Oman Across Ages Museum One of the ‘World’s Most Beautiful Museums’
The COX-designed Oman Across Ages Museum (OAAM) has been honoured with a spot on the World’s Most Beautiful Museums List for 2024 by the prestigious Prix Versailles.
The Prix Versailles, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, has unveiled an elite list of seven museums recognised for their creativity, heritage reflection, and sustainability.
The select few, including OAAM, will compete for three coveted Word Titles, the Prix Versailles, Interior, and Exterior, with winners announced at UNESCO Headquarters in late November this year.
Located in Nizwa, one of the oldest cities in Oman, the Museum is inspired by the extraordinary landscape and geometric profiles of the Al Hajar Mountains and its canyons. The Oman Across Ages Museum is a celebration of the country’s rich history, culture, and economic growth over time while offering a compelling insight into Oman’s tomorrow. The museum is a cultural and educational landmark for Omanis and visitors alike. The sheer scale of the building as it rises from the desert floor and stretches to the horizon is something to behold.
Jérôme Gouadain, Secretary General of the Prix Versailles, emphasised the growing significance of museum architecture in promoting intercultural dialogue and immersive experiences.
Jérôme Gouadain, Secretary General of the Prix Versailles.
Museums provide singular settings conducive to intercultural dialogue. Bolstered by technology, they now deliver ever more immersive experiences, participate in the dissemination of knowledge, and help form the tastes of their visitors.
“By creating the World’s Most Beautiful Museums List, we also wanted to emphasise the importance of wonder, which elevates the human gaze and allows us to be surprised,
Because of what they are, and what they are intended to be, museums fully contribute to the goals of intelligent sustainable development,” the secretary general of Prix Versailles added.
