Baraka Seaside Residence / PAD10 Architects + Designers

© João Morgado Architectural Photography

Completed in 2019 by PAD10 Architects, Kuwait’s Baraka seaside residence was inspired by a barn archetype per the client request. The design of the house celebrates its vernacular reference while maintaining a contemporary expression.

Baraka Seaside Residence Technical Information

• Architects^1&2: PAD10 Architects + Designers
• Location: Bnaider, Kuwait
• Topics: Concrete, Houses, Beach House
• Area: 41,700 SF
• Project Year: 2019
• Photographs: © João Morgado Architectural Photography

We celebrated the barn by elevating it from its site, while treating all other structures as non-architectural.

– PAD10 Architects

Baraka Seaside Residence Photographs

© João Morgado Architectural Photography

© João Morgado Architectural Photography

© João Morgado Architectural Photography

© João Morgado Architectural Photography

© João Morgado Architectural Photography

© João Morgado Architectural Photography

© João Morgado Architectural Photography

© João Morgado Architectural Photography

Text by the Architects

Approached by the Client with an archetype (a barn), we celebrated it rather than suppressing it by elevating it from its site while treating all other structures as non-architectural, submerging one within the landscape be one with it, and merging the other with the perimeter concrete fence.

Elevating the barn (family house) maximizes its views without blocking the same to rear structures on the relatively deep site. The elevated barn, spanning in between the service core on one side and the elevated landscape, provides a see-through and an underpass connecting two landscapes; the central garden and the sand beach/poolside.

A barn door slides along the ground floor to reclaim privacy from the opposite diwaniya by zapping in between the living and in/out rooms. The kitchen is centered between the dining room, which opens to sea views, and the BBQ outdoor deck in the central garden.

The support areas (kitchen, guest bathroom, and cellar) are topped by service quarters (maids quarters, laundry room) on the mezzanine floor, tucked below the first floor’s family areas (sitting rooms, playrooms, master suite, and kids’ ensuite bedrooms). Access to upstairs is through a side service stair and a central one concealed within a central library, separating the living from In/out TV room.

The ‘guesthouse,’ wedges between two landscapes, is connected to it at multiple levels: The living quarters (living, dining, open kitchen, and library have their façade) on the ground floor, the sleeping quarters (master suite, three ensuite guest bedrooms, a sitting area, and pantry) – via a courtyard alongside the guest bedrooms façade – on the first floor, and the clay studio via a roof garden.

The ‘diwaniya’ is a gathering area, usually for the father, to host and entertain his friends.

The geometric overlap between the 2 structures (guesthouse and barn) is a direct interpretation of a frequently required programmatic one, connecting the mum’s hosting area in the guest house to the kids’ playroom in the barn. This is achieved via a shortcut ‘secret corridor’ embedded within the wood cladded library snaking both structures. 

The ‘diwaniya’ is a gathering area, usually for the father, to host and entertain his friends. The ground floor has a main hall, open on 3 sides of the landscape, and served with a separate entrance. The side along the service alleyway has the live-in couple living quarters, the kitchen, the guest bathroom, and the gym. The first floor has the sleeping quarters, a master suite, and 4 guest ensuite bedrooms.

The parking basement, a 20m clear span, and 4m high fit for cars and boats. Accessed by a ramp that also leads to a slipway, the basement is also directly accessed from inside by the guesthouse, diwaniya, and central garden. Additional to the parking, the basement has technical areas, staff living quarters, and a home theater.

Baraka Seaside Residence Plans

Floor Plan | PAD10 Architects + Designers

Section | PAD10 Architects + Designers

Baraka Seaside Residence Image Gallery

About PAD10 Architects

PAD10 Architects is a multi-disciplinary architecture and design firm established in Beirut and Kuwait. Their international cross-disciplinary practice believes that spatial and visual communications operate in unison rather than in mutually exclusive spheres.

Other works from PAD10 Architects  

1. Team: Naji Moujaes (Principal Architect), Peter Cleven, Mohammad Nizamuddin, Raymund Yadao, Yousef Nizami
2. Sub Consultants: Nadim Soueidy (MEP Engineer), Vladimir Bauer, MBCo, Ahmad El Safory (Structural Engineers), Back Combined Company (General Contractor)

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