Museum renovation project 56% completed
Progress so far includes construction of new building: NCCAL
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 1: The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters in Kuwait (NCCAL) — in collaboration with Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah (DAI) — today announced the completion of 56% of the Kuwait National Museum Renovation Project. NCCAL had also collaborated with both UNESCO and Pace — the leading Kuwaiti architectural, planning and engineering consultants — to undertake the re-design and construction supervision of the rehabilitation process, which involves a series of structural and architectural renovations and restoration of various halls of the museum. Additionally, a number of new facilities, including a new entrance building and a grand library will be constructed as part of the expansion of the museum. Pace is also responsible for delivering the modernisation of the building’s external facades, and re-design of the internal spaces.
The Kuwait National Museum first opened on Dec 31, 1957 in the palace of Sheikh (Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah) in Dasman area, previously known as ‘Sheikh Khazaal Diwan’. Then in 1976, artifacts were transferred to the house of ‘Badr’ as it was one of Kuwait’s old and traditional houses until the establishment of the new museum in 1983. Since then, the museum located in Kuwait City has become one of the Gulf’s iconic cultural centres for preserving heritage and spreading knowledge.
NCCAL representative, Fouad Abdul Aziz, stated: “The progress so far includes the construction of a new building (9) which comprises of antiquity renovation workshops. It also includes the renovation of the existing Hall (3) and Hall (4) of the museum to accommodate the new collection of antiquities from diverse cultures, in addition to the state-of-the-art landscaping works taking place. The canopies providing shade for the outdoor areas are being renovated, along with the completion of the car parking area.
Pace CEO, Tarek Shuaib said: “New buildings and facilities that are currently under construction include the erection of a new single story main entrance building, and a basement, covering a total area of 863 square meters, with registration and reception offices and administrative and technical departments. Another new two-storey (+ basement) building is underway, dedicated to the National Library with an area of 1,297 square meters, in addition to a multileveled car park”.
New steel bridges are being constructed to connect the upper levels of the museum halls together. This new design feature will enhance the interconnectivity of the old and new structures to enhance the circulation inside the museum for visitors. In terms of material, the museum facades will comprise of new curtain glass walls and marble stone cladding, whereas roofs are being revamped with titanium zinc sheets.
“We are employing the latest in security technologies to safeguard and protect the exhibits and preserve the archaeological collections from damage employing advanced antiquity preservation methods. Moreover, state-of -the-art acoustic and lightings and other technical installations are being set to provide a distinctive display of the museum’s components with more thrill and excitement”, added Shuaib.
Fouad affirmed that with Halls (1), (2), and the planetarium, currently open for frequent public use; the project supervision team is overcoming every challenge it faces with delivering construction works on live site by applying the highest international standards of construction safety for both visitors and workers. Museum items are also being very well maintained and secured during works”.