A Future Vision for the Multiuse House in Kuwait: Between Acceptance and Rejection

Prior to the urban development of Kuwait, local residents performed many nonresidential and commercial activities within their houses, a condition that directly benefitted the house owners as well as the neighborhoods in which they lived. Although the diversity that such practices provided was subsequently lost for decades as a result of modern planning, this article argues that a revival of the multiuse house is currently underway. The article traces the causes for the loss of the multiuse house in the post-oil era, and illustrates some of the forces driving its resurgence, including the qualities that individuals are seeking through its revival. Interviews with Kuwaitis currently involved in multiuse house activities further reveal its social, economic and urban benefits. Finally, the article identifies measures needed to determine the overall acceptance/rejection of the multiuse house by the general public, and it reports on the outcome of a pilot survey revealing wide acceptance of the concept among Kuwaitis.