This thesis presents our proposal for the creation of a Museum of the Ancient Nile in Egypt in order to highlight the importance of the river for Egyptian civilization and its role in everyday life and human activities.
For ancient Egyptians this importance was revealed through their myths, traditions and religion, culminating in the deification of the river itself. The name Nile comes from Greek and, as mentioned in Hesiod's theology, he was a deity, one of the Rivers, sons of Ocean and Thetis. The word "museum" is also Greek and refers to sacred spaces dedicated to the Muses, to the nine deities, protectors of the Arts. A museum for the ancient Nile must therefore be taken as another "Sanctuary", dedicated to the water and culture that it gave birth to.
The building is located on the Nile coast, between the cities of Luxor and Aswan, and 12 km north of Edfu. This area hosts a multitude of ancient monuments in the river, which also affected the building's complex conception. A decisive role in the composition was played by the possibility of approaching the museum through the river but also through the road and rail network passing through the region.
Since it is a museum devoted to the Nile River, the very element of water was the basis of the synthesis idea. The river and irrigation canals of the area encircle the museum and define its space, creating a linear building alongside the bank. A characteristic feature of the building is the parallel stone walls, but also the two circular lakes that break this linearity by creating two cores on the outside of the museum. These synthetic elements are inspired by Egyptian history and culture, as are the columns supporting the sheds in the open air, in an effort to portray the image of the flooded Nile Valley.
Walls and columns emerge from the water and the museum transforms into a forgotten monument on the banks of the Nile, waiting for the visitor to explore it.