Dubai, UAE: The most beautiful building on Earth
Museum of The Future: A home for optimistic imagination committed to a more sustainable future for all. This global landmark from Dubai and the UAE (to the world) is an architectural icon and a significant addition to science, architecture, and art. It has been described as one of the most beautiful buildings on earth. It inspires and empowers people to positively shape humanity’s next chapter.
NOW: Everything has an expiration date — milk carton boxes, body lotions, shopping vouchers, and even life, except for time. Time runs into infinity, even when categorized under Past, Present, and Future. What we make of it, the years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds, is up to us.
These are just a few questions that pop into my head as a metallic jellyfish flies over us. It flies effortlessly indoors. Just then, another jellyfish joins it, and a hundred cameras appear to capture its gorgeous movements. The fish remain unperturbed.
THEN: I smile, thinking that even in 2071, a few things will not change. We’d probably still be hooked to our screens, more keen to record what we witness than experience it. Will we? Or would we have learned to slow down? We are at the Museum of The Future, Dubai, UAE, in August 2024. Even though we are just at the entrance/lobby as of now, we can already connect (and applaud) with the goal of this global landmark — to provide light in dark times: in an age of anxiety and cynicism about the future, the destination shows that things can and must progress.
KINDNESS AND TOGETHERNESS TO RULE IN THE FUTURE, TOO
NOW: The year is 2071 (In February 2071, the UAE, our home country, would turn 100), our usher points out. His smile is infectious and warm, and he is patient with hundreds of us just about to enter a Falcon Spaceship to travel to a Space Station called Hope, hundreds of kms from the Earth. The usher asks us if we’re ready.
We look at each other, and the words of poet Alfred Tennyson from Locksley Hall ring in my head. I recall reading the book in 2024, “When I dipt into the future far as human eye could see” — we can’t do that, but we can, however, dip into the present, which contains the seeds of what might become the future — wrote author Margaret Atwood in a book released in the 2020s (Burning Questions). The usher asks, ‘How old are you?’ (And, of course, that’s a digit I can’t fathom)
THEN: Everyone around us is friendly and helpful; yes, it’s their job to assist us as we embark on the future, hence the politeness someone points out, but for me, it is a sign of the kindness that awaits us in 2071. The staff at the museum will assist you with directions as you wear your NFC band dispensed after scanning the QR code for your ticket; in case of any challenges, they’ll be quick, patient, and helpful in guiding you through.
STOPOVER: Lobby/Entrance
EACH OF YOU IS THE FUTURE
NOW: We nod sheepishly, sharing we are nervous, and the usher assures us that we have nothing to fear, as the UAE began preparing for it more than 50 years ago (Museum Of The Future opened in February 2022)! With relief, we step in and find Aya on the screen. She welcomes us, talking in Arabic and English. The spaceship (elevator) safely delivers us to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Spaceport; from within the spaceship, as we peep outside the window, we watch the islands, buildings, parks, roads, and more of the UAE — we’re quick to identify the spaces and compare it with what we remember them from the year 2024.
On landing, 3D-printed works in recyclable material welcome us, a sign that our sustainability commitment back then had taken off. (The entire museum’s design optimizes sustainability; the entire surface of the superstructure is made of specially developed glass manufactured using new technologies to improve thermal isolation.) Once again, we learn via Aya how solar energy empowers our souls in 2071. (Over 30% of the museum’s power comes from solar energy.) A little further, we learn about the names of individuals worldwide who have contributed to the future. We stop to understand the concepts shaping our lives. Before we exit, we quickly apply for the jobs we can undertake — Director of Sound Therapy, Asteroid Fleet Pilot, anyone?
THEN: The immersive experience where a wonderful, interactive persona of you comes alive as you pick a ‘job’ on the screen is a must-try fun activity for kids and children alike. Kudos to the creation of Aya, another sign that the women folk in the UAE and worldwide are (and should) bound to lead!
STOPOVER: Level 5 OSS Hope depicts humanity’s home in space. OSS Hope allows guests to play out their own stories. They will join its community and learn about life aboard a huge space station in 2071.
COLOURS OF THE FUTURE
NOW: Taking deep breaths, we walk through the Amazon Rainforest (a mixed-reality recreation) and witness the interplay of hundreds of species. Further, The Garden suggested of experiments from biologists, botanists, and amateur researchers from around the world. This area/space maintains greenhouses, shade houses, and The Garden for research projects that require more controlled conditions than those provided in the natural world. Soon, we are in The Library, a DNA library, where we discover new species and participate in the global effort to repair the damage caused by climate change.
THEN: For Instagram lovers, displaying the DNA specimens of plants, insects, birds, animals, and more would be a gorgeous image background. Seeing how the staff happily answered our questions at each step was heart-warming.
