CHICAGO (AP) — The principal designer of Chicago’s planned Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has unveiled conceptual drawings for the lakefront structure.
Ma Yansong visited the museum’s future site this week to show a design he calls “a new type of architecture.” His drawings depict a white, futuristic-looking building topped with a deck that allows visitors to take in an expansive view of downtown Chicago. Ma says a large dome inside the museum can serve as a multifunctional hall or concert venue.
The Beijing-based architect tells the Chicago Sun-Times (https://bit.ly/1t8VpX6) that the museum financed by Star Wars director George Lucas is the most important project he’s undertaken.
Estimates have placed the facility’s cost at $400 million.
“The idea is to make the whole building as a part of (the) landscape,” Ma said.
He spent the summer of 2000 as an intern in Chicago, admiring some of its most celebrated structures that cause the city to have “this great, modern architecture.”
“I was thinking, ’How can we create something to bring the architecture one step forward?’” Ma said.
His design also includes green space, an amphitheater and a large dome inside of the building that can serve as a multifunctional hall or concert venue, according to Ma.
Although Ma said he didn’t have “Star Wars” in mind when he was working on the museum’s design, he doesn’t deny the comparison because the trilogy “shows how people are curious about the future.” He wants the museum to reflect the same notion, especially among the youngest visitors.
“When young people come here, they will feel curious about the future,” Ma said.
The museum plans probably won’t go to the City Council until the spring, or whenever schematic designs are complete. VOA Associates is responsible for the next step, implementing Ma’s design as the executive architect.
The seven-story museum will be located between Soldier Field and McCormick Place.
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Information from: Chicago Sun-Times, https://www.suntimes.com/index
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