TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese architect Peng Shih-fu (彭士佛) detailed in an interview on Saturday (Oct. 12) how he incorporated Confucian ideals and ancient Egyptian views on life and death into the design of the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Peng and his Irish architect wife, Roisin Heneghan, founded Heneghan Peng Architects in New York. Their design won a competition against 1,556 submissions for the new museum commissioned by the Egyptian government, per CNA.
Peng noticed that the pyramids are located on the Giza plateau, which sits 60 meters higher than the surrounding Nile Valley. While other contestants placed their museums within the Nile Valley or adjacent to the pyramids, Peng opted for a design that reflects the Confucian doctrine of the Mean—a balance between excess and insufficiency.
His concept envisions the museum as a ladder ascending from the valley below to the plateau. This approach allows the museum to coexist harmoniously with the pyramids, neither competing for attention nor becoming lost in the valley.
The design also reflects Peng's understanding of the ancient Egyptian perspective on the life cycle. He explained that for ancient Egyptians, the east symbolized life, while the west was associated with death.
This belief led to temples for worshiping gods being constructed on the east bank of the Nile and pyramids on the west bank. The contrast is accentuated by the lush Nile Valley below the museum and the barren desert where the pyramids are situated.
Consequently, visitors begin their journey in the valley, culminating in a view of both the pyramids and the museum at the top. Peng praised the Egyptian government for selecting an excellent location for the GEM, noting that the unique geography of the Nile Valley has played a vital role in shaping 5,000 years of Egyptian culture.
Peng’s father, Peng Yin-hsuan (彭蔭宣), was a prominent architect who designed the Republic of China pavilion for the 1970 Japan World Exposition in Osaka, per ETtoday.
