Kuwait's first museum was the residence of Sheikh Ahmed Al Jaber
Al Sabah. The archaeological discoveries at Failaka created a
need for a place to house these important finds. A department
of Antiquity and Museums was also set up. The department bought
the former home of the Al Badr family in Kuwait City and turned
it into the first national museum while waiting to build a museum
fit to house the discoveries made in Kuwait.
Located in Kuwait City on the Arabian Gulf Street between the
Seif Palace and the National Assembly (Parliament), the Kuwait
National Museum was planned by Michel Ecochard. Though the architectural
project and the plans of the museum were ready in 1960, actual
construction started only in 1981. It was on February 23, 1983
that two of the four buildings were inaugurated; the planetarium
was opened on February 16, 1986.
The museum was once a treasure trove for the Dar Al-Athar al-Islamiyah,
the Al-Sabah collection of Islamic art, one of the most comprehensive
in the world. Other buildings housed pearl diving relics, ethnographical
artifacts and archaeological material from excavations on Failaka
Island.
One of the four blocks of the museum houses all administrative
wings, offices and an auditorium. The permanent exhibits are displayed
in the other three blocks on two levels. Access to these levels
is via a layout of ramps, a composition of double height space
which connects the exhibition floors to create possibilities of
extensive and multiple views over the large, exposed objects.
The roofs of these buildings are formed by profiled concrete sections.
An aluminium space frame covers the inner garden and part of the
buildings to create a micro-climate.
The Iraqi invasion destroyed the museum almost completely. However,
Kuwaiti resilience to the loot and plunder has emerged the winner:
the museum is in the process of being restored and some exhibits
are again open to the public, including parts of the Dar Al-Athar
al-Islamiyah collection.
For more information, visit www.kmia.org.kw
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