Let us introduce a building with no columns that express future technological thoughts. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, has envisioned a museum that would showcase future technology and breakthroughs. A competition was declared, and around 20 contestants submitted designs for a museum representing the future. Killa Design Architects commissioned the work, and it took six years to finish the ‘Museum of The Future’.
The Museum of the Future’s fundamental idea was to develop a form that embodies the client’s image of the future, where the physical structure with its display levels represents our knowledge of the “future” as we know it today and in the next 5 to 10 years. The ‘void,’ on the other hand, represents what we do not yet know, and those who seek the unknown will continue to invent and discover to help steer mankind toward a brighter future, so establishing a continuity of restocking the Museum of the Future.
Art Style of The Museum | Museum of The Future
The Museum of the Future has a unique facade design in the form of Arabic calligraphy based on words from Dubai‘s Ruler, Sheikh Mohammed, that are painstakingly 3D mapped onto the curving skin. The external design expresses the eye and leaves a lasting impact on neighbours and guests. The Museum of the Future, which will be located next to the Emirates Towers, will be an expressive and vibrant landmark. The Museum of the Future is made up of three major components: a green hill, a structure, and a vacuum.
The ground is represented by the green hill, which is substantial, permanent, and anchored in place, time, and history. This is accomplished by creating a seamless transition from the site in the form of an earthen, vegetated mound with minimum visible architectural intervention. The concept for the green hill was also to elevate the building above the metro line peacefully and discreetly, creating vegetation in elevation that is unique in Dubai for visitors to enjoy while engaging with the Museum.
Futuristic Design Approach
The Museum of the Future features a highly distinctive futuristic design style that can be seen both inside and outside the structure. This seven-story circular museum has no columns or corners. The Museum of the Future comprises a single basement for core services and a three-story podium beneath the green hill that holds the lobby, auditorium, cafés, restaurants, shops, parking, and building services. Above the podium, the stainless-steel-clad museum display area spans 12,000 square meters across seven nine-meter-apart stories. The building’s overall height is 78m, with a total built-up area of 30,000 sqm. The Museum of the Future is one of the most complicated steel and façade constructions to date, pushing the frontiers of architecture.
Each panel is distinct in design, and the Arabic calligraphy comprises a message from the UAE‘s Prime Minister on his vision for the region’s and the world’s future development. The façade’s script is sculpted into each panel, and the letters also create the glazed window penetrations within the façade.
Architectural Features | Museum of The Future
For the project, parametric design tools with growth algorithms were created to digitally maximise the efficiency of the principal structural diagrid, façade, and glazing elements. From concept design to construction, BIM was utilised to create all drawings, while Virtual Reality and real-time rendering tools conducted coordination and clash detection amongst all design and engineering disciplines.
The team employed advanced 3D modelling tools during the early design phases to lay the calligraphy onto the building’s surface, move each letter to comply with the ancient laws of calligraphy, and avoid over 1,000 steel diagrid nodes to guarantee none were placed in the middle of the windows. Since its conception, sustainability has been a driving force in the design of the Museum of the Future.
The goal was to make the design, production, and operating resources as sustainable as possible by utilising the most cutting-edge worldwide innovative technology. As part of this plan, the project received LEED Platinum certification by using passive solar design, low-energy, and low-water engineering solutions, energy and water recovery technologies, and building integrated renewables from an offsite solar array.
It will be a showcase for a new age, a hub of innovation and hope that mixes exhibition, immersive theatre, and interactive entertainment. The location will invite people to gather to assist and educate them to create a brighter future. The Museum will be a haven for tolerance, welcoming a wide range of cultural, intellectual, social, and spiritual perspectives.
The Museum of the Future will bring together creative people, thinkers, designers, artists, and researchers, showcasing various technologies and will serve as an incubator for ideas and creations, a driver of innovation, and a global destination for inventors and entrepreneurs. If you ever get the opportunity to visit Dubai, take advantage of this magnificent piece of architecture.
Reference
Killa Design. (2022). [Photograph]. (Killa Design: https://www.killadesign.com/portfolio/museum-of-the-future/)
Museum of The Future (2022). [online]. (Last updated 2022). Available at: https://museumofthefuture.ae/en [Accessed 10 December 2022].
museumofthefuture.ae. (2022). [Photograph]. (museumofthefuture.ae: https://museumofthefuture.ae/en)
en.wikiarquitectura.com. (2022). | Primary Sketch [Sketch]. (en.wikiarquitectura.com: https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Museum-of-the-Future-sketch-1920×2765.jpg)
Killa Design. (2022). | Top Floor Interior [Photograph]. (Killa Design: https://www.killadesign.com/portfolio/museum-of-the-future/)
Wikipedia (2022). [online]. (Last updated 02 December 2022). Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_the_Future [Accessed 10 December 2022].
Killa Design. (2022). | Master Plan [Photograph]. (Killa Design: https://www.killadesign.com/portfolio/museum-of-the-future/)
Killa Design. (2022). | Elevation [Photograph]. (Killa Design: https://www.killadesign.com/portfolio/museum-of-the-future/)
Dubai Future Foundation (2022). [online]. (Last updated December 2022). Available at: https://www.dubaifuture.ae/initiatives/future-experience/museum-of-the-future [Accessed 08 December 2022].
Killa Design. (2022). | Section [Photograph]. (Killa Design: https://www.killadesign.com/portfolio/museum-of-the-future/)
Killa Design. (2022). | Interior [Photograph]. (Killa Design: https://www.killadesign.com/portfolio/museum-of-the-future/)
