Brief

Hawally Bound is a series of workshops in collaboration with Promenade Cultural Centre for those who share our interest in heritage, architectural documentation and storytelling. Cities have long evolved and transformed over the years to respond to people’s behaviour and needs. Hawally is a prime example of that. Home to many structures that date back to the early modernization of Kuwait, Hawally has become an urban backdrop that is often overlooked by researchers in favor of the capital.

The workshop intends to shed light on the city’s rich historic landmarks and unique urban fabric. Participants will engage with the city in a unique observatory approach to gain an understanding of the changes it went through. They will be introduced to various printmaking techniques to create a kit of parts as they collectively work to map out the city as they see it.

Objectives

• To create a movement of architectural observation

• Understanding the urban fabric of Hawalli

• To broaden the outreach of architecture through other disciplines

• To shed light on the importance of experiencing spaces, to humanize structures

• Highlighting the cultural significance of Hawalli

Approach

Through a set of three two-day workshops, the following approaches will be adopted:

Workshop 1: Finding

The first workshop will kick off with an introduction to the research conducted by the instructors and mentors to introduce the participants to the points of interest in the city along with the methodology of research and observation. A large printout of the city’s map will be used to engage participants to pin-point the landmarks of the city and highlight significant connections with them with thread.

The second day participants will be introduced to stencil making where they will pick routes that interest them and draw them out as print stencils to explore the negative and positive spaces within the routes in the city. They will also pick buildings and spaces that they deem worthy of further exploration for the next workshop.

Workshop 2: Production 

The second workshop will begin with a recap of the selected routes and structures picked from the ‘Finding’ workshop. Participants will be introduced to the basics of architectural analysis via highlighting unique patterns or formations within the selected structures. They will then pick one or two buildings to study. 

The second day will begin with a quick demonstration on block printing. Participants will create block prints based on the buildings they selected by highlighting unique architectural elements. 

Workshop 3: Curation 

The final workshop will be a collective project where participants curate the previous findings and outcomes from the first two workshops into a cohesive map. The workshop will encourage discourse and critique through selecting the final structures worth highlighting and the routes connecting them. A physical collage will be executed by placing the route stencils along with the block prints on fabric roll outs of Hawalli creating a physical collage of the final cultural map of the city.

To register please email pcc@thepromenadekw.com