SOM: Ali Al Sabah Military Academy   
                          Kuwait City

SOM have designed the ali al sabah military academy in kuwait city. the 2.2 million square

foot campus is a largely self-sufficient facility that serves as the primary educational institution for cadets preparing to become kuwaiti military officers. the program includes three cadet dormitories, two staff dormitories, and an officer’s residence, as well as training and academic buildings. a parade ground, athletic stadium, and helipad are among the primary exterior program spaces.

the site for the kuwait military academy is a 1.5 square mile section of the kuwaiti desert to the northwest of kuwait city. located along abdaly road, the arterial connection to the iraqi border, at the base of a major topographic ridge, the site is comprised primarily of sand, with little vegetation.

the master plan employs strategies drawn from the traditional urban vernacular of the region

- such as physical density, solar shading, wind protection, and integrated landscape components - to address the extreme desert climate conditions of the site. the resulting campus structure and surrounding landscape suggest a pattern for sustainable urban growth.

sun protection

since kuwait city is the hottest city on earth, with shaded

temperatures regularly exceeding 120 degrees fahrenheit, solar control

is a critical issue. perforated canopies project from and span between

building structures, providing shade for all building facades and

creating a continuous shaded environment at ground level.

the plan is organized into five programmatic bands – administration,

assembly, cadet life, athletics, and services – whose functional

adjacency produces a series of discrete outdoor spaces and courtyards.

the bands roughly follow the natural contours of the site,suggesting

hierarchies of use and minimizing excavation.

wind protection

an apron of vegetation shelterbelts works with the canopy structure to

control windbornen sand infiltration and drifting, and to allow the

campus to function during the region’s frequent sandstorms.

skidmore, owings & merrill llp (SOM) is one of the leading architecture, urban planning,

interior design, and engineering firms in the world, with a 75-year reputation.

since its inception, SOM has been a leader in the research and development of specialized

technologies, new processes and innovative ideas, many of which have had a palpable and

lasting impact on the design profession and the physical environment.The firm’s longstanding leadership in design and building technology has been honored with more than 1,400 awards for quality, innovation, and management.The american institute of architects has twice recognized som with its highest honor,the architecture firm award—in 1962 and again in 1996. The firm maintains offices in new york, chicago, san francisco,  washington, d.c., london, hong kong, shanghai, dubai, and brussels.