STOPOVER: Level 4 The Heal Institute offers a novel projection of a luscious tropical rainforest. The forest is a digital recreation of a real part of the Amazon rainforest in Leticia, Columbia, depicting the ecosystem with unparalleled realism. The rainforest ecosystem simulator helps guests better understand nature and its responsibility towards it. Also, home to a library of over 2,400 species, the Heal Institute introduces biodiversity like never before.
THE FUTURE OF HAPPINESS AND WELL-BEING
NOW: It’s here that we realize that despite technological advances and abundance, depression, loneliness, anxiety, and addiction still exist in 2071, and how in 2030, depression passed obesity as the world’s greatest health risk. Too little has changed in the 40 years since we think to ourselves. We take a moment to smell the UAE’s national flower (Tribulus Omanense), experience the stillness therapy, and realize that all change comes from within.
THEN: What a beautiful, apt reminder that the five human senses will always be the key to a healthy, balanced life. And if the future will be anywhere close to what we witnessed here, then be assured it will be bright. PLEASE MAKE A WISH suggests the words on the wall before you head out: make a wish for yourselves, ourselves, for the future. The wall inscribed with words like FOR EQUALITY, FOR SCIENCE, FOR SAFETY (in various languages) is gorgeous and speaks of many hands coming together to build and wish for a better tomorrow.
STOPOVER: Level 3 Al Waha is an opportunity for visitors to explore themselves in a world that stimulates their senses. Visitors embark on an intimate journey in an environment centered around health and well-being, where they can easily detach from technology. The surroundings help people meditate, reconnect with themselves, and restore natural balance.
THE QUESTIONS FROM THE FUTURE
NOW: How will we travel? Can robots learn from nature? How can we heal our planet? A few answers lie here. We realize we have transformed and changed; we observe our responses to environmental, cultural, social, and political issues. (The exhibition is inspired by the question posed by influential architect Cedric Price in 1966, ‘technology is the answer, but what was the question?’)
THEN: You will enjoy talking to Robot Ameca and receiving answers to your questions. It was indeed impressive to see how, already in 2024, we have smart homes, are experimenting with coconut shells for construction, and a few major existing projects in UAE are already powered by solar.
STOPOVER: Level 2 Tomorrow Today exhibition explores the contrasting ways technology can shape the future by contributing to solving societal and environmental challenges. It features concepts, prototypes, and current products focusing on five areas: waste management, environment, food security, agriculture, and city planning.
THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO CAN IMAGINE IT
NOW: As we head outdoors and see 2071 in sunlight, our hearts warm a little more. We read the words
(The inscriptions on the façade embody the building’s overarching vision of knowledge. They comprise three inspirational quotes by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai) —
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. It is not something you await, but rather create.
Innovation is not an intellectual luxury. It is the secret behind the evolution and rejuvenation of nations and peoples.
— we are in awe of the vision of leaders holding our hands in 2071.
THEN: You will not leave without capturing the memory of what you have witnessed and learned about what lies ahead. Could there be a more beautiful way to keep a language and culture alive? To suggest that words have the power to bring change, to lead us. We think not as we admire the calligraphy.
STOPOVER: The Viewing Deck, the façade is illuminated by 14 kilometers of LED lighting embedded within its iconic Arabic calligraphy. Engraved with quotes by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the museum’s striking exterior has become an instant Dubai landmark. The Arabic calligraphy on the façade of the museum is of significant artistic value. It distinguishes the building through beautiful lettering from one of the world’s richest languages. The calligraphy represents the museum’s objective to contribute to the resurgence of the Arab world’s golden age, an epoch when Arabic was the language of science, mathematics, and geography.
NOW AND THEN: Optimism, growth, and the future are all just a step away. Start walking now. Or you can fly along with the jellyfish—dream together and see what happens next. We return to our homes in 2024 with a sense of pride, achievement, and inspiration.
Also, we took the liberty of not telling you all, for the future awaits, and we wish for you to experience it first-hand.
YOU SHOULD KNOW
Museum of The Future is a platform for studying the future, designing its ideas, and deepening discussions about trends in scientific, economic, environmental, and social sectors.
The 77-meter-tall building stands high without supporting columns, with a façade uniquely executed by combining human construction ingenuity with robotic technology.
The façade spans 17,600 square meters. Made of stainless steel, its panels were produced with the support of automated robotic arms. Each panel consists of four layers, took 16 steps to manufacture, and each separate panel was individually installed.
The façade’s 1,024 steel panels represent the basic unit of digital information stored on computers – a kilobyte equal to 1,024 bytes.
LEVEL ONE Future Heroes is designed for children under 10; Future Heroes encourages young minds to make discoveries about themselves and the world around them. The Future Heroes floor includes various educational and fun activities centered around future-proof skills, including curiosity, creativity, confidence, communication, and collaboration.
Authored by Purva Grover
Purva Grover is an author, journalist, and creative entrepreneur. She is the founder-editor of storiesoverart.com, a sanctuary for all who find solace, inspiration, and purpose in art. In a world that often overlooks the significance of art, she stands firm in her belief that it is essential, more so than anything else.
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