JOSEPH BANH, MA Design Strategy + Research + Human-Centred Innovation + CX Program Design    
Toronto, CA   |   josephbanh@gmail.com  |  
+1.416.706.7663  |    https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephbanh/





EGYPT


GEM: Building the world’s largest museum



Project Description

Client: Hill International, Supreme Council of Antiquities, Gov’t of Egypt

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is the world’s largest Pharaonic Museum and will house over 100,000 ancient Egyptian
artifacts including the priceless treasures from King Tut‘s tomb.

The Lord Cultural Resources team was part of the museum’s Construction Management and Project Management team. Specifically, we provided technical advisory and project management services for the design of the new museum’s permanent exhibition which, at the time, had a total planned budget of $80 million USD.  


Services

I was part of Lord’s on-site team deployed to Cairo to manage the design and development of the permanent exhibition galleries. We were the expert consulting team representing the Supreme Council to ensure the exhibition designers’ (Metaphor) design solutions were achievable within the timeframe, budget, and adhered to internationally accepted standards for visitor experience and protection of cultural heritage.

Our team also led and managed content development, working closely with Supreme Council of Antiquities expert Egyptologists to curate and select artifacts for each gallery.

Egypt was a life changing experience and is well summed up by something my client told me: “In Egypt anything is possible, but nothing is easy.”

I learned an incredible amount about project management and the intricacies of relationship management in complex cultural contexts. Our work was cut short during the Arab Spring when I was evacuated a week into the Egyptian Revolution.


Project Credits

I was the firm’s sole permanent representative on the ground based in Cairo/Giza and team members rotated through periodically for key project milestones.


Legend

  1. Architectural Model, Grand Egyptian Museum (Image: HPA Architects)
  2. Composite of various concept drawings and models of the interior architecture and permanent exhibition gallery layouts. Bart Simpson = the thought that popped into my head when Force Majeure was invoked. (Images: HPA Architects & Metaphor)
  3. Colossal statue of Pharoah Rameses II with me standing at the base for scale (left). Detail of Rameses II’s head when I climbed up 5 sets of stairs to snap a picture. I passed by Rameses II every day to attend meeting between the Technical & Scientific Committees
  4. Memories of Tahrir Square circa Feb/March 2011
  5. Tap to image to read: An article I wrote, “Any Celebration is Premature: A Snapshot from Cairo”,  FUSE Magazine (34.4) Sept 1, 2011. In the midst of the Egyptian revolution, I interviewed the directors of three of Cairo's most well established independent art spaces to get their take on the role of artists, independent art institutions, and contemporary art as the nation grappled with the possibilities and uncertainties of social change.