“If there’s a bright centre to the universe” maybe it will be filmmaker George Lucas’ planned art museum in Chicago, considering the gloriously futuristic proposed designs released by Mad Architects.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was announced last year and will focus on narrative art, digital art and the evolution of moving images. According to Mad, designs have been inspired by the work of pioneering architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe.
The interior boasts three levels of exhibition space, while the tallest points of the structure include an observation deck that offers visitors a 360-degree view of the surrounding area. The ‘floating’ disc at the top of the construction will feature a stone surface that Mad says evokes “the great achievements of architectural history”.
The museum itself will house collections from artists such as NC Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell, as well as Lucas’ own personal art collection and work from the history of visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), which the Star Wars creator himself founded in 1975.
Speaking in July upon the announcement that the Beijing-based firm Mad would be the principal designer of the site, Lucas said, “We are bringing together some of the top architects in the world to ensure that our museum experience begins long before a visitor ever enters the building. I am thrilled with the architectural team’s vision for the building and the surrounding green space.”
The museum is slated to open in 2018. As well as the proposed designs, architect Ma Yansong has spoken about the designs in a video released online (below).
Images of the proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Chicago