I was invited, along with other bloggers, to and introductory tour to the future landmark in Kuwait; Al Hamra Project by Ms. Dana Mado, from Al Hamra Real Estate Co.

Ms. Dana gave me the exact directions on how to get there, and when I arrived I was received with warm welcoming smile, just to realize that only Marzouq and I were there for the morning tour 😉

At the entrance of their Client Relations Center, we had a briefing of the project. We saw the maquette of the building, and Ms. Mado explained to us all the details

Al Hamra, the nation’s tallest skyscraper, is now built on the site of Kuwait’s first cinema – Al Hamra, which was a landmark by itself. It is 414 meters tall and situated in the heart of Kuwait City in Sharq! Al Hamra Tower will also be the tallest sculptured tower in the world and the tallest stone clad skyscraper 😉

The building is twisted and hugged with a glass veil! The building twisted shape reduce the sway of the building in case of strong winds, calming down its impact 😉 It is also designed in a way to decrease the solar radiation; south side blocks the sun, the other side -the glass- gives you an amazing view of the Gulf…

 

AlHamra will also have an outdoor landscaping plaza with lots of green shades, palm trees, lush planting, and water features… adding cool atmosphere to the place during the day

This is the shopping center attached to Al Hamra

It is laid out in five levels with lots of high end shops, F&B, and entertainment (Grand Cinemas) as well as wellness spa and gym for ladies…

Thats the main entrance to the tower

And the multi-stories car park, providing space for over 2,000 cars to park

Then we walked around the lobby of the Client Relations Center checking out other maquettes of the building such as a typical floor plan…

And again… the main entrance of the tower – which I LOVE so much! It is built with a raised articulated lamella structure supporting the tower above and articulating the space below.

This is the Sky Lounge… Its fabulous! I cant wait for the project to fully finish so I can see the end finished work! I was told there would be a hall/ballroom to rent there 😉 and YES! That is my reflection on the glass 😛

Afterwards, Marzouq and I sat down for the presentation by Ms. Mado… interesting facts and information! Ms. Dana Mado is amazing! She knows what she’s talking about and it was really nice talking to her, discussing issues in general, and getting to know more about the project…

We were then taken into the on-site tour with Mr. Louie Alnazer! He took us around the shopping center, and was so open minded to hear out our views and answer our questions… Oh and we were given special souvenir hardhats too!

 

As mentioned earlier, the shopping center is laid out in five levels with a shopping area of around 24,000 square meters – that will include luxury brands, cinemas, cafe court, restaurants area, health club and spa… on top of which will be the roof garden – a first of its kind in Kuwait, and it will be exclusive for spa users 😉 CANNOT WAIT!

Here we went to the main entrance… which I loved so so much <3

then we went up the elevators to check out the floors up high in the sky 😉

Now here is a view of the Arabian Gulf looking south towards Salmiya

That’s Lenotre on seaside

Kuwait Towers from Al Hamra

And a view from the other side – Kuwait City! I could not help but check Al Hamra’s hugging walls!!!

I never knew it was mosaic like! Beautiful!

Here is Arraya II from Al Hamra

Some random building from Al Hamra like Al Khaleejiya and Al Tijariya Buildings…

Looking down from up in the sky, we spotted the location prepared for NBK‘s new headquarters!

You can also see the entrance to Arraya Ballroom from here

We went down the elevators and back to the Client Relations Center (which will be demolished to have the car park built in its space and have it moved to the actual tower)

We were both given goody bags on our way out – with the hardhat that is cap-like 😉 The goody bag included a couple of CDs – one with a video and the other with random pictures of Kuwait, a booklet with introductory brief about the project, a couple of notebooks…

 

Check out one of the videos posted on YouTube – Build it Bigger

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu-J8jc6Z2M

(YouTube)

 

Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6 – Part 7 – Part 8

 

Random Facts:

• Al Hamra Tower will house the country’s largest office space
• Despite the fact that the tower rises about 77 floors above ground, it is equivalent to over 100 floors in other commercial skyscrapers
• The lobby is 20 meters high
• Two sky lobbies at the 28th and 52nd floors divide the t0wer into three distinct zones
• On 74th floor is the Sky Lounge with views over Kuwait City and the Arabian Gulf. It includes various seating areas that are set apart for privacy
• Al Hamra is designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM)
• General Contractor of the project: Al Ahmadia

 

Features & Facilities

• Luxurious welcoming lobby
• There is a skybridge on each floor to connect the two wings
• Touch screen directories
• Smart offices
• Business centers in Sky Lobbies and Sky Lounge
• Eight express elevators, eight local elevators, two service elevators, and three VIP elevators
• 24 hour concierge services

 

Security

• Facilities management system
• Two intermediate refuge floors to ensure safe and timely evacuation in case of an emergency
• Fully equipped emergency health care center
• Sprinkler, some detection, and extraction systems
• Qualified and trained security personnel (24 hour monitoring)
• Latest in video surveillance, access control systems, and biometric technologies

 

UPDATE

Many bloggers were invited and posted about it… but I specially like Omarker’s Post and Video – GOOD JOB Omar 😉