Museum of the Future Included in Ten Architecturally Significant Museums Designed by Famous Studios

Written by Nat Barker | May 2023

To mark International Museum Day, we’ve selected 10 museums from the Dezeen archive that were designed by famous architects or are otherwise architecturally significant.

Ten museums from across the globe, including a zigzagging museum in Berlin and a tree-canopy-like museum in Budapest, are among the buildings in this roundup to mark International Museum Day on 18 May.

Museum of the Future, UAE, by Killa Design

This ring-shaped building in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was declared “the most beautiful building in the world” by the emirate’s ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Created by local studio Killa Design, it contains exhibits dedicated to the future and workshops for testing emerging technology.

Find out more about the Museum of the Future ›

Shaun Killa: the architect who dreamt up the design of Dubai’s Museum of the Future.

Written by John Dennehy | September 2022

With only three weeks to go, Shaun Killa cast aside the sketches piled on his dining-room table. The South African architect was aiming to win a fierce international six-week design competition for a new building in Dubai.

It was an unusual brief and Killa knew the sketches needed more.

“I just felt they weren’t good enough,” Killa says of the designs. “Not good enough to win.”

As the clock ticked past midnight, he continued to sketch, using only tracing paper and a pen.

“I really searched deep,” he says. In the end, it took only a few minutes. Hand-drawn at 1am on his dining table, the design became a building that has energised and reshaped Dubai’s skyline.

“I love buildings with shapes that feel that they move,” he says, pointing to the original sketch he drew in the early hours of the morning, which now hangs on the wall.

“The building looks like it wants to move down the Sheikh Zayed Road. And look at the calligraphy. It was there from the start.”

Killa then used WhatsApp to send a photograph of the sketch to a colleague who was doing the computer modelling. “The next morning he wrote back, “I don’t understand’,” Killa says with a smile.

A new symbol of the future

More than six months since the Museum of the Future’s opening, the star architect is reflecting on his achievement at his offices in Dubai. He established Killa Design in 2015, and from the windows one can see Dubai World Trade Centre. This was once a building that represented the future, but now Killa’s design for Museum of the Future has taken the baton on the road to tomorrow.

For a story about the future, it begins in the past at a time when Dubai was going through one of the most transformative periods in its young history. Killa moved to the city from Cape Town in the 1990s after a friend said “interesting things” were happening. None more so than Burj Al Arab, a glitzy new hotel rising on a man-made island off the coast.

“I also saw Emirates Towers under construction,” Killa says. “There was an energy in the city. There was an optimism.”

He joined the Atkins design firm in 1998 to work on the Burj, only a year before the famous hotel opened. It was totally different from anything he had done in South Africa.

“The Burj increased my perspective,” he says. “It is that change of scale and out-of-the-box thinking. But I also had my own drive.”

That drive led him to become director of architecture with Atkins and a succession of projects followed that redefined architecture in the UAE and Middle East, such as the renowned Bahrain World Trade Centre that used wind turbines to generate some of the building’s electricity. Killa was also behind Dubai Opera in 2016 and the curves of the building provide a signpost to his designs of today.

But Killa wanted to forge his own path and left Atkins. In 2015, shortly before he founded Killa Design, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, announced a Museum of the Future was to be built and Dubai Future Foundation was handed responsibility for the project. One requirement was that it needed to sit somewhere on the site of Emirates Towers.

Crucially, Killa in his proposal decided against using a site at the rear of Emirates Towers and instead, pinpointed a small space beside Sheikh Zayed Road that at the time was a car park surrounded by trees as having the most potential.

“If I put the museum behind Emirates Towers, 2 per cent of the people would know it’s there,” he says. “But if I put it on Sheikh Zayed Road, then 100 per cent of people will know it’s there. And I can connect Dubai Metro to the museum and the museum to Emirates Towers.”

Because the space was quite small, Killa knew the building needed to be vertical. He describes early designs as organic, which means they were all flowing lines and shapes. Killa, an admirer of abstract art, explains how the oval and the void ― the hole through the middle ― were drawn at the same time.

“Throughout my career, I haven’t been afraid of shapes which are progressive,” Killa says.

