Spanish company Acciona Producciones y Diseño has been selected by the Omani government to execute the design of the €18m (US$25m, £14.8m) National Museum of Oman.
The Jasper Jacob-designed 4,000sq m (43,057sq ft) museum is set to open by the end of the year, and will be the first in the Middle East adapted to the needs of blind people, according to Acciona.
The permanent exhibition will include 7,000 objects in 12 permanent galleries, showcasing the history and traditions of the Omani people. Interactive and audiovisual elements will be featured, including those specifically aimed at blind people.
An Oman in History audiovisual presentation, shot by Acciona, will be projected on a screen of 8.3 megapixels in a cinema at the museum, and will be presented in ultra-high definition – four times the usual HD quality.
The museum will also have a gallery for temporary exhibitions, a visitable warehouse, a storage room and a classroom.
Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Oman minister of heritage and culture and chairman of the board of the museum, said it was set up to be a “national institution with global outreach, providing leadership and guidance to the museums industry in Oman.”
He added that the museum was intended to maintain a direct link between Omanis and their heritage – displaying its importance to a domestic and international audience while keeping heritage relevant to the modern age.
Acciona has been involved in a number of projects in the Middle East in recent years, including work for the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and the Qatar Orientalist Museum.
