Amiri Diwan minister patronizes green roofs conference


KUWAIT: Haifa Al-Muhanna, Al-Shaheed Park's superintendent at the Amiri Diwan, speaks during the congress. - KUNA

KUWAIT: Al-Shaheed Park in Kuwait City is an ideal environmental model for the international Green standards, an Amiri Diwan official affirmed yesterday. The Park's green buildings and urban facilities have succeeded in attracting visitors from various countries around the world, and challenging the volatile weather nature in Kuwait, said Haifa Al-Muhanna, the Park's superintendent at Amiri Diwan.

Muhanna made her remarks on the sidelines of the fifth edition of the International Green Roof Congress, which kicked off in Kuwait earlier under the auspices of Amiri Diwan. The two-day event is hosted by the International Green Roof Association (IGRA) and brings together Green Roof experts from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the US to discuss major challenges facing the spread of the Green Roof concept around the world, including planning, application, and performance of Green Roofs in dry climates, she said.

Up-to-date

IGRA has contributed significantly in building and equipping Al-Shaheed Park with up-to-date technology that goes in line with international standards of modern construction, she noted, adding the non-profit organization's choice of Al-Shaheed Park as the venue for its fifth congress makes the Kuwaiti park an ideal model for green building systems.

The first IGRA event in the Gulf region will provide a unique opportunity to join the worldwide Green Roof network and connect with international and regional experts in this rapidly developing market, noted Muhanna.

With currently 2,000 visitors on daily basis, Al-Shaheed Park is the most significant Green Infrastructure project in Kuwait and one of the largest Green Roof projects in the world, said the Amiri Diwan official. During the first construction phase (2013-2015), all buildings were almost fitted with roof greening, a total of 35,000 square-meter of Green Roofs, she said, adding that in 2017, the second expansion (Phase II) was opened for the public, thus, doubling the total Green Roof area of the park.

Khaled Al-Fouzan, General Manager of the Associated Engineering Partnership (TAEP) and member of IGRA, stated meanwhile that Al-Shaheed Park currently consists of 310,000 square-meter of greenery, featuring a modern conference center, beautiful botanical gardens, museums, a miniature of old Kuwait, walkways, jogging tracks, lakes, river landscapes, and a musical fountain.

Al-Shaheed is the largest urban park in Kuwait that represents at a prime example of how to meet the challenges of hot and dry climate by using appropriate Green Roof systems, said Al-Fouzan. He also indicated that the fifth edition event will provide an inspiring mixture of progressive thinkers, new technical developments, and innovative Green Roof applications in architecture, landscape architecture, and climate protection.

40 countries

The congress kicked off yesterday under the patronage of Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah. The conference, held with the participation of engineers and architects from over 40 countries, aims to shed light on the importance of green roofs, sky gardens and rooftop gardens in reducing desertification and global warming. During the event, Muhanna provided thorough information on the park, a project developed by the Amiri Diwan to gather different museums and Kuwait's historical events in one place. Meanwhile, the park won IGRA's annual award, received by the Amiri Diwan's assistant undersecretary for engineering affairs Niaz Khaja. - KUNA