The Museum of the Future – a stunning new addition to Dubai’s skyline by architects Killa Design, engineers Buro Happold and contractor BAM International – opened on 22nd February 2022 and features a large percentage of composite materials.

Dubai-based Advanced Fiberglass Industries (AFI) manufactured 230 double curved interior glass fibre panels, a unique double-helix DNA structure staircase that scales the full seven levels of the museum and 228 oval shaped light structures for the museum’s car parking area.

Lightweight, quick to install, durable and highly formable the fire-retardant composites provided the optimum material solution for the torus shaped Museum’s double curved interior panels that were decorated with a unique raised calligraphy design featuring quotes from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.

Adaptable moulding

In a first of its kind for a large scale composite project, adaptable mould technology from Danish company Adapa was introduced by AFI to ensure that the interior panels could be delivered in line with the project schedule. As well as allowing each unique panel shape to be rapidly configured without the machining of traditional moulds, the adaptive mould technology massively reduced waste generated in the moulding process, contributing to the building’s low carbon LEED platinum credentials.

With a challenging structural and fire safety specification defined, bio-based SGi128 intumescent gelcoat and SR1122 fire retardant laminating epoxy from Sicomin of France were chosen for the panels, an additional advantage being that in addition to high fire properties, SGi 128 is also formulated with over 30% carbon from renewable sources, reducing the final carbon footprint significantly. 

Sicomin worked alongside the panel manufacturer, providing technical support for the fire test panels and the initial Adapa moulding trials. As a result the high-performance fire-retardant material solution was approved by Dubai Civil Defence, as well as achieving Class A (ASTM E84) and B-s1,d0 (EN13510-1) classifications in the testing carried out by Thomas Bell-Wright.

“Sicomin’s FR epoxy solutions gave us just the right balance of structural performance, processability and fire performance that we needed for the museum’s interior panels,” said Majid Akram Chaudhry, AFI’s general manager. “We were able to quickly dial in the new techniques required to use the materials on the Adapa moulds and the industrial scale up we needed to deliver the project on time was no problem for Sicomin to manage.  As a result, we were able to increase the scope significantly and for the staircase and car park light fittings too.”

www.sicomin.com