Walking past Los Angeles’ Exposition Park these days, you can’t miss the massive sculptural form rising from what used to be just another parking lot. It looks like a spaceship that decided to touch down and stay awhile, which seems pretty fitting for George Lucas’s museum. MAD Architects’ Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has been slowly taking shape for years now, and after countless delays and a cool billion dollars, it’s finally getting close to opening in 2026. Ma Yansong’s wild design throws every museum convention out the window, creating something that feels more like a piece of art than a traditional cultural institution. Los Angeles is about to get another architectural showstopper, and this one’s unlike anything the city has seen before.
The whole building looks like it’s floating, which was exactly what Yansong was going for. He wanted to create something that felt like a cloud, all soft curves and flowing lines instead of the usual boxy museum approach. The five-story structure stretches across 300,000 square feet, wrapped in this shimmering skin that catches light differently throughout the day. It’s the kind of building that makes you stop and stare, maybe pull out your phone for a photo. You can see Lucas’s influence all over this thing – it’s got that same sense of wonder and otherworldliness that runs through his films.
Designer: MAD Architects
Inside, the museum packs way more than just gallery space. Sure, there are plenty of rooms for exhibitions, but they’ve also squeezed in two theaters, classrooms, restaurants, shops, and event spaces. It’s designed to be a place where people want to hang out, not just shuffle through quietly and leave. The interior flows in this organic way, with natural light flooding in, and these circulation paths make you want to explore every corner. They’ve thought about how people move through spaces, creating both intimate spots for contemplation and these grand areas perfect for big installations or events.
Getting this thing built hasn’t been easy. The original plan called for a 2021 opening, but anyone who’s followed major construction projects in LA knows how that goes. They’ve pushed it back to 2026, which honestly might be for the best given how complex this design is. Watching the construction progress over the years has been fascinating – seeing those curved forms slowly emerge from the steel framework, the facade panels going up piece by piece. The delays have been frustrating, but you can tell the team isn’t cutting corners. This is the kind of project that needs to be done right the first time.
It is fascinating how the building connects with the 11 acres of new parkland that Studio-MLA designed around it. They’re not just plopping a museum down and calling it a day. The whole site includes an amphitheater, these beautiful hanging gardens, and pedestrian bridges that tie everything together. The landscaping has completely transformed what was essentially a dead zone in Exposition Park. Now it’s becoming this green oasis where families can picnic, kids can play, and everyone can enjoy the space, whether they’re museum-goers or not. It’s the kind of thoughtful planning that makes projects like this serve their communities.
When this museum finally opens, it’s going to change how people think about both LA’s cultural scene and what museums can be. The Lucas Museum proves that institutional architecture doesn’t have to be boring or intimidating. Sometimes the best way to honor art is to create something equally bold to house it.
The post MAD Architects Is Redefining Museum Design With This Spaceship-Like Museum In LA first appeared on Yanko Design.