It has been a long wait, but the extraordinary MAD Architects-designed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is finally nearing completion in Los Angeles. The futuristic building is now slated to open to visitors soon.
A passion project by George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, and funded by the couple’s own deep pockets, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has had almost as many twists and turns as a Hollywood script. First unveiled more than 10 years ago as a volcano-like building for Chicago, it underwent controversy and court cases. To cut a long story short, it ultimately relocated to Los Angeles’ Exposition Park and was redesigned in its current sleek spaceship-like form, which wouldn’t look out of place in one of the famous director’s own movies.
The museum is raised above the ground, creating a shaded space for visitors below, while its exterior walls are finished in glazing and over 1,500 curved fiberglass-reinforced-polymer panels. It’s also topped by greenery. Credit to MAD, the end result looks just as striking as its earlier renders promised.
The building’s interior has a floorspace of 300,000 sq ft (almost 30,000 sq m), spread over five floors, and will host galleries, theaters, and a huge repository of art – with everything from ancient pottery to Jar Jar Binks ephemera.
Hunter Kerhart
“MAD’s design reflects its ongoing mission to merge architecture with city and landscape, weaving natural environments into urban contexts to foster public life and bring communities together,” explains the firm. “The Lucas Museum will be the first institution of its kind dedicated to narrative art across cultures and media, with a collection that spans works by Norman Rockwell, Frida Kahlo, and Gordon Parks, as well as models, props, and concept art from George Lucas’s filmmaking archive. This project continues to take shape as a landmark that will welcome both residents and visitors into a dynamic space where art, landscape, and community meet.”
The building has some sustainability features too and rainwater collection systems provide all irrigation required, plus a large solar panel array reduces its power draw on the grid.
The museum is due to open to the public sometime in 2026.
Source: MAD