The University of Nizwa organized a one-day Seminar on “Sustainable Architecture: Past to Future Journey” jointly with distinguished architects from France which are assisting the University of Nizwa in an eco-house design competition organized by The Research Council in Oman.  The Seminar was under the auspices of Prof. Ahmed Al-Rawahi, the Chancellor of University, who announced the opening of seminar activities, highlighting the importance of disseminating knowledge of such an important topic related to architecture and engineering students who will be able to solve current and future problems in housing design. The Seminar was well attended by the College of Engineering and Architecture faculty, students and invited guests from the University of Kyoto (Japan), College of Applied Technology (Nizwa) and The Research Council (Muscat).

Dr. Noor Hanita Abdul Majid, from the Architecture and Interior Design department at the University of Nizwa presented the vernacular architecture of Omani houses. She took the audiences through a historical look at Omani houses used in the past and touched on the climatic and cultural effects on the design of the houses.  Professor Waleed Thanoon, Dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture, presented the challenges facing eco-house design. He discussed the major factors affecting the design of eco houses focusing on sustainable innovative structural system, materials and design at an affordable cost.

At the completion of the seminar, the architecture consultants along with the University of Nizwa team participating in the Eco-house competition from the College of Engineering and Architecture visited the proposed site for the house in the west of the University new campus. This visit was followed by a workshop session focusing on discussion of the requirements and deliverables of the eco-house project, timelines/schedules and finally the responsibilities of the consultant and the University of Nizwa team.