Architects Selected for George Lucas Museum

The announcement comes one month after the billionaire filmmaker chose to build the museum in Chicago rather than San Francisco. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is donating 17 acres of lakefront property for the museum, located east of Lakeshore Drive between Soldier Field and McCormick Place, just west of Northerly Island. The museum will house his Star Wars memorabilia but also his artwork collection and other artifacts focused on telling stories.

We agree with Blair Kamin at the Chicago Tribune, whose report on the announcement says, "the star-studded team [is] a surprise given Lucas' penchant for traditional designs." MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, has designed a number of cultural institutions in China, such as the Ordos Museum (above), that tap into the so-called "Bilbao effect." The firm is known in North America for the undulating Absolute Towers near Toronto, aptly nicknamed the Marilyn Monroe towers by locals. Yansong's oeuvre indicates a penchant for curvaceous containers, be it museums or residences. Per the announcement, "MAD Architects was chosen because of its innovative approach to design and the firm’s philosophy of connecting urban spaces to natural landscapes. Amsterdam-based UNStudio was the runner-up for the principal design role."

MAD's Absolute Towers may draw comparisons with Studio Gang Architects' Aqua Tower in Chicago, due to the similarly undulating exteriors, but the proximity of the site for the Lucas museum to Northerly Island makes the choice for Jeanne Gang's firm a clear one. She "will design the landscape and create a bridge to connect the LMNA to Northerly Island," per the announcement. Gang designed Northerly Island (formerly Miegs Field airport) as a combination of public open spaces and ecological attractions, with Phase 1 currently under construction. The bridge will link two Gang landscapes and better connect these forthcoming cultural and park attractions.

The team for the LMNA also includes executive architect VOA, the firm responsible for the Roosevelt University Academic, Student Life and Residence Center in the Loop. The MAD/Gang/VOA design for the museum will be revealed in late 2014, and we are excited to see what they develop.