‘Museum of the Future’ to be Built in Dubai Using 3D Printing Construction Techniques — Ready by 2017

We all know Dubai as one of the fastest developing cities on the planet. It’s also one of the most technologically advanced, and features structures built with some of the most futuristic construction techniques. With the world’s tallest building located here, and dozens of incredible new construction projects underway as we speak, Dubai has thrust the United Arab Emirates into the global spotlight, and has become a worldwide tourist destination.

The UAE’s economy is based primarily on petroleum and petrochemicals, but unlike many of its Arab neighbors, the nation — with the 7th highest GDP per capita in the world — is investing heavily into future technologies. Oil is not going to be as lucrative as it is now, forever, as new technologies slowly wean the planet off this natural resource.

So, how do you push a nation so caught up in the oil boom to other emerging technologies? How about a ‘Museum of the Future’? This week Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, unveiled an incredible plan to construct a $136 million museum, innovation lab, and invention hub located in the Emirates Towers area near Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

“The world is entering a new era of accelerated knowledge and great technological revolutions. We aim to lead in that era, not to follow and lag behind. The ‘Museum of the Future’ is the first step of many to come, marking the beginning of great achievements,” stated Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.

The museum will be futuristic in every sense of the word, from its content to its ‘innovation labs,’ which focus on education, health, smart cities, energy, and transportation, to the very construction of the building which houses it all. In fact, the government plans to use advanced 3D printing construction techniques to help build the curved, oblong, oval-shaped structure. The exact techniques which will be utilized have yet to be revealed, but 3D printing will play a rather crucial role. After all, where else would you expect to find the world’s first $100 million+ building which takes advantage of 3D printing, than in Dubai?

If all goes as planned the building will open to the public sometime in 2017, with a game plan to change out all the content of the museum every 6 months, ensuring that they are always looking 10 years into the future.

More than just a place to learn and imagine the future, with a motto of “See the future, create the future,” some of the world’s brightest minds will be within the facility inventing and working on applications that could take humanity to new wonderful places.

It will be interesting to watch as this incredible building begins construction and what the role of 3D printing will be during that process. It will also be very interesting to see how much of a presence 3D printing has within the content of the exhibits as well.

Let us know your thoughts on these plans released by the United Arab Emirates for the Museum of the Future, and your ideas on how 3D printing may play a role in its construction. Discuss in the Museum of the Future forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video below which shows a computer rendered walk-through of the planned structure thanks to GulfNews.