KUWAIT: One of Kuwait’s oldest surviving buildings, Bayt Lothan is now slated for demolition with plans to be replaced, possibly, by a food mall. The historic Salmiya structure was the home of the late Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al- Sabah, the twelfth ruler of Kuwait.

Construction began in 1926 but the house was built over three stages. The house was built in the style and tradition of the pre-oil era, representing an important period of Kuwait’s architectural history. It has an internal courtyard, high ceilings and a traditional Kuwaiti house layout.

More importantly, it has served for years as a local cultural and community center, offering a range of arts, music and photography classes, providing a space for community events and in recent years serving as a home for the popular used bookshop, Q8 Books. The nonprofit Bayt Lothan’s primary objective was to nurture arts and crafts in Kuwait and provide the people of Kuwait a place to exhibit their designs and artistic work.

Dozens of local artists, architects, designers and photographers have visited in recent days as a way to document the structure before it is demolished.

Dr Jawaher Al-Bader, Kuwait University Department of Communication Design and Interior Architecture Professor, opposes the plan to demolish Bayt Lothan. She brought a class of students to draw Bayt Lothan this way in order to document the building.

“We have here future designers and architects; we brought them here to feel the place for the last time, document the place...What we are doing now is very important, there is no existing records of the physical design of the place and no blueprint, so now we are measuring it. I understand the owners want to generate money rather than preserve history. But we are depriving the next generations from witnessing the structures of Kuwait’s past,” she said. Plans for Bayt Lothan’s demolition have sparked outrage and opposition among Kuwait’s society.

Dr Lamis Behbehani agrees with the sentiment: “It’s an unfortunate decision to make. We don’t have many historical places.... Only this place is available, most of the old buildings are abandoned and derelict, but this one was preserved because it was used by Bayt Lothan, and because of that, we were able to experience how Kuwait in the past lived,” she said. “Why would they [demolish Bayt Lothan] without considering the historical value of the place?” she asked. A petition has been started on Change.org with nearly 3,500 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. On the petition page, the organizers call on the owners to “consider the historical, cultural, and economic value of Bayt Lothan....” Hundreds of signers left comments in support of stopping the demolition. “Bayt Lothan is a part of Kuwait’s heritage and it’s sad to see it demolished for the sake of building yet another mall in a country filled with malls,” wrote Yousef Al Abdulhadi.

Speaking with the Kuwait Times at Bayt Lothan in Salmiya, Walid Thakur, Administration and Finance Manager confirmed that the planned demolition will take place by the end of March. “This property is not our own. This is a private property; the owner had already given us six months notice to vacate the place, we are complying with the order and the Bayt Lothan team is winding down operations; we will obediently follow and leave this place as agreed,” he said.

“The place is used not just by Kuwaitis but by communities of people wanting to exhibit their arts and designs. The place is also used as venue for cultural presentations and charity events,” Thakur mentioned. “Since we started in 1993, this period is the saddest part because I have been here since the beginning of Bayt Lothan operations; being here and being involved in many activities of this center, very saddened to leave the place you once called home. It has been our home and a place for honing young people talents in arts,” he said.

By Ben Garcia