Cairo’s Grand Egyptian Museum (Gem) has been a long time coming. First announced in the early 2000s and originally slated to open in 2013, the project has weathered more than a decade of delays: political upheaval, shifting budgets, regional instability and a global pandemic – but that’s all ancient history now. What does a few years of delays matter in a country where centuries are mere chapters? Doors are now set to open on 1 November.

Perched on the Giza Plateau neighbouring the pyramids, the Gem is the largest archaeological museum in the world. Designed by Dublin-based firm Heneghan Peng Architects, the building follows a chamfered triangular plan that aligns precisely with the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Menkaure. Its alabaster-clad façade, inscribed with repeated motifs, glows softly at dusk. Inside, visitors are met by a soaring six-storey staircase and a vast atrium dominated by an 82-ton colossus of Ramses II, which once stood outside Cairo’s main train station.

Since October 2024, the Gem has been in a carefully choreographed soft-opening phase, offering visitors a glimpse of what’s to come. But its crown jewel, the long-awaited Tutankhamun galleries, has remained hidden. Following the official opening, the collection will take centre stage – two expansive halls showcasing 5,000 objects from the boy king’s tomb, including his iconic gold mask and glittering royal regalia. The design of these galleries, along with the Grand Staircase and atrium, is the work of Stuttgart-based design studio Atelier Brückner. Monocle sat down with its CEO, Shirin Frangoul-Brückner, to find out how to build an experience worthy of a pharaoh.

Showcasing so many artefacts from a tomb as famous as this, where do you even begin?
The good thing with Tutankhamun is that the story almost tells itself. We were dealing with 5,600 artefacts, and that sounds like a lot but compared to other projects that we’ve worked on, it’s almost modest. Sometimes, you’re juggling upwards of 50,000 objects with only the vaguest thematic through-line. Here, the narrative was clear: to illuminate the world of Tutankhamun through the objects buried with him. For the first time, these treasures are presented together, across 7,500 sq m of exhibition space. Every object is a masterpiece in its own right.

How do you bring that to life?
The exhibition unfolds across two vast, elongated galleries – each up to 180 metres in length and 16 metres in height. Within these monumental spaces, the layout is structured around three elemental themes: life, death and the afterlife. To cater to the 15,000 expected daily visitors, we created two opposing pathways. One follows a chronological arc: you meet the young king, witness the rites of mummification, encounter the golden mask, pass through shrines and sarcophagi, and eventually reach the realm of the afterlife and finally the moment of the tomb’s discovery. The opposite path is more forensic: it begins with [Howard] Carter’s excavation and works backwards, peeling away layers to find out: who was Tutankhamun?

How do you help visitors understand the objects rather than just admire them?
Many major museums tend to treat ancient artefacts as aesthetic trophies. Our goal was to go beyond beauty – to reveal the culture behind it. We built a full-scale reconstruction of the tomb, so visitors can truly grasp that all these treasures came from a space no larger than a studio apartment. We also created a layered vitrine that shows the nested sequence of shrines and sarcophagi, allowing access to hieroglyphic inscriptions – not just as surface pattern but as meaningful text. There’s even a walk-in family tree, looking out toward the pyramids, that anchors Tutankhamun in a longer dynastic narrative.

What was the biggest challenge?
Time. In Europe, a project of this scale might stretch more than eight years. We had six months – not just for the concept but for technical planning and the entire tendering process. But tight deadlines can bring a certain clarity. You don’t have time to second-guess. The contractual situation was more complex. We weren’t commissioned directly by the museum but by the general contractor. That added a few extra rounds of communication.

In what way? 
We didn’t just design the Tutankhamun galleries but also the entrance piazza, the atrium that houses Ramses II and the Grand Staircase. Lighting Ramses alone was an architectural operation – the roof structure was so intricate that changing anything set off a domino effect. At the staircase, we were asked to install 80 sculptures. But they were colossal and no one had considered the weight distribution. Even lighting them meant designing entirely new fixtures.

How many people were involved?
About 25 from our core team, plus several external collaborators. Some people became unexpectedly important. When we submitted our bid, we had to send printed documents by courier. I kept refreshing the tracking page but the package wouldn’t leave Frankfurt Airport. The deadline was 12.00, so at 04.00, I began emailing every copy shop in Cairo. One of them came through, printed the entire submission – thousands of pages – loaded it into a van and got it there just in time. We ended up working with him throughout the project.

Any anecdotes that stayed with you? 
We brought a replica of the famous golden mask to Germany to test different lighting scenarios. On the return trip, even with all the paperwork in order, Cairo’s customs got quite agitated. They immediately recognised the outline of the mask and called the police – the entire area got locked down. Let’s just say it was a moment that we’ll never forget.