The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, designed by MAD Architects, has broken ground in Los Angeles, California. Founded by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, and standing at the gateway to the city’s Exposition Park, the scheme is envisioned as a “futuristic spaceship” landing on the site’s natural environment.
The building’s interior has been designed as an expansive, open cave, flooded with natural light from skylights above. At least $400 million worth of art will be housed in the museum, including over 10,000 paintings, illustrations and movie memorabilia. The first floor and roof will be designated as public areas for visitors to exercise, relax, and “directly experience nature in the urban environment.”
An open city with an inclusive culture, especially innovative buildings, is very important. It is a pleasure to work with the American filmmaker and legend George Lucas on creating a world-class landmark for Los Angeles. We hope that the joint efforts will continue to make Los Angeles the most creative metropolises in the world.
– Ma Yansong, Founder and Principal Architect, MAD
Having been chosen for the museum’s design in 2014, MAD has provided three unique designs for the $1.5 billion scheme, each responding to three proposed site locations. Having originally unveiled a MAD-designed scheme in Chicago in 2014, Lucas abandoned the plans following concerns over the placement of a private museum on a public lakefront. In 2016, MAD unveiled two similar proposals, one in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco, with the Los Angeles scheme ultimately gaining approval in 2017.
Alluding to this difficult journey at the groundbreaking ceremony, Lucas stated: “I am an avid architectural fan and I wanted a special museum that was a work of art in itself, and [MAD] has done that three times.”
It is my feeling that popular art is an insight into a society and what they aspire to; what they really want, what they really are — it is about telling the narrative of their story, their history and their belief system. I believe all kinds of art have a right to exist. I think it’s important to have a museum, that I used to jokingly say, supports all the orphan arts that nobody wants to see, but everybody loves.
– George Lucas, Founder, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
With construction about to begin, the museum is expected to open in 2021.
News via: MAD Architects
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