After the discovery of oil the Kuwaiti State established a means of wealth distribution for
its citizens through housing programmes aimed at improving standards of living. It allocated
residential neighbourhoods for Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis through the introduction of two main
architectural typologies: the apartment and the villa. However in response to certain economic
sociocultural and regulatory constraints an unplanned hybrid typology has recently emerged.
The multiplex specific to Kuwait and yet not officially recognised by the state has become
the informal expression of specific living needs that is now ubiquitous across Kuwait. Here
for the first time the authors of The Multiplex Typology explore everyday life in these hybrid
homes arguing that the one-size-fits-all housing model of the past is both outdated and
unsustainable. But this book is not merely a documentation of the current state of living in
Kuwait nor a straightforward analysis of Kuwaiti domestic architecture today. It is also an
urgent and timely call for alternative approaches to housing that are sustainably driven
culturally rooted and responsive to future change.
