Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN)– The “Wind Tower” or “Wind Tower” in Salmiya, Kuwait stands as a monolith carved by the wind. This is what AGi Architects wanted to achieve when designing the building.

The jury of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture recently announced in a press release that the residential tower has been shortlisted for the award cycle for 2022.

A building that harnesses the wind

Kuwaiti-Spanish firm AGi Architects is part of an ambitious research project that seeks to explore the way of life of the Kuwaiti community, with the aim of finding alternative approaches to housing in the country that are socially and culturally relevant.

This resulted in the development of the “Wind Tower” project in the Salmiya area of ​​Kuwait City.

Nasser Abulhassan, co-founder and director of AGi Architects, said in an interview with CNN Arabic, “We designed the project and named it Wind Tower, a key driving force that determined the final direction of the design.”

With this design, the courtyard is not confined to the heart of the building, as it borrows light and ventilation from the facade, passing through the pool area, flowing from all levels and finding its way through the opposite facade.

Granite stone was chosen to create the facade of the building, which contrasts with the smooth surfaces of the central courtyard covered with white stucco.

Combining modernity with tradition

The tower combines the needs of contemporary living and traditional standards at the same time.

The building offers public and social spaces, with many amenities attached to the building that aim to reintroduce the concept of urban living at the building level without compromising the privacy of its occupants.

According to Abul-Hassan, sustainability is at the heart of all the company’s projects, noting the importance of using passive design techniques to increase thermal insulation, reduce light consumption and improve building ventilation.

The building’s service center is located on the south side to reduce exposure to sunlight, which reduces energy consumption, and acts as a thermal barrier to the rest of the building.

For this reason, minimal openings are placed on the facade, while the building faces the sea from the north.