Pointing to the sketch of the void, he says this presses the oval to one side to elongate the building and hand it a sense of dynamism. “Otherwise it would feel still,” he says. “It has a sense of speed. It has a sense of direction as opposed to a sphere. It also is very natural. But what I like about it is this sense of direction.”

The void, Killa says, represents what we don’t know about the future. It was envisaged as a place where the museum could stage visual displays, but its role goes beyond practicality.

“This is the most powerful point of the whole building,” he says. “People who seek the unknown are the people throughout the ages who have discovered new things and invented new things. That will replenish the museum and keep it abreast of time.”

Killa was invited to present his designs for Museum of the Future at the prime minister’s office before he realised he had won. Afterwards he was informed he must start the very next day. “Come back here tomorrow morning,” Killa recalls the instruction with a smile.

A ‘complex and delicate’ process

Museum of the Future is 77 metres tall and covers an area of 30,548 square metres. It has seven storeys of exhibition space, a 420-seat auditorium, restaurant, cafe and lobby. The oval shape aims to represent humanity; the green mound it sits on top of represents the Earth; and the void represents the unknown future.

The engineering process ― completed by Buro Happold ― was complex and delicate. Museum of the Future does not have traditional support columns but instead is a steel diagrid ― a frame of beams ― and was developed with the aid of algorithms and a software system known as Building Information Modelling. The facade is just as complex. It consists of 1,024 pieces and was designed using techniques from the aviation industry in how they applied it like a skin on to the building.

Window designs, in the form of Arabic calligraphy by Emirati artist Mattar bin Lahej and based on Sheikh Mohammed’s quotes, are also mapped on to this curved skin. The quotes also function as windows into the museum and are illuminated at night with LEDs. The double staircase in the lobby used bended steel so large that submarine contractors used to bending huge steel nose cones were called in to do it. Sustainability is also important and the building uses solar power.

“The building is like a baton that pays homage to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s father, then his vision with his own words and [then] passing that on to his future generations. That’s what the building symbolises.”

The museum was named one of the 14 most beautiful museums on the planet in a list compiled by National Geographic magazine months before it opened. But it wasn’t until the scaffolding came down and people walked through its doors for the first time in February that Killa was able to really enjoy it.

“I walked into the reception, sat down and got a coffee,” he says of that first day. “No one knew who I was. I saw hundreds and hundreds of people in that lobby with kids, adults smiling and taking pictures and enjoying themselves.

“At that point, I realised the building is for the visitors and residents of Dubai and the UAE. We are creating experiences about … how the unbelievable can become the believable and how the impossible can become possible. It is almost a building of fantasy. Now it is owned by the people.”

How Architect Shaun Killa Is Designing a More Sustainable Dubai.

Written by Nicola Chilton | 26th August 2022

The shimmering torus-shaped Museum of the Future in Dubai is covered in Arabic calligraphy and is supported not by the traditional columns but by a steel diagrid, with a facade of 1,024 steel panels. The aviation industry provided inspiration for the technology needed to create the exterior that was developed using learning algorithms. “All the parameters structurally were put into a program, and eventually it learned to create this shape,” says architect Shaun Killa.

Opened in February 2022, the building is an iconic addition to Dubai’s already dramatic skyline, which includes the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. These modern, globally recognizable structures have made a name for Dubai’s architecture, but the story of Dubai’s urban landscape goes back much further. “Often the story is that since the 2000s it’s been a place of gleaming skyscrapers,” says architect and writer Todd Reisz, author of Showpiece City: How Architecture Made Dubai.

But the creative fusion seen in the architecture of structures like Killa’s Museum of the Future goes deeper. “I think what has had the most influence on the city is the fact that it’s an entrepôt, a port city,” says Reisz. “It’s a place of exchange and in-betweenness, where not only things and people come in and out, but so do ideas.” That exchange of ideas has led to some of the world’s most ambitious architectural projects—in which Killa has played an outsize role.

