Before the Tower, there was Al Hamra Cinema

I was browsing through my files from my previous office when I chanced upon these photos of the Al Hamra Cinema as it was before. Our office (LAS) used to do a lot of Master Planning studies and proposals for the development of Kuwait City and this area, Al Maqwa Al Shargi, where the cinema used to stand, was part of one of our studies. I don't know much about the history of this cinema, or even Kuwait in general, but I know this cinema was and will always be a part of each and every Kuwaiti families lives.





We took these photos during our survey of the area in 2003. The other photos in the set were taken in the latter part of 2004, I guess for sentimental reasons,  when the building was demolished to give way to the construction of the Al Hamra Tower.

These files had been stored in our hard disks since then, almost forgotten and in danger of being corrupted, deleted and worst, being lost forever.

More photos can be found on my Flickr account.

A little disclaimer though, I don't claim ownership of these photos. They are just uploaded for the sole purpose of sharing a rare glimpse of Kuwait history for the younger generations, citizens and for expats who arrived in Kuwait in the later part of the decade. All credits are due to LAS Architectural Consultancy Office.

Amazing Buildings

Modern architecture has brought many amazing buildings to the world.
Quirky shapes, ambitious designs, new materials, and new different styles have come with the modern architecture into construction today. The purpose of the building is not always seen in its design. Futuristic museums and opera houses have become a usual thing. Today we list 10 most amazing buildings in the world.

Cubic Houses, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Piet Blom had an idea of cubic houses in 1970s. Some of them were built in Helmond and when Rotterdam city asked him to build housing on top of a pedestrian bridge he chose this concept.

Dancing Building, Prague, Czech Republic

The ‘Dancing Building’ is a nickname given to Nationale-Nederlanden building that is located in Prague’s downtown. Designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in collaboration with Canadian Frank Gehry the building was completed in 1996. The building was built instead of the one that was destroyed during Bombing of Prague in 1945.

The Ufo House, Sanjhih, Taiwan

The Ufo House in Sanjhih, Taiwan is actually an deserted resort project. It earned this nickname from Taiwanese for its strange futuristic design.

Kansas City Public Library, Missouri, United-States

As an incentive to visit library the design in the downtown of Kansas city was made in shape of books that according to people of Kansas city represent Kansas.

Forest Spiral Hundertwasser Building, Darmstadt, Germany

Forest Spiral Hundertwasser was built in 2000. Designed by Austrian architect and painter, Friedensreich Hundertwasser the building has 105 apartments and features colorful and organic design.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

Built by Nervion River Guggenheim Museum of modern and contemporary art was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. The building’s silhouette resembles the ship while the design was random, which helped it, according, to architect catch the light.

Bahá’í House of Worship a.k.a Lotus Temple, Delhi, India

Bahá’í House of Worship mostly known as Lotus Temple was constructed in 1986 and is a Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. It is open for people of all religions.

Ripley’s Building, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Known for the collection of odd and unbelievable things and artifacts Ripley’s Believe It or Not! franchise just had to have this kind of building.

The Crooked House, Sopot, Poland

Started and finished in 2003 The Crooked House was design was based on Polish artist and child books illustrator, Jan Marcin Szancer’s and Per Dahlberg’s, Swedish painter pictures and paintings.

The Ultimate Mansion

Original Article
Courtesy of Shine by Yahoo!

Do you have an extra 50 Million bucks to spare? Then you might be interested in buying yourself a nice house in The Hamptons, NY...No, wait..that maybe is an understatement.

I should've said "Mega-Mansion" because this place has it all!

Forget about large halls, patios, formal dining rooms and elegant kitchens--those are already standards.

Let's talk about an entire pavilion dedicated to leisure and entertainment? It has its own movie theater, a two-lane bowling alley, a game room, virtual golf course, an indoor skateboard half-pipe room, a rock-climbing wall and listen to this, a full bar and DISCO?!

If more active sports is your thing, then there's a spacious court that also turns into a racket and squash court.

And of course, what's a mansion without a spa, jacuzzi, gym and a pool. Not to mention the fact that the property sits on 12 acres of glorious garden.

So take a look at the tour before you write down that check.....

In your dreams..