The Egyptian Ministry of Culture and a joint-venture between Besix and Orascom have announced that Acciona Producciones y Diseño (APD) has won a $13 million contract for the technical museographic development of four of the exhibition halls at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The Spanish company, which specialises in developing international museum, exhibition and event projects, will be responsible for the technical and museographic development of 12,000sqm, distributed over four museum areas. APD will incorporate a range of exhibition elements, including graphics, models, life-sized replicas and exhibition and staging lighting to support the story told by the museum and to contextualise the archaeological pieces.
APD will also be tasked with making a 3D scan of Tutankhamun’s burial chamber, which will allow for an exact reproduction of the original to be created for museum visitors. The firm will carry out the photogrammetry for the outer burial chamber, including scale and colour, so as to provide an exact digital model for the original, which will then be turned into a physical replica for future display.
The Grand Egyptian Museum will be the largest archaeological museum in the world, housing 45,000 pieces, 25,000 of which have never been exhibited before. The exhibits will show the history of Ancient Egypt, from prehistory through to the Greco-Roman period. The museum is expected to receive more than five million visitors a year – around 15,000 a day.
Located two kilometres from the Giza pyramids, the museum building will occupy 50 hectares of land, with some rooms open to visitors by 2019. The final grand opening is scheduled for late 2020.
Since 1999 ADP has been responsible for the Sound and Light Show, which is projected on the Abu Simbel Temple.