reating a feeling where instability and insecurity would reign. The paths are not ordered and quite confusing, and the landscape is rough. Only trees and shrubs are survivors in this tough arid environment without water.
The New Age: Safe Haven
Entering the “New Age” is a calming experience; the landscape is organized, prosperous, and orderly. You feel safe. The pathways are straight and clear cut and there are different plants with adequate water, coming from a reverse osmosis treatment system.
The garden shows great symbolism to the Constitution. It forms an oasis made up of 183 olive and palm trees that each represent the individual articles of the Constitution. There are also a great variety of shrubs, in different sizes and colors, representing the different ethnic groups that together make up the people of Kuwait.
There is a fountain, centrally placed, to represent the precious treasure of being protected and the water’s surface reflects the clear sky of Kuwait. It is a garden full of symbols and meanings.
Designing with Vegetation and Water to Deal with an Arid Climate
As mentioned in the beginning, a huge challenge for SdARCH Trivelli&Associati was how to choose the right type of vegetation that would work in this arid climate. Usually SdARCH Trivelli&Associati chooses local plants according to their hardiness zone, but in this case it wouldn’t be enough because of the solar radiation and temperatures being so high.
SdARCH Trivelli&Associati chose vegetation for the Constitution Garden that is suited for the hot climate. Symbolic trees were chosen; palm trees and olive trees because they are resistant to the climate and because of their evocative power, great resistance and adaptability to context.
The garden contains a variety of shrubs, grasses and flowering succulents. Euphorbias, Bougainvillea, Plumeria, Lantana and Carisse are planted in mixed patterns with grasses, ground cover and palmettos.
To improve the comfortable feeling of the garden, seawater filtered with a reverse osmosis system was used. It is a high-technology water treatment which produces clear water for a series of jets of vaporized water spread among the shrubs and also feeding the large fountain.
History is Written
SdARCH Trivelli&Associati has managed to design the Constitution Garden of Kuwait by combining the symbolism of democracy with the hot arid climate of the Middle East in a clever way. The Constitution Garden is a story of how one can design with the arid climate rather than against it with the use of vegetation and water and at the same time make a public garden full of meaning.
The people of Kuwait now have an oasis-like garden where one can enjoy the shade of the trees and cool down with the water sprinkler system while finding the roots of their citizenship. The Constitution Garden of Kuwait will always be there as a clear symbol and celebration of Kuwait’s path to democracy for generations to come. It is a place full of history, but first of all, it is designed for its people.
How would you tell a story of the path towards democracy through landscape design?
Full Project Credits For Constitution Garden :
Project Name: Constitution Garden
Location: Kuwait City
Architects: SdARCH Trivelli&Associati: Architect Alessandro Trivelli, Architect Silvia Calatroni; with: Alhadeff Architects: Architect Giancarlo Alhadeff
Team: Architect Antonella Rinaldi, Engineer Arda Beyleryan, Engineer Ettore Valentini
Client: Public Administration; Al Amiri Al Diwan, Kuwait Government
Budget: $ 6,000,000 USD
Date of Construction: 2012, by Cotham International Group LTD
Fountains: WaterCube s.r.l. (Marano Vicentino -VI)
Vegetation: Azienda fornitrice : Janayen Nursery Company – Kuwait
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