The torus-shaped structure represents mankind’s ability to innovate and construct the limits of present-day engineering and construction methodology that has been represented in significant structures throughout the ages. The primary inspiration of the Museum of the Future is creating a form that represents the UAE’s Prime Minister’s vision of the future where the physical building embodies floors and spaces that represent our understanding of the “future” as we know it today and possibly for the next few years.

In contrast the void represents the “unknown” and people who seek the unknown, innovate and discover new horizons and ideas that help guide humanity towards a better future. The Museum of the Future comprises of a single basement for primary services and the three-storey podium structure below the green hill, houses the lobby, auditorium, cafés, restaurants, retail, car parking and building services. Above the podium the stainless-steel clad museum exhibition spaces comprises of 12,000sqm on seven floors which are nine meters apart.

The overall height of the building is 78m with a total built up area of 30,000sqm. Museum of the Future has pushed the boundaries of design with being one of the most complex steel and façade projects to date. Each panel is unique in shape, the Arabic calligraphy forms quotes from the UAE’s Prime Minister on his vision about the regional and global drive for the future. The calligraphy that covers the façade is molded into each individual panel, with the letters also forming the glazed window penetrations within the façade.

Parametric design tools which include growth algorithms were developed for the project to digitally optimise the efficiency of the primary structural diagrid, façade and the glazing elements. BIM played a large role in the process, from concept design to construction, and was used to produce all the drawings and in addition to Virtual Reality and real time rendering programs performed coordination and clash detection between all design and engineering disciplines. During early design phases, the team used complex 3D modelling software to set the calligraphy onto the building’s surface, move each letter to adhere to the ancient rules of calligraphy and avoid over 1,000 steel diagrid nodes to ensure none were placed in the center of the windows.

Sustainability has been the main driver for the Museum of the Future’s design since its first sketch. The aspiration was to make the design, the fabrication, and its operational resources as sustainable as possible using the highest global innovative technologies. As part of this strategy, the project achieved LEED Platinum certification by using passive solar design, low-energy and low-water engineering solutions, recovery strategies for both energy and water, and building integrated renewables from an offsite solar.

It will become a showplace for a new era - a centre of creativity and hope that combines elements of the exhibition, immersive theatre, and interactive attractions. The destination will welcome visitors to come together to help educate them to create a better future. The Museum will be a home for tolerance, inviting varied cultural, philosophical, social, and spiritual outlooks. It will bring together inventors, designers and researchers, presenting a range of technologies, becoming an incubator for ideas and designs, a driver for innovation, and a global destination for inventors and entrepreneurs.

The Museum is an initiative of the ‘Dubai Future Foundation,’ formed to create a pivotal role in shaping the future of Dubai and beyond.