Kuwait National Assembly Building

[1] In late 1969, as part of a plan to construct new institutions following independence, the Kuwait authorities invited Jørn Utzon to participate in a competition for a National Assembly building to be located on Arabian Coast Street on the city's waterfront.

Utzon, who was living in Hawaii at the time, prepared preliminary sketches which he sent to Oktay Nayman in London, who made construction drawings, and to his son Jan in Denmark who produced models.

[2][3] Familiar with Islamic architecture, Utzon based his competition design on a walled miniature city consisting of departments arranged around courtyards and accessed through a central hall, rather like a souk.

He fell back on Max Walt from Zurich who agreed to accept a more modest fee, for his services both as structural engineer for the project and draftsman for the construction drawings.

Utzon moved to Zurich together with Oktay Nayman, Børge Nielsen and his son Jan and set up office next door to Max Walt, facilitating communications.

It was even suggested that the covered square should be removed but Utzon was successful in keeping it, explaining that it was "an architectonically necessary link between the great open natural space over the sea and the enclosed building.

Apart from the elements for the two wide-span roofs, which were cast on site and moved into position on so-called "railway tracks", all the components were indeed prefabricated in standard sizes.

The complex is also inspired by the expansive structure of a tree: the central walkway, 130 m long and 10 m wide, serves as the trunk with corridors and stairs — the branches — supporting ministerial rooms and offices as their foliage.

In February 1991, during the Gulf War, Iraqi troops set fire to the building when retreating in the face of the international alliance attacking Saddam Hussein.

A number of changes to Utzon's design were imposed including an interruption in the central hall in order to provide for exhibition space, grey stone cladding was added to the columns and the covered square was compromised by curbs, guard houses and plants.

[2] In his book on Utzon, Richard Weston considers that, despite the design and post-completion problems it has faced, "the Kuwait National Assembly Building remains one of the few architecturally compelling achievements by a Western architect in the Middle East...

It remains a striking achievement, inviting comparison with the similarly fraught adventures of Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn in the Indian sub-continent.