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ArtArabia.com National News The proposed Grand Egyptian Museum will provide a home for the many ancient artifacts now in storage. The first step, an architecture competition to design the building, seems promising - and hints at controversies to come.
It's now time to turn that theoretical "biggest museum in the world" into a reality by building a place to display the stored artifacts. A competition is under way to design what's been dubbed the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), an institution that Hosni conceived of nearly seven years ago. The plan, set in place by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with UNESCO, is for an immense complex near the Pyramids that will be a cultural and economic investment for Egypt. It will also be the world's biggest museum. Hosni dubs it "the project of the century." The much-publicized GEM is a true gem of an idea, but in the manner of a famous jewel, it is one that is deeply shrouded in secrecy. The GEM, with an estimated 3 million visitors annually, will utilize state-of-the-art computers and communications. Plans for maintenance of the museum, preservation of the artifacts and research facilities are being undertaken; the ideas include video technology, workshops to train young artists, restaurants, shopping and recreational centers. All this, of course, is secondary to the rich, awe-inspiring collections that will be displayed in showcases that Mohamed Saleh, archaeological supervisor at the Egyptian Museum, will select, amounting to 150,000 pieces dating to eras ranging from ancient Egyptian to early Roman. The GEM's site, established through a decree by President Hosni Mubarak in 1992, will be on the Giza plateau, with a view of the Pyramids. The designated area, 117 feddans (50 hectares), is a historical site in its own right. The site's strategic location establishes a dialogue between the fifth millennium of the great pyramids and the proposed modern-day museum, which some are calling a "fourth pyramid." With an estimated gross cost of $350 million, the project is funded by the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Ministry of Culture, in addition to grants and sponsorships from international development agencies in return for recognition. The president of the World Bank and officials from the Arab Monetary Fund have expressed their interest in contributing to the project. Minister of Culture Hosni speculates that expenses will be covered by income from the museum in approximately 15 years. How does one begin such a gargantuan endeavor? The answer came in the form of a worldwide architecture competition - announced on January 7 - to select the museum's design. Prizes awarded for the best designs range from $10,000 to $250,000. The deadline for submissions was August 17, which was followed by the jury's formidable task of selecting 20 finalists. The nine-member jury is comprised of architects, museologists and Egyptologists from Egypt, England, Mexico, Italy and Korea. In March 2003 the winning design will be selected.
Nonetheless, given the size of this project, it's no surprise that grumblings have been heard in different quarters. Although there is essentially unanimous enthusiasm among the participating architects for the idea of the competition, many of them predict that they won't win. "I submitted knowing that my project wouldn't be one of the finalists," says Dr. Ahmed Mito, a renowned Egyptian architect. "I realize that there is a physical gap between our standards and those of top foreign architects." Dr. Gamal Amer agrees, and like Mito submitted a design simply to express a vision that was inspiring to imagine, not really thinking about winning or losing. Then again, no one actually knows which architects are still in the running. Although the 20 finalists were selected in early November, their names have yet to be announced. As for the selection criteria, there are many different opinions. "The GEM must be handled the 'ultimate way,' so if we lack the means to do so, then let a foreigner [if proven the best] execute it," says Mito, with reluctant acceptance.
Not surprisingly, the competition is also the object of suspicions and speculation. Initially an Italian team had been selected to plan and execute the GEM's construction, a decision that was met with much opposition. People hypothesized that politics and economics were behind the choice, since Italians are some of our most frequent tourists. Would the selected design belong to a country that could provide most of the fund, computer services and technical facilities to fulfill the project? And would this be so bad? After all, with a massive project such as the GEM, surely tact and foresight come into play. Nonetheless, an official decree soon came from the Ministry of Culture, during a People's Assembly meeting, to expand the project into a worldwide competition. The questions, however, didn't end there. Those who registered for the competition received a brief that included the rules, an itinerary and a CD-ROM of the site. But the brief also mentioned some puzzling things. Adly feels the brief's design specifications were strangely limiting, as if the competition's organizers already had a design in mind. For example, the exact number of parking spaces was stipulated, and the main entranceway to the museum was estimated at 500 square meters, which, given the approximately 10,000 visitors a day, seems impractical. "It's missing a zero!" he exclaims in disbelief. Others found the brief impressive and accurate. Dr. Rowaida Rashad, a member of Dr. Tamer El Khorazaty's Oko Plan team, maintains that the brief helped structure their ideas. She recounts how they pasted pictures and texts about Egyptian myth and other such mind fodder on the walls to formulate their design concept. For Mito, the brief was stimulating, but it was also laden with restrictions and contradictions that suggested that it's authors were numerous and did not share a universal vision. Nonetheless, he maintains that the outcome was positive, as it provided creative leeway. There are also questions about the site's setup and accessibility. Mito firmly believes that the area must undergo radical changes to get up to the standards of the GEM itself; in particular, he proposes a monorail or underground transportation system. "I can't park my car when I visit the Egyptian Museum," he laments, and is worried that visitors to the GEM will end up facing similar obstacles that would discourage them from going. Minister of Culture Hosni, though, assures that the concept of upgrading the whole area has been researched, and he suggests that there are tentative plans to connect the museum site to the Ring Road and to improve transportation systems. Despite these misgivings, the overall management of the architecture competition has been quite elaborate and efficient. The anonymity of the submissions was closely guarded. The support team was thorough, including 16 staff architects as well as many university students. The jury was impressive - in particular, Amer feels that the Italian jury is very strong and undoubtedly difficult to impress. Most of all, the laborious task of sifting through and analyzing the projects belongs to the Technical Committee. "The main role of the Technical Committee is to advise on the conduct of the competition," explains committee coordinator Mansur, the "We communicate with worldwide architects who are involved in the project. Many problems and queries arise, which we promptly answer according to the rules and regulations of the competition. If an issue remains unresolved, we consult the Union of International Architects or the Ministry of Culture in order to ensure that we're getting objective feedback, because we want to recruit the best ideas and concepts for the museum."
