Kaynuna | 2025
Commissioner: National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters [NCCAL]
Location: Italy - Arsenale di Venezia, Fondamenta Case Nuove 2738/C, Venezia
Design Team: Mohammad Kassem in collaboration with Rabab Raes Kazem, Noor Abdulkhaleq, Naser Ashour
Scope: Exhibition Design, Curation, Installation Supervision
Our role for the Kuwait Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia was serving as the lead designer for the pavilion and catalog. The goal was to create a pavilion for a research project focusing on the national museum as a publicly operated and funded institution, with the primary objective of communicating national identity to local and international audiences through its collections, often of national significance. Building on a survey of the components and criteria commonly used to classify and categorize museum types, the exploration includes a database of known and listed national museums, with establishment year, location, and type used as organizational criteria. Through the database, the project formed primary typologies of museums and sub-categories that fall under them, creating a simultaneous taxonomy of typologies and an expansive categorization process. The duality of a taxonomy as a structured, hierarchical system that maps logical relationships and ontological roots, and the grouping and classifications that emerge from categorization, which benefit from flat, flexible frameworks, allows for a simultaneous top-down-to-bottom-up approach towards a new organizational system for the Kuwait National Pavilion.
Summarized curatorial statement:
Kaynuna is a methodology that explores the essence of objects and their relationships with space, time, and matter, reflecting the socio-political and economic contexts in which they exist. It seeks to uncover the core of creation by examining design processes shaped by governance, motivations for demolition and reconstruction, and the balance between aesthetics, governance, and sustainability.
The project redefines identity by grounding objects in their historical significance and function, aiming for sustained existence. It critiques the global discord between decision-makers and policy implementers, highlighting how systemic transitions shape cultural movements and standards. Time is portrayed as dynamic, evolving through artifacts that reflect shifts in authority and development.
Focusing on Kuwait's architectural heritage, Kaynuna addresses the loss of vernacular authenticity due to modernization and unsustainable construction practices. Preservation efforts often fail to maintain integrity, resulting in compromised adaptations. To counter this, Kaynuna proposes a framework rooted in thoughtful observation, adapting existing resources to ensure sustainability without reliance on demolition or excessive resource consumption.
The project emphasizes the need to differentiate cultural values, which are adaptable, from ideas tied to visual representation. Kaynuna introduces a hybrid approach that transcends conventions, fostering sustainable development tailored to local contexts and addressing global challenges by integrating culture with theory and practice.