Dubai is already a well known hub of impressive building projects. The United Arab Emirates city is home to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa; the Dubai Mall, the world's largest mall and Palm Islands, a spectacular man-made archipelago just off Dubai's coast. Not content with this, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, vice president and ruler of Dubai has announced the building of a 'Museum of the Future', due to open in 2017.

The building will be an oval ring-shape and is to be built on a grassy hill near the Burj Khalifa. The project will cost 500-million-dirham ($136-million) in total and will feature exhibitions showcasing innovation. Commenting on the project, Sheikh Mohammed said: “His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, our President, has declared 2015 to be the year of innovation in the UAE. Today, we show how serious and committed we are to that mission by turning the UAE into a major international destination for innovators. The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it and execute it.”

With its motto as “see the future, create the future”, the museum will “actively produce futuristic inventions,” claims the Dubai government said, and provide a “permanent home for the world’s greatest innovations.” Living up to its name, the Museum of the Future will be constructed using modern 3D printing techniques. However the museum is not the sole building development planned to alter the metropolis. Indeed, last October, plans were made to build the world's tallest twin towers in the United Arab Emirates, while the Dubai Miracle Garden, the world's biggest natural flower garden will transform the city in the desert with a 72,000m2 park comprising 45 million flowers.

Original blog post by Luxisto

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The World's First Hybrid Superyacht

Feadship, a Dutch luxury shipbuilder, launched the world's first hybrid superyacht called Savannah with an impressive size of  83.5m. With her pioneering electro-mechanical propulsion platform, this custom created yacht is the future of the environmentally friendly yachting business. In economic terms, its innovative engine generates fuel savings of up to thirty per cent in comparison to similar sized yachts.

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The Future of Superyachts

When it's a question of cool design, superyachts are the answer. At the forefront of innovative design, shipbuilders need to pull out all the stops to entice their famously hard to please billionaire clients. Leisure & Luxury turns a keen eye to the future for a glimpse of what can be expected in design, technology and performance in the superyacht industry.

A common complaint of superyacht owners is the lack of privacy. With some vessels harbouring up to nearly 80 crew members, finding that bit of peace and quiet you want from a luxury holiday can prove difficult. Monaco-based yacht designer, Pastrovich Studio, has unveiled plans for a futuristic superyacht that has captured the imagination of the boating industry. The 250ft X R-Evolution has intelligent storage space designed to hold several vessels each capable of being deployed to serve as floating gardens or sundecks when a bit of privacy from the crew is needed.

The stunning superyacht seen in the featured image is the brainchild of multiple-award-winning Dame Zaha Hadid. With a mesh of weaving curves and loops covering its exterior, the Blohm+Voss superyacht is more akin to the Bird’s Nest of the Beijing Olympics than any superyacht seen before. Indeed Zaha Hadid has experience of designing sports venues, as the creator of the iconic Aquatics Centre at the London 2012 games. However this is only her first venture into superyacht design and there have certainly been worse debuts. Her initial design which has been fondly compared to a skeleton includes a 128m ‘mothership’ and five other 90m “unique circle yachts”. Each of these smaller yacht scan be tailored to future buyers’ preferences.

They say inspiration comes from some unlikely sources and that couldn’t be more true of  Lujac Desautel’s ‘Glass’ superyacht. The cuboid shaped yacht was modelled on Lego as part of this year’s Boat International Young Designer of the Year competition. Inspiration from the children’s toy has spawned a modular structure whereby each floor of the 5,600sq ft yacht is stacked upon the other like building blocks. The yacht, whose more rigid structure stands in stark contrast to Zaha Hadid’s superyacht conception features an elevator, six guest bedrooms, a private owner’s lounge and steps at the aft deck intended to resemble those of ancient Mayan temples.

Original blog post provided by Luxisto

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