The needs and satisfaction of inhabitants with respect to daylight in Bahraini architecture is not well-established, where cultural norms significantly influence different aspects such as room division and door location. Limited consideration has been given to the needs and satisfaction of residents with respect to daylight in Bahraini architecture, where different aspects including room division and door location are influenced by cultural norms. Therefore, the study aims to assess the importance of visual privacy and daylight in the home through a survey questionnaire administered in Bahrain. The survey aimed to measure the trade-off between visual privacy and daylight at home and to explore current and traditional methods used to achieve visual privacy. Results give a clear indication of the contradictory relationship between the needed visual privacy and the desire for daylight in the space. Cultural and personal preferences are dominated by religious context. More than 95% of respondents considered visual privacy to be important; whereas, 92.07% of people considered daylight important. Moreover, 30.29% of people gave priority to the need for visual privacy over the need for daylight in the space. The visual and aesthetic aspects were clearly considered to be important factors for people.

The mashrabiya is used in traditional Islamic architecture to provide visual privacy, reduce the glare from direct sunlight, and allow natural ventilation. Traditional Bahraini houses were designed with specific features and characteristics to cater to the cultural and religious needs of the occupants and the bio-climatic conditions. This study has investigated the impact of the mashrabiya on daylight performance within a space and examined how it affects the quantity and quality of the daylight that is admitted into the space. A field study was conducted in one of the traditional houses in Bahrain for evaluating the performance of the mashrabiya in providing daylight in the space. The studied room was located on the upper floor and had an L shape layout (27.75 m 2). The main wall of this room faced the north with openings covered with mashrabiya, while the inner part of the room (the south wall) overlooked an atrium with a skylight. The south wall had two small openings that increased the illumination level in a small part of the room. The results showed that the performance of daylight throughout the mashrabiya was better, to some extent, than without any screen. The mashrabiya in this case can provide the level of illuminance recommended for residential activities and can provide better uniformity as compared to the space without a mashrabiya. The mashrabiya device is capable of reducing the impact of glare in the whole space. It is preferable to improve the design of the mashrabiya to enhance the uniformity of daylight in the space. The chromaticity of light in the space, as the CCT calculation for all the measured points below the accepted level, was another challenge with regards to the performance of the mashrabiya device. A mashrabiya is likely to demonstrate a more successful performance and better daylighting if it is designed and modified to consider uniformity and the chromaticity of light in the space.

The visual privacy and levels of daylight have been a great concern for traditional Islamic architecture; therefore the design of mashrabiya was an efficient solution in previous times. However, changes occurring in contemporary Islamic architecture because of socio-economic changes and with the introduction of new building systems and new materials nowadays has resulted in the disappearance of this design element from the façades of current houses. This study aims to discuss different conceptions and meanings of privacy throughout literature, emphasising privacy in architecture. The study follows an analytical review design, where information is collected through different literary studies. The review of Islamic literature has indicated the importance of visual privacy for the occupants of homes and addressed a religious dimension that should be considered. This factor has an influence on the appearance of the home façade in traditional Islamic architecture. The mashrabiya/rawshan was a façade treatment for a house of traditional Islamic architecture to achieve visual privacy and daylight. This indicated that the Muslim architects of these houses were aware of the importance of both visual privacy and daylight. The study is useful in providing different aspects of the architecture designs in Muslim houses.

A digital museum is a museum exhibition platform that uses computer and information technology to conserve and present cultural treasures and historical collections in digital format. Today, new technologies and tools are being utilised in museums to enhance visitors' experience. Virtual 3D reconstructions of destroyed or disappeared cultural heritage enable viewers to effectively travel back through time and visualise monuments that cannot be physically seen anymore. A powerful way to convey information through three-dimensional geometry is to add interactive digital storytelling to virtual models, as storytelling has long been recognised as an important approach to attracting and pleasing the audience of museums. In this paper, we present a proposal for designing an interactive Islamic heritage digital museum using digital storytelling to revive the Islamic golden age in an immersive digital-physical experience enabling visitors to travel through time to an era that does not exist anymore. This paper explains the process of transforming literature review about Islamic heritage and the life of Muslim scholars during the Islamic golden ages into an interactive digital story that enable visitors to travel through time and immerse them in an interactive experience.