In 2014, after an intense global search, George Lucas of Star Wars fame announced that a Beijing-based avant-garde architect, Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, would design the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (LMNA) along Chicago’s lakefront. The project is slated for completion in 2018, but ongoing opposition to the location on Lake Michigan may push the date back to 2020 or require the selection of a new location, with LA the most likely alternative.
This week, newly revised plans were publicly unveiled showing a 25% reduction in the size of the museum and a 40% reduction in its footprint, perhaps bringing it into line with the expectations of the plan’s opponents. At any rate, the new plan will be considered by Chicago city officials in the coming weeks, and a final decision could be forthcoming by the end of 2015.
According to LMNA, the museum, wherever it is located, will include works by artists including Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, and Maxfield Parrish, as well as digital art, illustrations, films, paintings, and sculptures.
In the following video, Yansong talks about his conceptual design for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts and how the building will fit into the rich architectural environment of Chicago. The building’s design is being referred to as a “sand dune.”
The following video is an interview by Charlie Rose in which George Lucas talks about his motivation for building the new museum:
The following slideshow shows additional images of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts:
