GEM | The Grand Egyptian Museum | heneghan peng architects

The site for the Grand Egyptian Museum, located at the edge of the first desert plateau between the Pyramids and Cairo, is defined by a 50 metre level difference, created as the Nile carves its way through the desert to the Mediterranean, a geological condition that has shaped Egypt for over 3000 years.

The Pyramids, are located in the desert on the plateau 2km from the Museum site, whilst the site for the museum is located both in the valley and on the plateau bridging the two geological zones. 

The design of the Museum utilises the level difference to construct a new ‘edge’ to the plateau, a surface defined by a veil of translucent stone that transforms from day to night. The Museum nestles or cleaves between the level of the Nile Valley never rising over the level of the plateau (above or behind).

A 3-dimensional structure inscribed by a set of visual axes from the site to the three Pyramids defines the framework within which the museum emerges, from the overall scale of the site to the smallest of details. 

The approach to the museum is a series of layers, whereby the visitor moves through a monumental forecourt, a shaded entrance court and a grand staircase that ascends to plateau level, the level at which the galleries are located from which there is an unparalleled elevated view of the pyramids.

The Museum is envisaged as a cultural complex of activities devoted to Egyptology and will contain 24,000sqm of permanent exhibition space, almost 4 football fields in size,  a children's museum, conference and education facilities, a large conservation centre and extensive gardens on the 50hA site. The collections of the museum include the Tutankhamen collection, that is currently housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Fact sheet

Client
Ministry of Culture, Egypt

Size
100,000m²

Date
2003 (Competition)

Status
Buildings complete, exhibition installation underway

Location
Giza, Egypt

Collaborators

Architects (Cairo)
RMC

Structural | Civil | Traffic
Arup | ACE (Cairo)

Building Services
Buro Happold | Shaker Engineering (Cairo)

Design Team Management
Davis Langdon

QS
Davis Langdon

Facade Engineering
Arup

IT | Security | Fire | Acoustics
Buro Happold

Landscape
West 8 | Sites (Cairo)

Specialist Lighting
Bartenbach LichtLabor

Signage
Bruce Mau Design

Exhibition Masterplanning
Metaphor

Museology
Cultural Innovations