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Masked in the Protective Act: Women, Public Housing & the Construction of ''Modern/National'' Identities in Kuwait

Al-Ansari, Mae
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1479817691274608

Abstract Details

2016, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture.
The dilapidated condition of women’s public housing in Sabah Al-Salem, Kuwait, led many in 2006 to call for the government’s repossession and demolition of the property. While minimal action has been taken since then, the concurrent discussions nevertheless shed light on the plight of Kuwaiti female-headed households in public housing and the role of the built environment in exacerbating the adverse social conditions of these women. This dissertation critically explores the architectural construction of “modern/national” identities in Kuwaiti women’s public housing by considering the Sabah Al-Salem Housing Project (SSHP) for widows and divorcees and uncovering the contexts, complexities, and contradictions of the project's design. The research employs architectural narratives developed by using SSHP’s historical, socio-cultural, formal, urban, and stylistic contexts to critically examine how gender, power, and nationalism construct a marginal “Other.” Here, issues of marginality, signification, spatiality, materiality, and legitimation are addressed. To that end, the inquiry explores the cultural trends that influenced the design of the project in late-1970s Kuwait, the location of SSHP away from the city center, and the design decisions made by the architects and clients. The examination of these forces aims to reveal the relationships between single mothers (widows and divorcees), state authorities, and society at large. In attempting to explore architecture as a text that engages and provides a reflection of contemporary Middle Eastern societies like Kuwait, especially during this time of political and social upheaval, the dissertation describes the conditions of those members of the community whom larger society wishes to hide away, or to make less visible, and the complicity of state authorities to establish architectural spaces under the pretexts of social housing that marginalize women and maintain the status quo. Although the National Housing Authority (NHA) intended to house these Kuwaiti women, the manner in which they were accommodated has contributed to their marginalization. SSHP’s spatial and stylistic qualities appear to reflect these conditions, and as such, both the architectural body of SSHP and its residents’ female bodies appear to be encapsulated in frustrations that are reflected in the architecture’s dilapidation and degeneration. The significance of this study lies in its critical investigation of architecture as a product, site, and instrument of identity construction, nation building, and social transformation. This topic is both understudied and much-needed; it has the potential to shed light on and impact future architecture projects, narratives on the socially invisible and unspoken, and public housing policy through the critical examination of architecture.
Aarati Kanekar, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Edson Cabalfin, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Patrick Snadon, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
577 p.
Architecture
Architecture; Gender; Public Housing; National Identity; Sabah Al-Salem Housing Project; Kuwait

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Al-Ansari, M. (2016). Masked in the Protective Act: Women, Public Housing & the Construction of ''Modern/National'' Identities in Kuwait [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1479817691274608

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Al-Ansari, Mae. Masked in the Protective Act: Women, Public Housing & the Construction of ''Modern/National'' Identities in Kuwait. 2016. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1479817691274608.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Al-Ansari, Mae. "Masked in the Protective Act: Women, Public Housing & the Construction of ''Modern/National'' Identities in Kuwait." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1479817691274608

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1479817691274608
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.