How this 3-person architecture firm designed the world’s largest museum

Heneghan Peng Architects didn’t have a building to their name. Then they won the chance to design the Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo’s new $1 billion tourist attraction.

With more than 100,000 artifacts dating back thousands of years, nearly 900,000 square feet of floor space, a site that spans more than 120 acres, and a total price tag estimated to be more than $1 billion, it’s not hyperbole to call the Grand Egyptian Museum outside Cairo, Egypt, the most significant museum project in recent decades. It’s the kind of blockbuster building that would have even the starriest of starchitects salivating at the chance to lay claim to what’s likely become one of Egypt’s most visited tourist attractions.