Positioned at the bull's eye of the GEM project, the Technical Committee's task was to instill order in what was undoubtedly a chaotic process. For every submission they wrote reports addressed to the jury based on extensive analysis. The reports were then uploaded onto a 66-gigabyte database, which could only be accessed by the jury and the Technical Committee. If a member of the jury wanted information on a specific project, they could easily access this database to receive a slide data show. For 55 nightmarish days, the Technical Committee slaved away on analyzing the submissions, then presenting the results to the jury members. Within the span of five days, the jury narrowed down the 1,550 projects to 300, and to 20 finalists. Many of the members of the committee as well as Hosni himself were saddened to see many excellent projects ruled out; the decisions, however, remained strictly up to the jury. The Technical Committee maintains that the rules have been strictly adhered to and that there were no exceptions or major disagreements among themselves. Mansur proudly reveals that the committee received a copy of an official letter of thanks from the jury addressed to the Union of International Architects that commended the management of the GEM competition, furthermore recommending that the process be applied to other worldwide architectural competitions. The letter specifically praised the methods as well as the structure of the database, deeming it efficient, innovative and "perfect." But with all due credit to the Technical Committee's tremendous efforts, how is it that the nine-member jury could select 20 finalists from a mountain of complex projects in just five days? All the interviewed architects remain skeptical as to the time frame of the selection process. "How much time did they dedicate to individual projects? Three minutes?" Adly wonders incredulously, concluding, "One is saddened that what has been accomplished in three months has been judged in five minutes." He compares it to cooking a meal in 10 hours and eating it in two minutes. Indeed, many maintain that it seems virtually impossible to sift through all the designs and understand them in nearly two months, then judge them in under a week. When told that the jury had its share of disagreements, Adly exclaims, "Did they have time to disagree or to [even] look at the projects?" He estimates that he takes 11 to 12 hours to grade his students' projects for classes he teaches at Ain Shams University. He doubts anyone can thoroughly scrutinize a project in less time than that.
"It's a long stretch," says Technical Committee member Attia about the process. "There is no instant gratification, but we try to show people that we are capable of this endeavor. Recognition does not come into it. We want to recruit the best ideas and maintain objectivity to accomplish the best execution of the project." All in all, the organization of the competition has elicited praise. Amer, Rashad and Mito maintain that it was professionally handled, although Mito diplomatically explains, "It would seem to be [professional], but one cannot vouch." So, what of the 20 winners? Why are they not officially announced yet? Apparently it had been formerly agreed with the supervising Union of International Architects to maintain the anonymity of this final stage, although it's not clear why. The names remain shrouded in secrecy, although they have been officially notified and registered into Phase 2. Hosni reveals that among them is a young Egyptian architect who, "with his unique technique and style," has been able to secure a slot as a finalist. The prospect of the GEM brings up other questions to ponder besides the building itself. What about the countless artifacts that have been displayed abroad because Egypt lacked the space to showcase them? Does providing the space promise a homecoming? There's also a fear of overexpansion, as was the case with Vienna's museum quarter, an ambitious project that never lived up to its estimated revenue and number of visitors. The astronomical budget cuts at the British Museum don't bode well either. In the face of these short-term questions, Mito takes the long view: "We are timeless Pharaohs." The cultural and educational benefits of the GEM offer exciting possibilities. The Tahrir Square museum will finally be able to exhale. And as the brief aptly puts it, the GEM will be a fount of information for everyone from the primary student to the specialized Egyptologist. © Copyright 2003 by ArtArabia.com |