Killa first arrived in Dubai from South Africa in 1998, joining the architecture firm Atkins, where he worked on the Burj Al Arab—one of Dubai’s most famous buildings, which sits on an artificial island and is shaped like the sail of a yacht. “For an architect coming from Cape Town, the scale of the buildings was so much bigger,” Killa says of Dubai. “If you’re used to smaller projects, it’s quite a challenge to overcome that scale.” Killa went on to work on other major projects in Dubai such as the Dubai Opera, the Address Boulevard, and the Almas Tower, the tallest building in Dubai at the time.

Killa launched his own architecture studio, Killa Design, in 2015, with a desire to make futuristic buildings that combine engineering innovation and technology. Sustainability is also a driving force. For the Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC), completed in 2008, Killa worked with wind–tunnel and bridge specialists to create a building that is made up of two wing-shaped structures with three 30-m wind turbines suspended between them. The structures funnel wind onto the turbines, which generate up to 15% of the building’s power.

Killa has helped advance architectural innovation in Dubai through his “challenging designs and to demonstrate the capacity to construct them using the latest technologies in the market,” says Georges Kachaamy, director of the Center for Research, Innovation, and Design at the American University in Dubai.

Killa also sees the importance of focusing on the livability of buildings and cities and creating more cyclable and walkable areas. “There is a strong emphasis on creating a better place to live, with greater diversity,” he says.

With its unusual facade, the Museum of the Future, located in Dubai’s financial district, features frequently on Instagram posts. And like the city itself, it has become a place of exchange—an outsize space where people gather, marvel, and commune. “That enjoyment that I saw people having really filled me with something that was very special,” Killa says of the public reception to the museum. “The building has now been passed to them.”

‘The most beautiful building in the world’ recognised as the best tall building under 100-metres.

Written by Waheed Abbas | 4th August 2022

Dubai’s two skyscrapers have won international awards for the best tall building and construction excellence.

The emirate’s latest infrastructure marvel the Museum of the Future won the Award of Excellence 2022 in the category of the best tall building under 100-metres from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

“The torus-shaped building 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.

“A primary inspiration was to create a form that represents the UAE Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai’s vision of the future where the physical building embodies floors and spaces that represent an understanding of the future as we know it today and possibly for the next few years,” the Council said.

Standing at 78 meters tall, the Museum of the Future (MOTF) is far from reaching Dubai’s famous skyline, which features skyscrapers like the unparalleled Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest tower.

Written by Valeria Montjoy | 23rd June 2022

However, with its bold shape and striking façade illuminated by more than 14,000 meters of Arabic calligraphy, it certainly succeeds in taking its place among the city’s most iconic buildings. The award-winning project by Killa Design and Buro Happold, described by many as ‘the most beautiful building in the world’, opened in February of 2022 in Dubai’s Financial District. In a total built-up area of 30,000 sqm, it accommodates exhibition spaces for innovative ideologies, services, and products, as well as theatre spaces, a laboratory, and a research centre.

Symbolizing Arab heritage and future progress, MOTF is comprised of three main parts: a green hill, the building, and the void. The green hill represents the earth – with its roots in place –, time and history. It also serves to unobtrusively elevate the museum above the adjacent metro line and create an elevated park. Likewise, the torus-shaped structure symbolizes mankind’s ability to innovate and push the limits of modern engineering and construction. The elliptical void, on the other hand, is an expression of ‘the unknown’ that seeks to inspire today’s creators to face humanity’s unwritten future.

With its magnitude, eye-catching form and extremely intricate design, the architectural and engineering marvel is one of the most advanced structures ever built. As a result, it called for a series of groundbreaking technologies to approach complex design challenges and bring the vision to life. To find out more about these technologies, we spoke with Shaun Killa and Pippa Tucker from Killa Design, the architecture firm behind the monumental building.

