MAD’s first cultural project in the US, The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, has opened in Los Angeles.
Built on a former surface car park at the western edge of Exposition Park, the five-storey museum measures approximately 700ft long, 270ft wide and 108ft high. Its 300,000ft² interior includes around 100,000ft² of galleries across three floors.
MAD, the international architecture practice led by Ma Yansong, was the design architect. Global architecture and engineering firm Stantec served as architect of record, with senior principal Michael Siegel leading the project’s delivery.
George Lucas and Mellody Hobson founded the museum to present narrative art. Its collection ranges from painting, illustration and comics to photography, murals and cinema. More than 1,300 works are included in the opening exhibitions.
Museum rises over central plaza
The building crosses a covered plaza between its north and south entrances. Arched steel beams span 185ft above the space, with an elliptical opening rising through four storeys.
The middle of the building meets the ground at only a few points. Most of the plaza remains open and the gardens continue beneath the raised structure.
Two 299-seat cinemas occupy the lower floors alongside a horseshoe-shaped research library, 10 studios and classrooms, a shop, café and an approximately 10,000ft² gallery. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the library look onto the park.
Around 82,000ft² of exhibition space is concentrated on the fourth floor. Three cylindrical glass lifts connect it with the north lobby. The fifth floor contains nearly 8,000ft² of galleries, an events space and a restaurant with an outdoor terrace.
The exterior consists of 1,271 individually shaped panels of fibreglass-reinforced polymer. Each measures approximately 8ft x 32ft on average. Digital fabrication and robotics were combined with hand finishing to produce the panels, while their joints were adjusted to follow the changing façade geometry.
Photo: Courtesy Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Photographer: Hufton+Crow
LERA was the structural engineer. Alfa Tech provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire-life-safety engineering, and Hathaway Dinwiddie was the base-building contractor.
Seismic isolation allows 42 inches of movement
The museum stands on 281 seismic base isolators. Each contains a six-foot-diameter concave steel bowl and a steel ball set above the foundation.
During an earthquake, the isolators allow up to 42 inches of movement in any direction before returning to their original position. An eight-foot movement joint separates the ground floor from the surrounding land, with movable paving covering it at pedestrian level.
Such isolation systems are more commonly used for hospitals and other buildings expected to remain protected during severe ground movement. Here, the system safeguards the museum’s occupants and collection.
Park extends across the roof
Studio-MLA, a Los Angeles landscape architecture and urban design practice led by Mia Lehrer, designed the park and gardens.
More than 340 trees have been planted across the former asphalt site. The landscape includes drought-tolerant and indigenous planting, a meadow, amphitheatre, hanging garden, pedestrian bridge and waterfall-like fountain.
Landforms built over the underground car parks manage changes in level and create a series of microhabitats. Paths climb, descend and cross bridges rather than following a single route. The landscape passes beneath the building and covers almost 1.5 acres of its roof.
California’s foothills, valleys, mesas and canyons informed the topography. Jacarandas, oaks and pines distinguish different parts of the gardens. Other species provide habitat, retain soil moisture and are intended to withstand changes in the regional climate.
Two underground public car parks contain more than 2,300 spaces, about 600 more than the surface lots they replaced. The State of California owns both.
Ten outdoor sculptures stand along accessible paths. Entry to the park and gardens is free.
Geothermal system uses 714 wells
The waterfall-like fountain at the north-west corner contributes to the museum’s cooling. It is connected to 714 geothermal wells, each drilled to a depth of 365ft.
The system contains 98 miles of underground pipe. The museum says it uses less water and energy than a conventional cooling tower.
Monocrystalline photovoltaic cells cover 24,000ft² of the sloping roof, equivalent to 15% of its surface. The building also has an insulated rainscreen envelope, displacement ventilation, LED lighting and a rainwater-harvesting system for irrigation.
MAD was selected through an international design competition in July 2014, when the museum was planned for Chicago. A dispute over that site led the founders to consider alternatives in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Los Angeles was chosen in January 2017. The Exposition Park location lies within five miles of more than 500 schools and is surrounded by several South Los Angeles neighbourhoods. Work began in March 2018 and the structure topped out in March 2021.
Initially expected to open in 2025, the museum received its first public visitors on 22 September 2026.
