Investigating how architecture, urban form, and cultural practices interact to shape spatial experience

Architectural research, spatial analysis, and field documentation focused on Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf.

Connecting academic scholarship with real spatial conditions — producing research publications, analytical studies, and applied design strategies with real-world relevance.

Research areas

Learn more

Kuwait vernacular architecture

Documentation and analysis of traditional Kuwaiti architecture including courtyard houses, sikkas, diwaniyas, and everyday spatial practices.

Urban heritage & memory

Research on historic urban fabrics, traditional markets like Souq Al-Mubarakiya, and the preservation and transformation of cultural landscapes.

Mosque design

Examining spatial experience, perception, and social behavior in mosque environments using observational methods and spatial analysis.

Spatial behavior studies

Investigating how people perceive, move through, and inhabit architectural settings using Space Syntax and behavioral observation.

Selected publications

View all

Al Shaheed Park site plan showing three development phases

Urban studies

Politics and visual rhetoric in the urban regeneration of Al Shaheed Park

How political narrative and visual symbolism shaped one of Kuwait City’s most celebrated public spaces across three development phases.

Alharoun, Alshaheen & Almubaraki Journal of Engineering Research 2026

Circular mosque prototype - plan and elevation drawing

Mosque architecture

Kuwait’s circular prototype mosque: history and evaluation

A comprehensive evaluation of the state-designed circular mosque prototype — tracing its origins, spatial logic, and how worshippers experience it across Kuwait’s neighborhoods.

Alajmi, Al-Haroun, Alshaheen & Al-Nafisi Open House International 2024

Funded research

Funded VA01/25

Spatial configuration and human behavior in Mubarakiya Souk

Investigating movement patterns and spatial integration in Kuwait City’s historic market using Space Syntax and behavioral observation.

In progress

Funded VA02/23

Kuwait’s Prototype Mosque Designs

A historical and evaluative study of state-designed prototype mosques from the 1950s to the present day.

Completed

Collaborate with KARL

We welcome researchers, students, institutions, and public organizations interested in architecture, heritage, and urban studies in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf.

Get in touch

KARL Footer v2