Fast forward to the future

Fast forward to the future

23 March 2022 Off By Facto Edizioni

/ A look at the recently opened Museum of the Future in Dubai /

What will the 70s look like? The 2070s, that is. And more generally, what will the future hold? That’s a question that we human beings have been asking ourselves since the dawn of time, and all the more so in these modern times, what with technological advances and the fears that climate change, pandemics and wars may change our future forever. Now Dubai, already the futuristic city in itself, tries to give an answer, or at least a space where people can work out an answer: the Museum of the Future, which opened its doors on February 22, 2022, welcoming guests to embark on a journey to the year 2071.

Spanning an area of 30,000sqm, the museum is intended as a global intellectual center, a “living” laboratory designed to foster collaborative innovation. “The Museum of the Future has been designed to help generate new solutions for future challenges,” said Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, the UAE’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the Museum of the Future. “It’s exhibitions will fuel the passion of present and future generations, and spark their intellectual curiosity for science, technology and the knowledge that will help humanity to thrive and prosper in the decades ahead.”

Described as “the most beautiful building on Earth” by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai) and already recognized by “National Geographic” as one of the world’s 14 most beautiful museums, the Museum of the Future is a striking construction filled with symbolism. The green hill on which it rises, equipped with a smart and automated irrigation system, represents the Earth: it is a resplendent garden comprising around 100 species of trees and plants reflecting the natural diversity of the UAE’s, which include ghaf, sidr, palm and acacia trees, and was landscaped to support local bee and bird populations.

Over this garden, the glimmering, futuristic building represents humankind in all its strength and creativity. Standing 77m tall, the building is toroid-shaped, with an elliptical void in the middle that represents the unknown: in other words, the future. The façade, clocking at 17.600sqm, is made of stainless steel and features windows that take the form of scripts in Arabic calligraphy, featuring three quotes by Sheik Al Maktoum about the future; one, particularly fitting in the context, reads: “The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it and execute it. It isn’t something you await, but rather create.” The windows let natural light in by day and illuminate the city’s skyline with 14km of energy-saving, resource-efficient LED lights at night. The number of stainless steel panels used to build the façade, i.e. 1,024, has its own significance: it represents the 1,024 bytes in a kilobyte, the basic unit of digital information storage. And because without sustainability there would be no future, the whole building is also built with green technologies, to reach zero emissions, with low-energy and low-water engineering solutions and integrated renewable capabilities.

Inside, the Museum of the Future is not your usual museum with glass cabinets and artifacts. “In many of the principal galleries, there won’t be labeled objects at all,” said Executive Director Lath Carlson. “Instead, the museum will offer a completely immersive experience, one that engages the visitor with their own contribution to their experience.” In other words, the whole exhibition is powered with the latest technologies, including virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and multi-sensory experiences. And while nowadays none of this is exactly new in exhibits and attractions, here they take an additional dimension, as visitors will be able to both “use” the technology and get to understand its potentials better.

The museum features seven floors with seven different experiences. The first two are dedicated to space: how would life be in outer space, but also…

Continue reading Games & Parks Industry March 2022, page 26

Photos Courtesy: MOTF

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