Behind the scenes of the new Grand Museum of Egypt

The Nation Leisure (Manote Tripathi)

Britons Stephen Greenberg and Peter Mercer are among the world's 25 or so top designers of museums and public exhibitions, and both were in Bangkok the other day sharing their ideas.

The biggest idea of all is a multi-sensory, "immersive" museum experience based not so much on the way things are displayed as it is conveying their meaning and importance.

Greenberg heads Metaphor, a company that specialises in setting up exhibitions and planning museums and heritage centres. He's currently working on the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which is set to open in 2010.

The founder of Newangle Productions, Mercer is a specialist in interactive and audio-visual media for museums.

Greenberg's Egyptian Museum will be among the world's biggest at 75,000 square metres, of which 24,000sqm is exhibition space - equivalent to six football fields. That kind of room is no doubt needed to illustrate 3,500 years of ancient history, initially using 50,000 artefacts and ultimately 100,000.

"It's a hugely important project for the Egyptian government in terms of national pride, identity and its connection with its own past," Greenberg said.

"I've been working on the project for three years, and it's been a privilege. The museum is beautifully shaped, with big walls. It has the size and shape of Victoria Railway Station in London."

He envisions a compelling atmosphere with areas reminiscent of archaeological digs, all arranged chronologically and thematically - except for some highlighted elements - with different colours and hieroglyphs identifying the various kingdoms.

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