The team led by MAD Architects has presented revised designs for the proposed George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art along Chicago's lakefront.
The team led by MAD Architects has presented revised designs for the proposed George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art along Chicago's lakefront. The controversial project's square footage has been reduced by 25 percent to 300,000-square-feet (27,870 square metres) and its footprint has been cut by 40 percent.
The Situated between McCormick Place and Soldier Field, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will expand public access to green space on Monroe Harbor. The architectural concept for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art explores the relationship between nature and the urban environment.
Inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe, the design integrates the natural beauty of the park and Lake Michigan with the powerful man-made architecture of Chicago. The design furthers the Museum’s mission to be a place of education, culture, and inspiration. The Lucas Museum design is both futuristic and timeless. Its continuous undulating organic surface blurs the line between structure and landscape.
As the harbor rises up to the land, it merges with stone surfaces that reach up to the sky and ultimately crescendos into a “floating” disc. The Museum is not an isolated object, but a spatial experience that is defined by the people who occupy and interact with it. Its uninterrupted stone surfaces are as primitive as it is futuristic, evoking the great achievements of architectural history.
It is a place to discover and explore, to communicate and contemplate. More than a building, it is an urban vista for social interaction, bringing people closer to each other and to nature. The tallest points of the Lucas Museum will feature an observation deck with 360ยบ views, providing visitors with stunning panoramas of both Chicago and Lake Michigan.
Inside, three levels of exhibition space in infinite loops will inspire the imagination to ponder endless possibilities, both in content and design. The design for the Lucas Museum mirrors the objective of the artwork inside: It tells a story. The narrative ushers in the future of architectural design, exploring the relationship between man and nature. Its iconic design aspires to join the ranks of Chicago’s many cherished landmarks.
The team includes local firm Studio Gang as urban designer and New York-based SCAPE as landscape architect. It would be built on what are currently surface parking lots, and plans include a large underground garage to replace those spaces.
The revised design adds an additional 4.5-acres (1.82-hectares) of open space, which Studio Gang and SCAPE's Kate Orff are developing into a series of dunes with a filigree of paths and trails running through it. "It's almost like an outside museum. It will be unlike anything in North America now," said Kate Orff, according to Crain's. "We're trying to blur the line between the building and the ground."
The new design also includes additional windows for views out to the city, Lake Michigan, and surrounding parks. The museum's exterior cladding has yet to be specified, but the architects indicated it will likely be sheathed in stone or concrete.
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