Apart from gorgeous beaches and breathtaking views, Brazil is now also home to the Museum of Tomorrow that was inaugurated last week in Rio de Janeiro.

According to GPB News, the museum featured a bold design that is reminiscent of an exoskeleton of a pre-historic fish, with an ambitious aim to raise consciousness on the future of our planet.

The Museum of Tomorrow is reported to be the centerpiece of the government's $2 billion revitalization of the historic port district ahead of the Summer Olympics, which the country is hosting.

The institution, however, has received both praise and controversy and raised an intriguing question of what sort of tomorrow humanity really wants. According to Leonardo Menezes, the museum's content manager, the institution explores how our choices are building different tomorrows and added, "Are they going to be sustainable or not?"

In a related report by Al Jazeera, the museum was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, which has been built in what used to be one of the city's poorest and most crime-ridden areas.

The museum now stands at the center of a major makeover of the area since 2010, and was hailed as the largest urban development project in the country.

One resident named Jessiana Rangel, who has worked in the Port of Rio for three years, witnessed the transformation.

Rangel said, "I used to be scared walking in this area. No one used to come here. Now you can come anytime of day and you'll find lots of people."

The building will utilize natural light to illuminate the 5,000 square meter exhibition space and it's open layout allows air coming from the Guanabara Bay to keep its interior cool, making the building both energy efficient and environmentally friendly, with the designers said that it uses 40 percent less energy.

The Daily Mail reported that Mayor Eduardo Pares, who inaugurated the building with President Dilma Rousseff, said that the museum is the most striking example of the regeneration and gentrification of Rio's port district.

The building was noted to be funded by the Rio city government, along with the help from sponsors. The building attempts to set new standards of sustainability within the municipality.

As for the aim of the museum, its curator Alberto Oliviera said, "We hope people will come out feeling disturbed or inspired but not indifferent," and added, "If they feel pessimistic, it's not because of us; it's because of reality ... This is all based on the best available science."