordinary archive of this influential practice, celebrating 50 years of architecture and design excellence in Kuwait. The archive is presented as an ongoing collection of projects, displaying Kuwait’s architecture of the past and the present placed together in contrast. The selected photographs, microfilms and drawings are only a small handful of the extensive Pace archive and are presented to create a journey through the changing architectural styles in Kuwait over the last 50 years. Categorised into separate thematic sections, the display shows moments of life in a developing city, whilst focusing on individual residential, civic, commercial and infrastructure projects. The present, on the other hand, showcases a variety of recent projects, whilst providing a glimpse of the future additions to the skyline of Kuwait currently in design.