Kuwait National Assembly Building, Legislative building in Kuwait City, Kuwait

The Kuwait National Assembly Building is a legislative structure in Kuwait City composed of concrete sections and semi-cylindrical columns that form a central hall. The spaces inside draw inspiration from traditional bazaar layouts and include conference areas and other administrative sections.

Kuwait invited Jørn Utzon to compete for the assembly building in late 1969, but he designed it in 1972; construction began in July 1978 and ended in 1982 under his son Jan. Retreating Iraqi troops set it on fire in February 1991, destroying about 45,000 library books. Restoration ran from July 1991 to October 1992, costing 19.394 million dinars, and the building reopened for the October 1992 elections.

The building brings together government work and Islamic design by placing a prayer hall alongside the legislative chamber. This spatial arrangement shows how state and religious functions sit side by side here.

The legislative chamber can adjust its capacity between 50 and 150 seats depending on needs. Lighting throughout is indirect, and a large protective roof shields the main entrance from intense sun.

Utzon decided late in planning that the structural elements should be round rather than rectilinear, and demonstrated the change by lining up beer bottles; the tapered columns became colonnades. The 130 m long, 10 m wide central walkway works as a tree trunk, with corridors and stairs as branches. The library lost about 45,000 books to theft and fire during the 1990 Iraqi invasion.