The second edition of the Bilarab bin Haitham Award for Architectural Design has been launched to pick the best design for the Maritime History Museum (MHM) in Sur, which will be set up by Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.
As per the recently-released guide, the museum will be a cultural and educational national institute that will house, preserve and showcase the sea-faring Omani heritage.
Designers are expected to propose plans that reflect their understanding and ability to design and present a museum building that considers the latest developments and best practices in maritime museums from around the world in terms of architecture and the methods of exhibiting museum content. “The purpose of this architecture design competition is to select the optimal design for the establishment of the “Oman Maritime History Museum’ with aims to educate and inform the Omani youth and visitors in general about the rich heritage of the maritime history of Oman."
The last date for receiving applications is December 1 and 30 projects will be shortlisted on December 20.
The second shortlist of 10 best projects will be on January 3, 2023.
They will present their projects to the jury on January 16, 17, and 18.
The first three winners will be announced at the closing ceremony in February.
The museum will be located on Sur Beach in a site area of 14,154 m2. The built-up area will be not more than 8,500 m2 inclusive of circulation. The building-to-land ratio will be not less than 50 per cent, and the museum will be not less than two floors.
The age of the participant should not be more than 35 years, including job-seekers and students who are passionate about the topic of the competition.
The Omani youth who meet the conditions of participation can participate individually, or a group of young people can participate as a (team) with no more than three members so that the participants can collectively submit their proposal bearing the names of the team members while adhering to the same conditions stipulated in the competition.
Each team must include at least one architect or architectural engineer.
The site has many challenges including possible traffic build-up on the corniche and the risks of flooding.
Participants are advised to take into consideration these issues when developing their design and clearly show how they propose protection measures to mitigate these climatic risks to the MHM.
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