fintas-town-centre: Fintas Town Centre, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Planned and Designed 1980
The Fintas Centre was to create a focus for employment, shopping, recreation, and other services for a relatively self-sufficient community of more than 300,000 persons in Kuwait's Coastal Corridor. Its planning was undertaken of the basis of principles established in the 1971 National Master Plan by Colin Buchanan and Partners, which designated Fintas as the second major urban centre in the State of Kuwait. As such, it was intended to provide substantial relief from the transportation and development pressures on the existing Central Business District of Kuwait City, 20 kilometres to the north.
The main component of the work was the preparation of design development drawings for the core of the new Centre, the Shopping Complex. Simultaneously, parcellation plans and related urban design guidelines for all other components of the Centre, and prepared Developer Briefs for three other first phase project components- a block of local level offices, two blocks of non-Kuwaiti government employee housing, and the regional park. A further part of the team's work was the design development drawings for all of the Fintas Superblock and Centre infrastructure systems, which were coordinated with the building system designs for the Shopping Complex, office, and housing projects.
The Shopping Complex is divided into two halves, each serving a different retail market. In the West Block is the western "contemporary" retail centre- two level air conditioned mall with exciting landscaped interior spaces. In the East Block is the more traditional Souk and Fresh Food Market- a simple and flexible structure, predominantly on one level, with only partial air conditioning. The three groups of public facilities are closely integrated with the Shopping Complex- the cultural complex, hotel, and botanical garden located at the west end- the bus station, regional mosque, and outdoor plazas, and entertainment complex including restaurants and cinemas located between the two retail areas- and the Government Public Service Complex located at the east end.
Fast, convenient access to the Shopping Complex is provided by direct slip roads from the Central Spine Road, and by a number of other local roads leading directly to the core Blocks Loop Road. Ample public and employee parking are provided in the 4 major multi-level parking structures, and in other parking areas beneath the buildings.
Photo courtesy of the Erickson Collection
