6 - Kuwait Oil Company

A Journey
The idea behind the building is to enable visitors to go on a journey through the
world of oil and gas, starting with the main building and through the different halls
until they reach the external garden. This will familiarize visitors with the world
of oil and gas in an hour or two, according to the tour program they choose.
The journey will cover important information related to the oil industry, the
geophysical theories regarding oil and gas, and the date of the discovery of oil
and gas in the State of Kuwait. In the basement, visitors can take the lift, which can
accommodate 26 people, to the 16-meter watch tower. On the way up, visitors
can view a panorama of oil installations throughout Ahmadi and the export ports
and refineries. On their way down, visitors can learn about the refining and export
centers and gain useful information about oil products, where they go and what
they are used for in order to get a comprehensive idea about this vital industry.
Project Description
The design of the building is based on the shell of the ammonite, an extinct
marine animal that lived some 120 million years ago. The ammonite
and other marine animals from its era are thought by scientists to have
contributed to the formation of today’s oil reserves. The ammonite serves
as both the symbolic and aesthetic inspiration of the building, with rooms
distributed on the periphery of the building and surrounding central
interior spaces, where the crust of ammonite forms a horizontal cap.
The project consists of a basement, a ground floor and first floor. The ground floor,
with a projected space of 5,126 meters, will be comprised of the following:
• Main entrance, security and ticketing
• Management offices
• A display area of 420 square meters which will be used for exhibitions
• Multi-purpose conference room
• A conference hall that can accommodate up to 200 people,
equipped with the latest audio-visual media, and a room for
holding meetings and seminars for up to 30 people
• A 200-seat theater equipped with a display screen
• A library designated for oil research to serve oil
sector employees and university students
• Prayer rooms for males and females.
• A media center that can be used to hold press conferences and media activities
• A special hall for VIP meetings and banquets with a private entrance
• A café and gift shop which can market oil and gas industry materials,
like science centers in the world and in the State of Kuwait, with
children's playgrounds in the form of oil installations.
In addition to the ground floor, the first floor and basement will be comprised
of various offices, meeting rooms, exhibition halls, archives, and displays
that provide visitors with information regarding the history of oil.
The cost of the project is estimated at KD 18 million and will
be built on an area of 60,000 square meters.
Inspiration for the building’s design was drawn from the ammonite shell.
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