DURING a private preview for a number of leading media outlets, the Dubai ‎Government announced a landmark project which is anticipated to be the Eiffel Tower of Dubai.

 

Just as Paris’ Eiffel Tower rose out of the city’s own World Expo, the Dubai Government has unveiled plans for the “Museum of the Future” to mark the city’s achievement of hosting the 2020 World Expo.

 

The plans were unveiled by Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum on Wednesday.

 

Set to open in 2017, the museum’s motto, “See the future, create the future,” is meant to reflect a new approach to government innovation.

 

Architect Shaun Killa spoke about the design of the building, explaining the gaping hole at the center of the structure.

 

“The solid element of the building symbolizes what we know today representing what we know to be the future, and the void represents what we don’t know. So we constantly are looking towards the future and discovering new possibilities.”

 

“The Museum of the Future will be an incubator for ideas and real designs, a driver for innovation and a global destination for inventors and entrepreneurs,” said the vice president of the UAE at the launch. 

 

The museum is to be built on a grassy hill near the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, with a 500 million dirham ($136 million) price tag.

The Museum of the Future will “actively produce futuristic inventions,” the Gulf emirate’s government said, and provide a “permanent home for the world’s greatest innovations.”

 

It will “work to stimulate and incubate imaginative solutions to the challenges of future cities. It will bring together the brightest researchers, designers, inventors and financiers under one roof.”

 

The museum will house “innovation labs” focused on health, education, smart cities, energy and transport, and provide a platform for inventions by world-leading technology giants and start-ups. 

 

— Al Arabiya News/Agencies