When the Belgian industrialist Baron Edouard Empain developed Heliopolis, which he established in 1905 as a satellite city in the desert outside Cairo, the houses of this human-made oasis took on costumes of Islamic architecture. But for the Baron’s own palace, the French architect Alexandre Marcel conjured a Khmer-inspired fantasy complete with elephants and dancing goddesses. The extraordinary building has recently been restored, and the Ministry of Antiquities in a competitive process awarded ARCHiNOS a commission to design a permanent exhibition there. This made us happy and proud, because our headquarters is located in Heliopolis not far from the Baron’s palace and the unique and beautiful district is close to our hearts. On 18 November 2019, we submitted the concept design to the Client.