Museum of the Future

A better future is possible’. Atelier Bruckner

Clayworks is tremendously proud to have created and provided a wide range of interior wall finishes for The Museum of the Future in Dubai.

The museum, dedicated to the future, has been dubbed ‘the most beautiful building in the world’ by the emirate’s ruler and UAE vice president Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Designed to be ‘an architectural and cultural icon’, the museum consists of an elongated ring shape with a void at its centre.

Clayworks Clay Plasters were specified as part of the exhibition ‘Journey of the Pioneers’, designed by German company Atelier Bruckner. The ALWAHA space is conceptualised as a retreat for your senses. It offers visitors the opportunity to sink into a state of self-reflection and physical experience that reminds them of the power, beauty and infinite richness of their bodies.

Our senses bond us as humans. Sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch are the original human technologies…

Welcome to ALWAHA!

An emotionally evocative film Journey of the Pioneers, created by the designers Atelier Brückner, describes how ‘we find ourselves surrounded by earth and clay tones and away from the increasingly technological world of 2071. We re-connect to our senses, inner happiness, calm and well-being.

Built for the Dubai Future Foundation the seven-storey building contains a combination of exhibits dedicated to the future and workshops for testing and developing emerging technologies.

The three sentences written on the building say:

• ‘We may not live for hundreds of years, but the products of our creativity can leave a legacy long after we are gone’;

• ‘The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it. It isn’t something you await, but rather create’; and

• ‘innovation is not an intellectual luxury. It is the secret behind the evolution and rejuvenation of nations and peoples’.

These are all words that resonate strongly with Clayworks and our philosophy. The museum also preserves an Archive of Species to promote protecting the remaining biodiversity in the world.

Future Materials

Founder Director of Clayworks Adam Weismann said: ‘Having had the opportunity to bring clay into the luxury realm has been an empowering creative challenge for us. When we began working with clay in 2002, we were digging it up on site and mixing it with shovels in wheelbarrows. Now our ready-mixed and easy to use clay plasters are available all around the world and being used in visionary, contemporary designs. Clay has not long been desirable in high end design and we have been a leading part in challenging that conversation with creativity, commitment and innovation. Earthen building materials can be a vital tool in tackling the big challenges of our time and it is fantastic news for us, for natural building materials and for Cornwall that clay plasters have been used in the most futuristic building in the world’.

Architects: Killa Design

Design: Atelier Bruckner

Photographs: Giovanni Emilio Galanello

Film Creative Director: Brendan McGetrick

ALWAHA (Movement Therapy, Feel Therapy, Connection Therapy): Deeplocal, Emilie Baltz
ALWAHA (Grounding Therapy, Sound Design Entrance): Polytope Agency
ALWAHA (The Centre): Jason Bruges Studio