Green space
AGi Architects has designed Three Garden House, a stunning contemporary villa in Kuwait that redefines the notion of ‘natural living’.
A lush oasis, Three Garden House blends the dynamism of geometry and light to create the natural beauty of the outdoors to create a masterpiece of contemporary design in Kuwait. Envisioned by architects Nasser Abulhasan and Joaquin Perez-Goicoechea, founders and Principals of Kuwait- and Madid-based AGi Architects, it redefines the concept of bringing the outdoors inside.
Located south-east of Kuwait City in a residential area that occupies a strip of land between the coast and the Fahaheel motorway, the 1300-square metre newly-constructed single-family residence features four floors and four bedrooms, all designed to authentically integrate nature’s most beautiful elements.
The duo’s clients were clear about their needs: a single-family house including outdoor space to be used 365 days a year. “We asked ourselves: Could a glass house exist in a forest in Kuwait?” says Perez-Goicoechea. “This was the question the team tried to answer, in order to design a very transparent and open house, including fresh vegetation and water surfaces.”
The result was layers of open space infused with natural ambiance. “The Three Garden House is a project set around the notion of integrating garden spaces within a space. The building is meticulously designed to wrap around three gardens which act like vertical and horizontal voids within the house,” he continues.
“The house occupies the whole plot so the outdoor space is integrated inside the home,” explains Abulhasan. “We designed three gardens at different levels. They become unified as a single outer space and are connected – visually and physically – through exterior stairs; we began to develop the rest of the home from the generation of the aforementioned voids, articulating the programme of required uses around them.”
They had two main design challenges. The first was the extreme climate. “To resolve the issue we decided to stratify the home’s external uses according to the period of the year and the hours of the day when these activities take place,” Abulhasan says. “The other challenge was to give to the three gardens their own identity,
but at the same time unify them as a single outer space and [make them] be connected both visually and physically.”
Looking at the house from the outside, the first impression is of a closed volume with few windows. This is reinforced by the uniform stone cladding and perforated skin that protect the privacy of the inhabitants.
But once guests step inside they are instantly surprised. “When you enter the house you can appreciate the juxtaposition of the closed volume of the outside with the total transparency of the spaces facing the interior courtyard, [which is] covered in white ceramic tile. They reflect the light and help illuminate the rooms in a natural way,” continues Abulhasan.