Museum of the Future – the Most Beautiful Building on Earth

The rulers of Dubai make sure that every time you visit you are mesmerised by new attractions, architectural marvels and leisure activities. Museum of the future – the most beautiful building on Earth is the latest addition to those breathtaking buildings and attractions. 

Earlier we had covered the top three floors of the Museum of the Future 

Fifth Floor – Chapter 1: Orbital Space Station (OSS Hope)

Fourth Floor – Chapter 2: The HEAL Institute

Third Floor – Chapter 3: Al Waha – The Oasis

Read the previous ‘First Look – The Museum of the Future – An eye into the future’ post here

Let’s head over to the second floor – ‘Tomorrow Today’ 

Tomorrow Today – The Future is here

As the name suggests it brings ‘tomorrow to today.’ We get a pragmatic sneak peek into the future right here right now. The world we live in today is very different from the world of ten years ago. What then can we expect the next decade to bring? It is broadly inspired by the question posed by influential architect Cedric Price in 1966: “technology is the answer, but, what was the question?”

Tomorrow Today showcases how futuristic technologies will shape our day-to-day life. The earlier sections showed where we might live in the future, and what will be there in the future. This section shows how we will live and how it will shape our lives. 

Till now technology affected certain aspects and phases of our lives but the future would be different. The future would use a lot of transformative technologies that would touch almost every aspect of our life. It has the potential to disrupt and overcome environmental, cultural, social, and political issues that define our time and lead the planet towards an optimistic future.

‘Tomorrow Today’ is an ever-evolving showcase of innovations that could change our world. Made in collaboration with public and private partners from around the world, this exhibition explores how designers, researchers and corporations are responding today to our most urgent challenges.

The steps for tomorrow

The moment you step down from Al Waha towards the second floor, you will witness a spacious and immersive lobby which is further divided into smaller subsections that are built in collaboration with some private players as well who are working on developing some futuristic objects, devices and gadgets. 

Some of the subsections are:

• How can we hack our bodies? – This section presents a collection of devices and works that question how we will radically transform our bodies to prepare for the different challenges that the future might present.

• How can we heal our planet? – From devices for safely storing CO2 to innovative alternatives to plastic, these projects make use of the latest technologies to provide solutions for repairing the planet and minimising damage in the future.

• How smart will our homes be? – This section represents some of the technologies giving shape today to the houses of the future. Smart objects and devices will influence the rhythms and routines of our lives.

• How will we make buildings? – A selection of innovative building materials that provide a sustainable alternative to the building industry.

My Experience of the Museum of the Future – the most beautiful building on Earth

The first thing, apart from the surrealistic beauty of the lobby, that caught my attention was the futuristic spider-shaped drone-like gadgets that were hanging from the roof. They highlight how the future of surveillance, policing and safety would be. 

The next striking thing is a stylish concept car from tomorrow that was on display built in partnership with Audi that is ready to redefine how we would travel in the future. On similar lines is a public transport bus without wheels built by Volkswagen. A futuristic rover-like cleaner from Toyota, an ultra-mod concept bicycle, everything is ready.

What I loved were bionic Ants, Hexa – a cyber plant, and cyberdog – robotic animals and insects that would serve many more important functions than just being pets. 

They have created MARS (No No it is not the planet). It is Modular Artificial Reef Structure – artificial coral reefs, to take care of the depleting coral reefs across the globe and make an attempt to keep the ecological balance going.

Another subsection showcased 3D bio-printed organ scaffolds which would be used to transplant once someone suffers an injury. Similarly, they showcased;

Evolve IM – biometric evolutionary footwear – designed by Ashuach/Assa Studio in collaboration with Stratasys – a 3D printed foot-ware with sensors that study your feet to adapt and improve over time. 

Payment implant – Walletmor – the world’s first under-skin chip implant for contactless payment.

Full metal jacket (Silver edition) – Vollebak – A jacket made of 65% copper and resistant to viruses. 

Xupermask – founded by will.ia.m and designed by Jose Fernandez – a smart mask combing face technology with integrated audio engineering.

A wall showcasing different materials that would be used in the future to build homes including a prototype of a house made of dark matter known as the Free House.

Observatory Deck

I was lucky that a security guard informed me right at the beginning not to miss the open-air observatory deck that is on the same floor but it’s kind of hidden and people end up missing the experience.

After climbing twenty-odd stairs you will reach the open-air portion of the Museum of the future. This is right in the centre of the building and it is one of the most picturesque places in entire Dubai as of now. The speeding cars on the Sheikh Zayed make it an amazing backdrop. This is the perfect spot for taking a picture. It’s a must-visit. Don’t miss it. 

Once you climb down you reach the same vast entrance lobby from where you began this journey into the future. A Couple of attractions that caught my eye other than the souvenir shop were a customised perfume-making machine and a cafe entirely run by a robot. 

Perfume and Coffee of the Future

There is a huge machine that has numerous fragrances and flavours and it would require you to fill out a digital form and as per your preferences and choices will make a fragrance for you. I found the perfume a little expensive to my liking so skipped the process and headed straight for the cappuccino at cafe X.

I was amused at the fact that a robot was making a coffee for me. You will love it and I am sure will capture the entire process. Be ready to chuckle at the part where it will make an extra effort to mix your coffee before serving it to you just like a human.

Future Heroes 

There is an entire floor dedicated to Future Heroes. Yes, you guessed it right it is dedicated to kids. I couldn’t explore it as the attractions of this section are reserved for kids only.

Note: One of the most amazing facts that get no mention is that once you have the wristband on you can enter and exit the museum any number of times on the same day. 

I know this post is getting long. I tried to keep both of them as brief as possible but the experience was such that I can write this many more words. 

For all those who love futuristic technology

For all those who believe kids are future heroes

For all those who want a customised perfume

And 

For all those who want a robot to make their coffee

It’s not a goodbye

But it’s a GOOD BYE

Manas ‘Sameer’ Mukul

Did you like this post? Read the first part of the Museum of the future here. Tell me more about your experience in the comments.

I have extensively covered Dubai/UAE. You can read all the posts here.

Banner Photo by Malik Shibly on Unsplash