Envisioning the heart of the campus

For many years, Kuwait University educated its students across a range of buildings throughout Kuwait City. As the premier public university in the country, the growing institution needed a centralized campus for the 21st century—a nucleus for its community and 40,000-student body to gather for study, collaboration, performances, exhibits, and conventions. Having also designed a series of athletics and student life buildings for Kuwait University, SOM conceived this new campus core as both a public-facing component and a center of student life. The six interconnected buildings include a library, cultural center, visitors center, conference facility, administration building, and a landmark convocation hall. Together, they share a common architectural identity that draws upon Kuwait’s architectural heritage while responding to its desert climate.

Merging sustainability and artistry

One of the core characteristics of Middle Eastern architecture is the mashrabiya—a latticed window or facade that shades interiors, promotes airflow, and creates a strong aesthetic identity through geometric patterning. This design strategy, developed over centuries, provides comfort in a desert climate. The facades of all six buildings draw inspiration from this tradition, harmonizing with one another and with the surrounding city.

The new campus buildings and their outdoor spaces are enveloped by lightweight mashrabiya screens. SOM’s design team collaborated with Kuwaiti artist Farah Behbehani, who abstracted forms of Arabic and Kufic calligraphy for each building’s screen. These intricate patterns create a play of light and shadow as the sun moves across the sky, filling the interiors with dappled light while shading indoor and outdoor spaces from the desert heat.

The outdoor spaces are a key component of the master plan for a walkable campus. Greenery and flowing water, combined with the screens, create comfortable microclimates at the building edges. In a city where temperatures can reach as high as 52 degrees Celsius, these shaded veranda gardens offer students cool, inviting spaces to gather.

A grand focal point

The campus centerpiece is the Pearl, a monumental spheroid building located in front of the arrival garden. Framed by the administration building and the library, the Pearl houses a 1,600-seat theater venue for major events, including student orientation, graduations, and performances throughout the year.

The Pearl is enclosed by thousands of sun-shading panels arranged in a complex geometry. The panel design spells out the Arabic word aldanah—meaning a large and extremely precious pearl—in Sumbuli calligraphy, a late Ottoman cursive style. Mounted on a structural frame, these panels form the building’s mashrabiya, culminating in a skylight aperture that brings natural light into the building.

Creating moments to connect

The interior design fosters opportunities for students, staff, and visitors to cross paths and meet. A ground-level corridor traverses the Central Administration Building, offering seating and views toward a skylight. Within the library, a theatrical stair zigzags to create balconies on every floor. A ramp spirals upward in the conference center, while a looping pathway guides foot traffic through the galleries and toward the cultural center.