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EIFFELTECTURE |
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The world’s local architecture |
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Universe: Mother of All Museums |
The Grand Egyptian Museum - Distinctive Entry
MOTHER OF ALL MUSEUMS
International Architecture Competition
Mother of All Museums was selected as a Distinctive Entry, published by the Ministry of Culture and exhibited in Egypt in 2003.
Site area: 48 hectares Building area: 96,000 sqm Construction cost: US$ 350 million
Universe - Sun - Earth - River - Humanity: Inspired by the theory that the Giza monuments are a picture of the night sky and the pyramids are a terrestrial map of Orion’s belt, we extend the map to a north-south direction encompassing Memphis, its necropolis and beyond… This strategy determines the synergetic relationship with monuments around Egypt and the geometry of the GEM buildings. The main structure rises towards the sky lining up the tip of the Chephren Pyramid and the central belt star of Orion: a huge travelling platform spanning between presence and past as well as projecting to eternity, echoing the Egyptian kings’ belief of joining immortal stars in the afterlife. Clearly visible from Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, the monumental structure invites arriving visitors to travel through time. Four shuttles (vs. exhaustive walking experience in Louvre), each with the capacity of a coach, take them skywards to the ‘Mother of all Museums’.
Assisted via Computer Route Finders at Arrival, visitors can decide how to navigate the collection based on four types of proposed itineraries and embark on a programmed shuttle stopping at designated entrances. The Finders, accessible globally, form part of the virtual museum of the GEM. As the shuttle ascends, the pyramids gently emerge behind the horizon. At the top, facing only the vault of the sky, the building presents the pyramids as the first piece of exhibition.
Below is a major orientation point - the Main Hall - submerged into the sand dunes. From here the overlapping 5 thematic display routes unfold. All thematic routes are chronologically organized starting from the Main Hall, successively descending towards the end of each route. Subset spaces interlink the routes generating a network of display; enabling visitors to explore objects related one to another from various themes. A Walkway Gallery at the east side of the building, consisting of ramps and staircases, inter-connects all ages and thematic routes, provides a swift access for the changing mind. The Subset-Mergers provide logical and dynamic links of the correlated subsets. They wind, slope and cut through the five thematic display layers. The technological infrastructure within the network forms the major component of the Virtual Museum. Sunlight cut into the skin of the building via filtered openings highlighting significant displays - such as sculptures of Akhenaton on the day of his coronation. Accompanied by a program or lecture, these events become one of the “Highlights of the Day”, a new layer |
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Eiffeltecture |
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