Permanent collection
Facade Calligraphy
- Year
- 2022
- Medium
- Architectural calligraphy — stainless steel and fibreglass panels
- Dimensions
- 14 km of calligraphy across 1,024 panels; building height 77 m
- Status
- On display
The museum's exterior is wrapped in 14 kilometres of flowing Arabic calligraphy by Emirati artist Mattar Bin Lahej, rendered across 1,024 robot-fabricated stainless-steel and fibreglass panels. The script carries three quotations by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on the theme of the future, and the openings between the letters serve as the building's windows. Executed in the thuluth style for its sense of grandeur, the work has given the building its enduring nickname, "the only building that speaks Arabic," and stands among the most recognisable examples of contemporary Arabic calligraphy at architectural scale.