On 12th October 2022, ArCHIAM members were invited by the Anglo-Omani Society to deliver a talk as part of their monthly program of evening talks for members as well as the general public. Prof Soumyen Bandyopadhyay, who has extensively researched historic oasis settlements in Oman, talked about the architecture and social history of Manah and its main quarter, Harat al-Bilad, situated at the heart of the oasis, which has been partially restored by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism. The talk highlighted the architectural, historic, socio-political and cultural significances of this important Omani oasis. After the talk, Dr Giamila Quattrone presented the Harat al-Bilad, Manah, Virtual Exhibition, a research-informed digital resource developed by ArCHIAM with Martin Winchester, the Liverpool School of Architecture’s Experimental Officer in Design Computing, and explained the background, aims, objectives and envisaged impact of this heritage digitisation and dissemination project. Claudia Briguglio then talked about the design of the website and the curatorial approach to the exhibition, and demonstrated live how to navigate the museum galleries.
