The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza was officially inaugurated November 1, 2025 – in the presence of German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Shirin Frangoul-Brückner, Managing Director and Co-Founder of ATELIER BRÜCKNER. For the first time, the complete burial treasure of the legendary boy king Tutankhamun is being presented to the public – designed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER.

“The Grand Egyptian Museum is a project of global significance. It was a privilege to contribute to something that will endure for generations to come. Knowing that our work has become part of this cultural legacy fills me with great pride. It was deeply moving to witness this historic moment – the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum,” says Shirin Frangoul-Brückner.
 

Federal President Steinmeier and Elke Büdenbender expressed their admiration afterwards: “The museum is a place of convergence, connecting past and future, and also Egypt with the world,” says the President. He added that he was particularly pleased that German expertise had contributed to both the building and the exhibition design.

The centerpiece of the museum is the 7,500-square-meter Tutankhamun Gallery, located on the second floor of the new building near the Pyramids of Giza. Conceived by ATELIER BRÜCKNER in 2017, it was designed as an immersive, narrative experience. The building itself was created by the Irish architecture firm Heneghan Peng Architects. With over 90,000 square meters of space, the GEM is the world’s largest museum dedicated to Egyptian culture.

Within the Tutankhamun Gallery – consisting of two parallel wings, each 180 meters long and up to 16 meters tall – all 5,600 objects from the pharaoh’s tomb are displayed, including around 3,000 that have never been shown publicly before. Two key design elements shape the entire spatial narrative: the Curatorial Path, a continuous black floor panel on which all the objects are placed, and the Path of the Sun, a light band along the ceiling. Together, these two lines structure the monumental space of the gallery, connecting life, death, and the afterlife.

The exhibition is organized around five central themes: the person of Tutankhamun, his everyday life, burial, journey to the afterlife, and the
discovery of the tomb. One path guides visitors chronologically through the exhibition, from Tutankhamun’s ancestors to the tomb’s discovery. This narrative begins with the young king, featuring his gilded throne, followed by his life, death, and mummification. It culminates with the shrines and sarcophagi from his tomb, along with the grave goods that shed light on everyday life in ancient Egypt.

The reverse route offers a scientific perspective, following archaeologist Howard Carter’s process of discovery. This path begins with the opening of the tomb. A media installation, a life-size 1:1 model of the burial chamber, illustrates how all 5,600 artifacts of the exhibition were once contained within this 35-square-meter tomb in the Valley of the Kings along the Nile. Architecture, scenography, lighting, materials, graphics, and interactive media intertwine to create an emotionally powerful overall experience.

The undisputed dramatic and emotional highlight: Tutankhamun’s worldfamous funerary mask. It is presented with an aura-like presence in a semiopen space of its own, illuminated by 14 distinct light sources.

Yet it is not only the Tutankhamun Gallery that bears ATELIER BRÜCKNER’s signature: the Atrium, featuring the more than eleven-meter-high statue of Ramses II, serves as the central hub from which visitors can access the museum’s various areas, including conference spaces and shops. The Grand Stairs act as a prologue, showcasing around 90 statues and objects from different dynasties. The studio also designed the Children’s Museum, which covers 3,465 square meters of exhibition space.

FACTS & FIGURES

Tutankhamun Gallery: 7,500 sqm
Atrium: 7,295 sqm
Grand Stairs: 5,058 sqm
Children’s Museum: 3,465 sqm
Piazza: 23,000 sqm
Competition & Planning: 2016–2017
Main Objects: Tutankhamun’s golden mask; shrines; coffins; throne; chariots; Ramses II statue

Client: Ministry for Antiquities, Egypt
ATELIER BRÜCKNER: General Planning & Media Production, Exhibition Design,
Scenography & Graphic Design for the following areas: Tutankhamun Gallery,
Grand Stairs, Atrium, Children’s Museum
Media Planning with: iart
Lighting Design with: Bartenbach
Showcase Construction: Glasbau Hahn & Goppion
Media Production: 2av
Architecture: heneghan peng architects