للتاريخ تسمية منطقة الصوابر نسبة
لفخذ الصوابر من قبيلة العوازم
In the past, Kuwait planned for huge infrastructures and development projects through long term strategies and envisages after discovering Petroleum(black gold). Until the Gulf War, where these goals were bombarded to a halt. The plan was aiming to overcome the needs for welfare housing and transforming the country to be more urban centric. These goals wouldn’t be achieved without having a strong partner(private sector), that could turn the wheels of the economy by participating in constructional mega projects with the public sector in Kuwait. Private sectors were a turning point for Kuwaiti society since 1950's, where it participated in providing better services for planning and construction that the public sector were unable to provide . One of these mega projects was Al Sawaber complex. It was designed by the Canadian Architect Arthur Erickson in 1977.
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| Al Sawaber Complex |
The design was aimed for the citizens that are looking for new housing in the mid 1980's. The complex included many concourses buildings design type and contained many apartments for the newlyweds. The Sawaber Complex main objective is to provide a Utopian environment to live in, where it meets every resident's needs and at the same time to be affordable for rent or buy by regular citizens. That was the architect vision for Al Sawaber complex, yet unfortunately, what had been built was against his vision. Instead the design was tempered with, sacrificing the original design to fulfill financial gain.
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| Concourses of Al Sawaber |
Al Sawaber complex should be the ideal housing complex project for the newlyweds Kuwaities that needed a safe and convenient environment for them, where all their daily life needs were met. Yet due to it's design flaws, the residents had moved out and left the apartment for sale or rent, where all the expats began to move in, making grow into it's current depressing state. It is a beautiful place theoretically, but in fact it is not at all in reality. The complex need to be evacuated now and reconsidered again to redesign and solve the issues in the complex. After that, they should start rehabilitating it again with Kuwaiti citizens, although there is some Kuwaiti citizens that are living there today ,but they are not satisfied with it.
The complex now is not a good example of Kuwait development plan department KDP and PAHW history. Many things to say about the place for preserving it, not to demolish it again. It was one of the first projects that would shape the permanent Kuwaiti apartments with a view over the suburbs and gardens for all of the apartments rather than overlooking the cemetery that could have been avoided with the original design plan.
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| Side View |
Finally, Al Sawaber complex was and still a pleasant complex to be occupied, if it has been well preserved from its main users and government. What is happening for the place nowadays is that the government is neglect it after the Gulf War and the result of that neglegance had led to the deterioration of the complex. Unfortunately, the Concourses nowadays from time to time are usually on fire and the only ones that takes care of it are the firemen, not the government nor the people that are occupying the complex.
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| The Complex usually in the begging of each year is on fire** |
The complex now is in a poor condition, in terms of the facilities that serve its residents. The government from long time ago had neglected maintaining and fixing problems such as sewage, electricity, security, municipality and a lot of issues that is related to daily life requirements for the people that live there. The government had blamed the private sector for Sawaber's problems. The complex still has the power to be ready to reveal its beauty, if the government starts to address it's problem seriously.
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| Al Sawaber Suburbs |
For now there is another project that is being built by the private sector and the project is called Dhahiat Hessa Al Mubarak district, which is located in the main gulf road. This project have the same characteristics of Al Sawaber complex as a Utopian environment for the users and is fully dependent on the private sector unlike Al Sawaber complex. The question is when and what is the perfect time to manage the problems in the Kuwait Development Plan and Public Authority of Housing Welfare? Who will be in charge to solve the conflicts inside? Will they address the problems now ? or postpone it as usual?
كشف مدير عام المؤسسة العامة للرعاية السكنية المهندس بدر الوقيان عن قرار لمجلس الوزراء يقضي بهدم مجمع الصوابر قريباً، وضم الموقع للمنطقة
***التجارية في «الكويت»، معلناً «نزع ملكية آخر شقة في 31 مارس الماضي
لا طبنا ولا غدا الشر
*Photographs taken by Mishal Al Musaileekh
**http://cdn.sabr.cc/wp-content/uploads/picture/45279200px.png
***http://www.alraimedia.com/ar/article/local/2016/04/04/669979/nr/kuwait
**http://cdn.sabr.cc/wp-content/uploads/picture/45279200px.png
***http://www.alraimedia.com/ar/article/local/2016/04/04/669979/nr/kuwait
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