The Baraka Seaside Residence is an imposing family home on the coast of Bnaider, Kuwait. Designed by principal architect Naji Moujaes and his team at Pad 10, the home responds to a brief to ‘celebrate rather than suppress' an existing barn on the plot.
Pad 10 chose to raise the barn physically, elevating it to make the most of the impressive coastal views. In addition, a distinct guest house was newly built, to accommodate the family's needs for flexible living and entertaining spaces. For example, the mother's hosting area in the guest house is connected to the kids’ playroom in the family barn, via a shortcut ‘secret corridor’ embedded within the wood cladded library snaking both structures. Elsewhere in the guest house, the diwaniya (a formal hosting area) maintains its privacy by the use of a sliding barn door that stretches across the ground floor.
The sense of interconnection between the volumes continues thanks to great swathes of glass – you can see right through the dining room, and out to the impressive views beyond, from the central courtyard.
A movie theatre, staff quarters, gym and four metre tall basement (fit for both cars and boats) complete this vast residence, which manages to maintain its homeliness despite its size, thanks to a warm material palette and sensitive landscaping.
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