Dubai’s Museum of the Future
The future has already arrived in Dubai. It is here, it has opened its doors to the world on the 22nd of February 2022 and it never ceased to dazzle us all, with its beauty and symbolism. We’re now looking at what the next 50 years in UAE could look like, transcending space above and beyond – this is Dubai’s Museum of the Future. Undoubtedly considered an engineering marvel, the museum represents the ideal medium for seeing, touching, and creating the future. This is one of the most technically complex buildings of our time, ranked fifth on the list of the most Beautiful Museums in the world, by National Geographic, back in July 2021. Surely, this is a most deserved recognition the building has earned, considering the massive labour of love that has gone into creating this masterpiece.
Dubai is at center stage as a global example of what it means to grow and inspire as a post-pandemic city, leading in the worldwide family of cities as an inspiration for sustainability, technology, and innovation. In a decade that is becoming more and more health-oriented and environmentally conscious, Dubai brings diverse nationalities together in one place, with a clear aim to co-create alongside its leaders and residents a new kind of city on the world stage – the city of the future. With the help of a thriving social community, Dubai is optimizing the use of the latest digital technology bringing forth revolutionary and inspiring ideas to shape the future of humanity.
Museum of the Future is a clear symbol and a key pillar in this context, empowering future generations, industry, economy, and individuals to create new concepts for future cities. Fostering innovation, the museum is a living entity, inspiring leading scientists to enhance and enrich the latest technological advancements. It functions as an incubator for thinkers and researchers to exhibit their visions of the future and shape them into reality, via interactive exhibitions in the field of bioengineering, space exploration, or healthcare.
Museum of the Future – The Vision. The Journey.
What will Dubai look like in the year 2071?
Visitors are taken through an experiential journey, and transported to the year 2071, the year that marks the centenary of the founding of the UAE. In line with UAE’s vision, Museum of the Future aims to inspire people to shape humanity’s progress and provide solutions for a more sustainable world. The museum explores questions and possibilities relating to futuristic societies, life on Earth, and outer space. It makes use of complex technology, artificial intelligence, data analysis and augmented reality to highlight and test new ideas revolving around impending social challenges and how humans can best leverage space travel.
Inside the building, visitors will explore innovative laboratories for energy, health, transportation, smart cities, and education. A whole floor is dedicated to the exploration of DNA sampling and genetics, while other areas showcase vast prototypes in the fields of city planning, waste management, environment, and food security. The third floor is dedicated to children and encouraging their freedom of expression, creativity, and collaboration, as they set out to become future leaders and visionaries.
Three key concepts have been shaping up the project’s development which sets a new record for sustainable construction. It all starts with the exterior design. The exterior design and its symbolic form are clearly showcasing the extent to which the museum is interested in the future. Firstly, the green hill upon which the museum rests symbolizes the earth, stability, and sustainability. Furthermore, the oval shape of the building itself stands for strength, creativity, knowledge, and humanity, while the void at the center is everything that is yet to come, the unknown, the future which the museum allows you to glimpse into.
Building Facts
Museum of the Future was designed by Killa Design architects, with the help of Buro Happold engineering consultancy responsible for the planning, project management, and infrastructure. It has a strategic, symbolic location along Sheikh Zayed Road, in the Financial District. It is surrounded by skyscrapers all-around World Trade Center. Easily accessible by metro and car, the museum takes pride of place and welcomes all with unforgettable experiences. The building covers a total area of 30,548 square meters, measuring 77 meters in height across seven levels. Museum of the Future was built without columns. The streamlined structure has no sharp corners on the external structure, making it a truly outstanding manifesto of intrinsic architecture. Its façade consists of 1,024 unique steel plates, made possible with the use of advanced digital technology applied to traditional art forms. A marvel to look at, the 1,024 steel plates were manufactured via a robot-assisted process, 3D modeling, and parametric construction. It is covering a massive area of 17,600 square meters. The windows are shaped in the form of Arabic calligraphy adorning the curved façade in three distinct dimensions, with 14,000 meters of inscriptions glowing in the dark. The entire building façade is a homage to the quotes of H.H Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum about the future of Dubai. The quotes are beautifully rendered in the calligraphy of master Mattar bin Lahej. This is a building that speaks to the future, speaks Arabic, and brings a new dimension of futuristic form, away from the high-rise towers that dominate Dubai skylines. There are 4,000 megawatts of electricity generated through the use of solar panels that light up the Museum of the Future day and night. Step inside, and you will be greeted by robotic assistants, sensory walls, and capsule lifts, transporting you to the future. The undertaking for the creation of the museum is attributed to the Dubai Future Foundation, set up in 2016 to oversee the future-shaping of UAE, a future which must be reimagined, planned, and executed even in the present.
