The world’s very first fully functional, and permanently occupied, 3D printed building has been completed in Dubai.

Set to open its doors in 2020, the new build, which is going to be a museum titled: The Museum of the Future, is one of the most advanced buildings on the planet.

Located near the high-profile Emirates Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road, the building is already being defined as an architectural masterpiece. Enhancing the urban landscape of Dubai, the museum is designed to be a popular destination for tourists, residents and fellow architects/building enthusiasts, to learn about the future now.

Offering a space that will teach its visitors about the realities of what we can expect from upcoming technologies means people can glance into the future. It will become the must-be destination for experts, innovators, scientists, engineerings, and creatives from all corners of the globe, who aim to shape and design the future.

Currently, the building is the temporary housing for the Dubai Future Foundation, alongside an exhibition space and incubator for emerging technologies.

The building itself has been manufactured through an additive concrete printing technique, using a 6 meter high, 36.5 meters long and 12 meters wide, 3D Printer. Cladding was created through insulated panels that were custom cut to form the complex geometry of the facade.

Various senses and probes on the building provide continuous feedback on its structural performance that can offer designers valuable information in relation to the future of 3D printing, and how can this can work for high rise builds.

Already, Dubai is an established hub for innovation and the new design stands to further encourage future thinking within the city. The museum will support the development of long terms solutions to the challenges and requirements of the future on a local, regional and international scale.

Given the advances in prefabrication, materials and robotics that are coming to the attention of the world, it is not difficult to imagine how this one-storey build, could be reproduced at much greater heights in the near future. Transforming the aesthetics and workings of cities across the planet.