Atelier Brückner is designing a project of the Century
The world’s largest museum of Egyptian art and culture is being designed by Atelier Brückner. The Stuttgart scenographers won the competition for the design of the exhibition. The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has a total floor space of more than 90,000 square metres, including about 40,000 square metres of space specifically for exhibitions. The complex is currently being built near the pyramids of Giza and is intended to accommodate up to 15,000 visitors a day.
A statue of King Ramses II, which is over 11 metres high, welcomes visitors in the atrium of the new building by heneghan peng architects. From there, a spectacular staircase with the Royal Image, presenting more than 90 large sculptures, leads upwards to the exhibition area. On arriving at the top, visitors are offered a breath-taking view of the pyramids.
The spacious galleries allow visitors to immerse themselves in the history of the pharaohs and the time of Egypt’s high culture. More than 50,000 exhibits convey the fascination of Egyptian archaeology – including important artefacts from the beginning of the old-Egyptian period to the Greco-Roman era, including the legendary burial hoard of Tutankhamun from the Valley of the Kings. The latter will be exhibited in its entirety for the first time: In a space of 7,500 square meters over 5,000 artefacts will be shown in appropriate settings, whereby 3,000 of these objects will be on show actually for the very first time.
In order to find a competent design team for this ambitious project, the Ministry of Antiquities organised a selection procedure, in which ten internationally renowned agencies took part. From a total of four finalists, a committee of experts chose Atelier Brückner from Stuttgart as the winner. “We are very honoured by the trust placed in our expertise and are highly motivated to design one of the world’s most important museums with a unique and fascinating scenography,” said Prof. Uwe R. Brückner when the result was announced in Cairo.