TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Grand Egyptian Museum, which officially opened on Nov. 1 as the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilization, has impressed visitors with its expansive, innovative design created by Taiwanese American architect Peng Shih-fu (彭士佛).

Born in Taiwan, Peng moved to the US as a child and later earned a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University. His firm, Heneghan Peng Architects, won the Egyptian government’s 2002 international design competition for the museum, per CNA.

Peng said more than 1,000 design submissions were eliminated in the first round. He said the key to his concept was integrating modern architecture with the commanding presence of the pyramids behind it.

“Any building trying to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the most brilliant treasures of human civilization would pale in comparison to the imposing pyramids,” he said. Peng added that he deliberately positioned the museum between the plateau and the Nile plain to maintain harmony with the landscape.

The museum’s fan-shaped triangular layout allows visitors to stand before panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows and gaze out at the three pyramids, strengthening the connection between the institution and its historical surroundings. Peng said incorporating the pyramids into the design ensures the museum “does not just house artifacts but becomes part of history itself.”

The museum sits on the Giza Plateau, which rises about 60 meters above the Nile River valley below. The elevation posed additional design challenges, especially because many Egyptian antiquities are large stone artifacts typically displayed on lower floors to avoid structural stress. These include an 11-meter-tall, 83-ton red granite statue of Ramesses II.

Peng subverted traditional floor plans by creating a grand staircase that appears to perch on a cliff. The roofline gradually lowers toward the pyramids, conforming to the terrain while giving the structure a dynamic, cascading appearance.

The exhibition hall beside the top of the staircase is embedded into the landscape and connected to the natural ground level. Peng likened the concept to placing a bowl upside down on the ground.

He said every artifact tells a story, and the pyramids tell one as well. His design, developed through 3,000 architectural drawings, was intended to coexist with the ancient monuments rather than compete with them.