Development of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is nearing completion. The museum’s exterior has taken full shape, and the institution is expecting to welcome visitors next year.
The $1 billion project, brainchild of filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, will become a 300,000-square-foot center dedicated exclusively to storytelling through images.
The biomorphic structure of the five-story gallery, envisioned by Ma Yansong of Beijing-based firm MAD Architects, is meant to mimic a cloud. It sits on an 11-acre campus in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park, having replaced a parking lot.
“It’s humbling and energizing to see how all aspects of this new public resource are taking shape,” Sandra Jackson-Dumont, director and chief executive of the Lucas Museum, previously said in a statement. “We believe that narrative art can connect us and help shape a more just society. As a result, every element of this institution contributes to that idea – the site is one physical manifestation of that.”
To showcase its art, there are three gallery spaces spread across three floors, spanning approximately 100,000 square feet in total, plus two ground-floor theaters with 299 seats each and numerous centers for learning and engagement.
The collection includes a diverse range of art, as well as the entire Lucasfilm production archive, including some original artifacts and research materials from the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” empires.
One of the design elements the team is especially excited about is the 40-foot elliptical oculus that hovers four stories above the ground. Once the museum is complete, the oculus will serve as a central meeting point for visitors, providing access to the open sky.
Capital investment in South L.A.
The Lucas Museum lies adjacent to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Natural History Museum, and despite its massive scale, the project emphasizes sustainability.
On the building itself, 24,000 square…
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