Fanboys and fangirls rejoiced when they heard the news that George Lucas would be creating his own museum to house Lucas' own art collection and movie memorabilia. Now we finally have an idea of what this thing will look like.
In July, Beijing-based MAD Architects was chosen to design the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and yesterday the firm unveiled its early renderings of the building. It's going to look pretty much what you would expect a museum to look like that bears Lucas' name. Here's one of the renderings in all its futuristic glory.
Though Lucas' museum isn't going to be all about Star Wars — works ranging from Norman Rockwell to comic books will fill the museum — it certainly looks like something right out of the filmmaker's most famous franchise, doesn't it? Every time I see this photo, I half expect to see an X-Wing flying above the Chicago skyline.
"The Lucas Museum design is both futuristic and timeless," the team behind the design said in a statement. "Its continuous, undulating organic surface blurs the line between structure and landscape. As the harbour rises up to the land, it merges with stone surfaces that reach up to the sky and ultimately crescendo into a 'floating' disc."
In June, Lucas announced that his museum would be located in Chicago, which we later learned was his wife Mellody Hobson's suggestion. It will be in good company along Lake Michigan in the same complex as Chicago's famed Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium.
That metal halo on the roof of the museum will allow visitors to view 360-degree panoramas of Chicago and the lake, according to Co.Design. There's also going to be a second-story lakeside walkway that's free and open to the public. Inside the museum, there will be several exhibit rooms, four theaters and a basement archive.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will definitely change the face and the skyline of a city famous for its architecture when we see the finished product currently slated to be complete in mid-2019. Though the museum seemingly doesn't fit into Chicago's current aesthetic, it does perfectly encapsulate everything Lucas stands for: forward thinking, innovation and going to a galaxy far, far away.
Next, MAD Architects will go into schematic design and submit a final proposal to the city of Chicago next spring, according to Gizmodo. Head over to Gizmodo to see more renderings of the museum as well as detailed descriptions of the design.
Image: Valerie Macon / Getty Images
