Museum of the Ancient Nile

Located in the north-eastern part of the Africa, the Nile is the longest river in the world. It brought alluvion to the lands it flows by and offered “life” to the brutal desert. Various of plants started to grow on the fertile lands which provide agriculture at the sides of the river, becoming one of the first settlement place in the history. One of the main idea is that to emphasise the Nile River’s importance which brought ancient Egypt to life.

“The Loop” is based on the belief of ancient Egyptians’ “life after death” and it becomes as an vicious circle. The entrance and the exit of the museum is located at the same place, inspired by birth and death making visitors experience the life in Ancient Egypt; which also allows the Nile flow inside to the center of the exhibition area, making visitors interact with the river and the environment it provides.

The museum has two exhibition routes and one of them is long enough to surround the museum and allow the visitors to browse freely all around the venue, while the other route provides the shortest way to the cultural activities such as the conference hall, lounge, café and the library.

Containing two main vistas; one facing the desert where the Nile River can not be seen, and the other one facing the Nile River allowing visitors to experience the natural scenery offered by the river. “If Nile River did not flow where it does now, Ancient Egypt History wouldn’t even exist and the land would be just another part of the Sahara Desert.” The purpose is to show both life and death to the visitors, by the visions of different scenes of the area. Furthermore, if Ancient Egypt and it’s history full of considerable developments did not exist, there would not be developments in anything related to the fields of geometry, astrology, science and more vital fields during that time period.

During the placement process of the project we deliberately considered the height of the project area to be as high as possible so the view would be framed inside the museum, and keeping the building burried to make it sustainable while preserving the cultivated areas and the residential areas nearby.