The building is an architectural and engineering marvel. It confidently straddles the past and the future, applying advanced technology to traditional artforms. The building ‘speaks Arabic’: its facade is a canvas for the poetry of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum rendered in the calligraphy of Mattar bin Lahej. The building’s form is futuristic: it opens a new path away from the highrise towers that dominate skylines everywhere. Its form is symbolic: The circular building represents humanity; the green mound it sits atop represents the earth; the void represents the unknown future.