KONE Freight/Exhibition Entrance Elevator @ Museum of the Future, Za'abeel, Dubai, UAE

Museum of the Future is a new experiential museum built adjacent to Emirates Towers, which showcases innovative ways in which science and technology could be used to approach key problems faced by humanity. The building itself was unique in that it consisted of a metallic toroidal structure atop a landscaped hill-shaped podium, with the podium paying homage to the Earth as the humanity's root, the metallic structure signifying innovation and advancements of technology, and the elliptical void being a symbol of the unknown future. The three-level podium was bisected by a three-story lobby in the middle, with the ticket office, museum cafe, and gift shop on the bottom "P1" level. The main loading dock and back-of-house areas were also on this floor. Two separate parking garages were located on part of the P1 level and the entirety of the "P2" level, while the "P3" level above housed an auditorium and corridors leading to the bridge connecting the museum building with the upper ground floor of Emirates Towers' retail podium as well as the adjacent metro station. Above were seven floors located in the main toroid body of the building. Level 1, located right above the podium, was home to a children's museum and an outdoor event terrace on the podium roof. Above were four floors of exhibitions, each dedicated to different topics such as the future of space exploration, preservation and restoration of biodiversity, and holistic medicine. Level 6 had the museum's administration offices, while the top level 7 was simply a blank floor that could be reserved for private events. In addition, a viewing deck that allowed visitors to admire the building's unique shape from close by was located beneath the central void just above level 2, which could be accessed via stairs or a wheelchair lift from that floor.
The building had ten elevators, consisting of one oversized freight elevator, three panoramic glass elevators serving the main structure, one elevator serving the western parking garage, three elevators serving the podium and eastern garage, and three service elevators for the podium, with all units having been supplied by KONE; these were in addition to the platform lift providing access to the viewing deck from level 2. In this video, the oversized elevator that provided access to all of the building's floors except the level P2 parking garage is featured. The elevator's sheer size meant that it had three-speed, center-opening doors, though fixtures and floor indicators could not be found anywhere; those might have been inside a locked cabinet or on a separate console. Originally used for construction, its cab had been fitted with LCD displays and surround speakers to simulate a trip onboard a space capsule as part of the exhibition narrative while carrying large amounts of visitors from the level P1 entrance to level 5, which was the floor about space exploration in the future themed around a hypothetical space station of the 2070s, to begin their museum experience. The audio-visual display inside the elevator was synchronized with its movements, with actual ascent (which took around one minute) taking place during the "launch" phase; though the preceding announcements and the "docking" phase, during which the elevator did not move, brought the entire experience to be about four minutes long. Apparently, this elevator was still being used as a freight car outside of the museum's opening hours, during which the simulation would be turned off.
Manufacturer: KONE Middle East LLC
Model name: Freight DX
Year of commission: 2021
Loading: 13,000kg (28,660lbs)
Capacity: 216 persons
Full speed: 1m/s (200FPM)
Serviced floors: *P1, P3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7