It came as no surprise when Dubai Media Office announced in late July that National Geographic had ranked Dubai’s Museum of the Future among the world’s 14 most beautiful museums. Set to open in October 2021 ahead of the rescheduled Dubai Expo 2020, the museum has been one of the most challenging construction projects ever attempted.

Designed by algorithms, the pillar-less structure of the Museum of the Future is an undeniable leap of faith, a true architectural experiment. With its motto ‘See the future, create the future’, the Museum of the Future is yet to open officially, but it is already making waves in the world of architecture for its astounding and sophisticated technological innovations.

Architectural firm Killa Design won the design competition for the museum in 2015. The museum’s framework, comprising 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members, was completed in November 2018. The museum is a testament to the many innovative minds, creative thinkers and problem solvers – both men and women – who have worked together. MSW (Matthew Southwest) were project managers while British building company Buro Happold was responsible for delivering all the engineering, from design to construction.

The futuristic shape of the museum is, geometrically, defined as a torus with an elliptical void. According to Killa architects, the solid part of the structure represents the knowledge that we have today. The void represents all that we do not yet know – in other words, the future.

Arabic calligraphy adorns the exterior of the 78-metres-high museum building. The cursive scripts double as the windows of the museum. By day, they cast dappled light throughout the column-free interior; at night, they will be illuminated to dramatic effect by 14km of LED lighting.

Sheikh Mohammed’s vision on the façade

Located alongside the Dubai Metro line near Burj Khalifa, the exterior of the building is covered with windows that form a poem by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, about his vision for the city’s future, written in Arabic calligraphy.

The stainless-steel façade of the seven-storied, pillar-less structure extends over 17,000 square metres and is illuminated by 14,000 metres of calligraphy designed by Emirati artist Mattar bin Lahej.

The calligraphy that adorns the façade includes quotes by Sheikh Mohammed:

“We may not live for hundreds of years, but the products of our creativity can leave a legacy long after we are gone.”

“The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it… The future does not wait… The future can be designed and built today.”

Created as one of the most advanced buildings in the world, the $136-million project is another manifestation of Dubai’s continuous drive for reinvention.

“The Museum of the Future is a global architectural icon that shows that human miracles are possible. It will play an instrumental role in our efforts to shape a better future,” said Sheikh Mohammed. He said the Museum is a “global monument of urban excellence and a quintessential Emirati contribution to delivering a brighter future. Though it is a marvel of modern engineering, it speaks in the Arabic language.”

Reinforcing UAE’s status as a hub for innovation

Mohammad Al Gergawi, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation, said the selection of the Museum of the Future as a major world icon, even before its completion, captures the UAE’s leading status in innovation, design and architecture.

“Dubai has established itself as a centre for creativity… The emirate’s ambitions are reflected in an engineering miracle like Dubai’s Museum of the Future”

Mohammad Al Gergawi

“Dubai has established itself as a centre for creativity… The emirate’s ambitions are reflected in an engineering miracle like Dubai’s Museum of the Future that has been globally recognised among the world’s most beautiful museums even before its completion.

“The museum presents the UAE’s and the world’s gateway to the future with its design and latest technologies. The engineering icon positions Dubai as a testbed for emerging technologies and an exploration base for talents, inventors and creative professionals from all over the world to unravel the greatest challenges that will shape the future of humanity. Once complete, the museum will give visitors a glimpse of the future.”

Algorithms & variables: An architectural marvel

The building would have been impossible to construct without parametric design and Building Information Modelling (BIM). Parametric design is a process based on algorithmic thinking, which allows specific variables or parameters to be manipulated to alter the outcome of an equation. BIM is a 4D model-based technology to collaboratively design and document projects. It took 14 months to complete the steelwork.

Throughout the construction process, laser scanning was used to compare the as-built positions with the 3D model. From the outset, it had been determined that the museum would go for a LEED Platinum rating. The building is equipped with advanced building control solutions, greywater recycling systems and regenerative drive lifts while its power needs will be met through PV solar arrays located offsite.

The façade consists of 1,024 plates manufactured entirely by robots in a first-of-its-kind project in the Middle East. Each plate of the façade consists of four layers, and each layer has been created after following a 16-step process.

The installation period of the external façade lasted for more than 18 months and each of the panels was installed separately. The museum is powered by 4,000MW of solar energy produced by a station connected to the building. Upon completion, the museum will be the first of its kind in the Middle East to obtain a Platinum Certification for Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design, the highest rating for green buildings in the world.

A place to see, touch and shape the future

From having its first museum made out of an abandoned fort in 1971, Dubai now has 25 museums. The Dubai Future Foundation says the Museum of the Future will be “a showcase for a new era; a centre of creativity and hope where you can see, touch and shape our shared future. The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it.”

The museum combines the elements of the exhibition, immersive theatre and themed attraction, inviting visitors to look beyond the present to the possible. More than 30,000 square metres will be divided into six floors of exhibition space. Four floors of expansive exhibitions will focus on the possible futures of outer space resource development, ecosystems and bioengineering, and health, wellness, and spirituality.

Another floor will be dedicated to showcasing near-future technologies that will transform our world by addressing challenges in areas such as health, water, food, transportation, and energy. The final floor will give children their own world to explore, and challenges to complete, on their way to becoming “future heroes”.

Visitors will be able to charge their electric vehicles while touring the museum and the number of car parking spaces is limited to encourage the use of public transport. The park surrounding the museum contains 80 species of plants, equipped with a state-of-the-art intelligent and automatic irrigation system.

The Museum is also linked by two bridges, the first extending to Jumeirah Emirates Towers, with a length of 69 metres, and the second linking it to the Emirates Towers Dubai Metro Station, with a length of 212 metres. The Museum of the Future hopes to attract more than a million visitors a year, with half of them expected to be tourists.