Giza
GEM
The Grand Egyptian Museum
When technology fades away to make way for myth
Just over a mile from the Pyramids of Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum brings together in a single location over 100,000 artefacts from Egyptian civilisation: the largest collection ever dedicated to a single culture. It took twenty years of work and an international competition to build it. But the principle guiding every room in the museum, from the entrance hall to Tutankhamun’s treasure, is simple: the light must never draw more attention to itself than the artefact it illuminates.
The museum officially opened on 1 November 2025, on the Giza Plateau. Designed by the Irish firm Heneghan Peng Architects, winners in 2003 of what was the largest international architectural competition ever organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, the GEM is a sequence of experiences unfolding from the entrance to the deepest galleries, built around light, time and perception.
DGA’s contribution to the GEM is not confined to a single space. DGA luminaires guide visitors through three of the most significant sections of the museum itinerary: the Tutankhamun Gallery with its“Membrana Walls”, the Grand Staircase linking the atrium to the main galleries, andthe Entrance Hall, where the colossal statue of Ramses II welcomes visitors.
In these areas, every element of the exhibition design — furniture and graphic displays — is illuminated by Cometa Q8 IP67 luminaires, which provide the most technically sophisticated concealed lighting solutions. This is not general lighting, but a series of targeted installations that work in harmony with natural and architectural light, highlighting the position of the graphic elements that guide visitors along the Grand Stair and enhancing the viewing experience of individual objects without altering the overall balance of the scene.
The Entrance Hall and the statue of Ramses II
Visitors entering the GEM are greeted by the colossal statue of Ramses II, eleven metres tall and weighing approximately 83 tonnes of pink granite. In the entrance hall, the statue is bathed in natural light for most of the day, which filters down from above and is reflected in a pool of water at its feet. It is in this setting, dominated by architectural lighting, that the DGA luminaires come into their own: the Cometa Q8 IP67s illuminate and frame the space’s design elements — furniture, display cases, graphic elements — precisely highlighting what the natural light leaves in shadow.
The Grand Stair, the Pharaohs’ Staircase
From the atrium, a monumental six-tiered staircase leads to the museum’s main galleries, lined with statues of pharaohs, queens and deities. The route ends in front of a large glass window framing the view of the Pyramids of Giza. Throughout the entire route, DGA’s Cometa IP67 luminaires illuminate the display cases and graphic elements accompanying the sculptures, ensuring continuity with the lighting design adopted in other areas of the museum: a light that accompanies without ever overpowering.