The Museum of the Future has been one of the most stimulating projects I’ve designed as it is a highly public cultural building, hyper unique in its form and technically complex in its execution. – Shaun Killa, co-founder of Killa Design and chief architect of MOTF

Challenges behind the revolutionary design

Many of the challenges encountered by architects and engineers arose from the complexity of the diagrid and façade. To overcome them, the design process required a combination of advanced materials and the latest technologies in 3D modelling software, collaborative design, and parametric construction. These digital tools were ultimately pivotal to the success of the project, which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

As Shaun and Pippa shared with us, one of the most difficult features to construct was the building’s curved façade, consisting of 1,024 glass-reinforced plastic and stainless-steel panels. Integrating the moulded-in Arabic calligraphy in distinct 3D shapes, the carved panels play a fundamental role. During the day, they function as windows that cast natural light through the column-free interior; during the night, they illuminate the city with LED lighting. And with a depth of 1.3 meters, the windows are wide enough for visitors to stand inside in what functions as a permanent exhibition space. However, the team had to overcome multiple complexities to achieve this end result.

A major challenge in the design of the Museum of the Future was the incorporation of the calligraphy windows into the parametrically optimized torus form, inclusive of the avoidance of the steel diagrid structural nodes through the calligraphy, all of which took over a year to design. – Shaun Killa, co-founder of Killa Design and chief architect of MOTF

Other significant challenges related to execution included “coordination of more than 1,000 unique structural nodes and their base connections, as well as clash avoidance with secondary support steel work, fit out and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing).”

Innovative design principles

To address all of these complexities, the project adopted numerous innovative design principles regarding construction technologies and materials. This involved, for example, developing parametric design tools with growth algorithms “to digitally optimize the efficiency of the primary structural diagrid, façade, and the glazing elements.” The software included Revit with Dynamo and Rhino with Grasshopper. Likewise, the use of BIM was pivotal during the process, creating a precise digital model with multi-disciplinary collaboration. It was also used to produce all the drawings and for Virtual Reality clash detection, deflection tolerances and onsite real-time building sequences.

Tekla Structures, a structural BIM software developed by Trimble, was utilized considering the museum’s unconventional geometry and massive amounts of data. Besides providing powerful 3D modeling capabilities, the technology was extensively used to identify clashes with other trades like MEP, roofing and façade contractors. Furthermore, the solution enhanced and simplified design details, enabled smoother workflows and delivered the intricate interface requirements during the designing, fabricating and coordinating phases of the project. It also allowed different actors to explore and develop routines to do modeling and detailing accurately in a short period of time. Overall, the innovative use of each digital design tool resulted in maximum optimization.

The computer aided design for the Museum of the Future was unique in respect to its algorithms and the scripting that was required to design an optimized form and structural system. – Killa Design

High-tech procedures, like aviation software and automated robotic arms, were particularly needed to put together the calligraphy panels covering the exterior. First, 3D modeling software was used to set the calligraphy onto the building’s surface and to guarantee that the 1,000 steel diagrid nodes were avoided in the center of the windows. For their construction, the process involved “CNC robotic technology and cutting-edge moulding and processing systems, which required a 16-step process to produce.” And to accurately place the panels in the structure – and ensure their dynamic movement without any distortion –, the team utilized multi-layered laser positioning systems, which were also used for the precise placement of the steel diagrid.

Technology in favor of wellbeing and sustainability

As Shaun Killa claims, sustainability was the main motivation in the design, which was also addressed through advanced technologies: “The aspiration was to make the design, the fabrication and its operational resources as sustainable as possible using the highest innovative technologies.” This involved developing a 3D energy model, low-energy and low-water engineering solutions, recovery strategies for energy and water, passive solar design, air quality filtering systems and integrated renewables from a nearby solar farm located on car park building rooftops. Altogether, this contributed to a 45% reduction in water use and total energy savings of 25%. The result is a low carbon building with LEED Platinum certification that aims to set the example for all future buildings in the UAE.

The Museum of the Future is an architectural and engineering masterpiece that takes a groundbreaking approach to what it means to be a museum. Without a doubt, a great part of its success lies in its multi-disciplinary collaboration and the innovative use of the latest technologies; from robotics to parametric design, from CNC to aviation software. Pushing the limits of innovation, the iconic landmark paves the way towards a promising future, one where technology takes part of the built environment in favor of creativity, wellbeing and sustainability.

A tech-driven architect and designer, Shaun Killa’s passion for futuristic and sustainable designs is unwaveringly visible in all his projects.

by SUMISHA GILOTRA

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