Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority Headquarters

Client: Ministry of Public Works, Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority

The newly designed national investment headquarters stands as a landmark on Kuwait’s skyline, embodying the client’s vision for innovation and international financial engagement. Designed as both a public and private administrative center, the tower organizes its program through a gradient of spaces—from civic areas at the base to executive levels above—linked by a Sky Garden offering light and calm within the vertical form. Flexible workspaces, calibrated daylight, and sustainable landscaping define the user experience, while the sculpted façade responds to the local climate. Rising 51 storeys on a 3,960 m² site, the project represents the client’s ongoing investment to transform business operations and promote future growth.

A sense of arrival takes place at the base of the tower, creating a unique entrance for visitors and office occupants alike. The design takes into consideration the distinction between public and private spaces, incorporating the nuances of interconnectivity necessary in contemporary work environments. By balancing the needs of each department, flexible office space is designed to create a lively and active workplace. The unique floor-plate design allows daylight to enter into the workspaces in a controlled and calibrated way, ensuring comfort and efficiency throughout the building. The hierarchy of spaces results in a gradient of privacy—public functions located on the lower floors, moving upwards towards the executive floors at the top of the tower. At the midpoint, the Sky Garden provides a break in this gradient, acting as a transition space while offering a sense of serenity and escape from the city. Positioned above the podium, this elevated garden embodies the project’s idea of a city within a tower, bringing together light, greenery, and social exchange in one space. The building’s softscape contributes to the visual impact of the tower, strategically incorporating green spaces and plant beds throughout the site. Utilization of local species and water conservation are key focuses, integrating arid-adaptable plants, efficient irrigation, and erosion control measures. This holistic and sustainable approach creates a user-friendly and environmentally conscious space for the community. The building’s façade design strategically responds to Kuwait’s climate and site orientation, using a transparent, triple-paned glass curtain wall on the north to maximize natural light and waterfront views, while incorporating more opaque, solar-shielding elements on the south. The east façade offers panoramic city views, while the west features a vertical screen-wall that reduces glare and shades rooftop spaces. Across all sides, the façade integrates sustainable solutions such as BIPV panels and natural ventilation strategies to ensure comfort and energy efficiency. The project reflects the principles that guided its conception: seamless integration, solve planning constraints, maximize the site’s value, and design an intelligent response to the environment. Through its sculpted façade, calibrated daylight, and layered spatial hierarchy, the tower commands a powerful presence as an anchor to Kuwait. With timeless elegance and performance-driven design, the new headquarters will become a landmark of civic pride and forward-thinking ambition.