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The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has had a tough time getting going. After shuffling around potential sites in Chicago, and dealing with some litigation, the art collection and archives of superstar director George Lucas finally found a future home in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park. Now, new... View full entry
Repurposing and renovation have gained greater appeal in the years since the overwhelming success of The High Line, extending to a variety of applications and structures. At the recent Milan Design Week, MAD took this to a new level by showcasing their proposal for a new masterplan of Milan, which... View full entry
Back in 2009, Ma Yansong of MAD started a fellowship for young architects. Dubbed the MAD Architecture Travel Fellowship, it sends five international students to China, and five Chinese students out of the country. It's an incredibly simple application process: just submit a letter explaining your... View full entry
But so far, Lucas hasn’t found a permanent home for his museum. The monumental project has brought him almost as much grief as Jar Jar Binks, the prequel creature from the planet Naboo with an oddly Jamaican accent that some found racially offensive. — Bloomberg
George Lucas' multi-year, oft-imperiled quest to find a site for his museum is chronicled in this Bloomberg article, which highlights the difficulties of using only the force of one's personality (and the promise of a "gift" of a museum to a city) to cut through local politics and bureaucracy... View full entry
After a long and obstructive political process (and some sad looking pics of Rahm Emanuel) George Lucas' Museum of Narrative Art decided to abandon its attempt to build in Chicago and now is looking toward the Golden State: specifically, Treasure Island in San Francisco and Exposition Park in Los... View full entry
The China Philharmonic Orchestra has revealed designs by MAD Architects for a new concert hall in Beijing. The 26,587 square meter concert hall will contain 1,600 seats laid out on a series of “terraces”. Developed with acclaimed acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, who also worked on the Walt Disney... View full entry
Pretty much every element of MAD's design for the Xinhee Design Center factors in sustainability: water features, full-blown gardens and offices commingle on the six star-shaped floors that sprout from the central atrium, while an envelope of PTFE provides ventilation and shade.Solar panels occupy... View full entry
No one benefits from continuing their seemingly unending litigation to protect a parking lot — Chicago Tribune
It's like these cities think that he's building a Death Star..... View full entry
A spokeswoman for San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin confirmed that the city and museum representatives are in early discussions about a site on Treasure Island, a destination in San Francisco Bay famous for a naval base.
Los Angeles is also trying to stay in the game, with Mayor Eric Garcetti saying that Lucas' project would find a good home in the heart of the movie industry.
— The L.A. Times
The lawsuit averse Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is openly courting other cities after Chicago's Friends of the Park filed legal action to prevent the project from building on its chosen Chicago lakefront site, may wind up in San Francisco, although Los Angeles (and Waukegan, IL) have... View full entry
With the future of a Lucas Museum on Chicago's lakefront in doubt, the city of Waukegan is asking the organizers to look a little to the north.
Waukegan Mayor Wayne Motley reached out to Mellody Hobson, a Chicago financial executive and the wife of "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, about locating the proposed museum featuring digital, traditional and narrative art on Waukegan's lakefront, a city spokesman said on Wednesday.
— Chicago Tribune
After a shake-up Tuesday wherein Chicago-based Friends of the Parks (which was taking a 30-day break from suing to prevent the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art from being built) announced that it wasn't going to budge on its anti-LMNA position, George Lucas announced that he was seriously... View full entry
Does Mayor Rahm Emanuel want to tear down the McCormick Place East building to make way for the controversial Lucas Museum of Narrative Art?
If reports to that effect are true, the move, which would demolish most of the massive structure, could be an olive branch to parks advocates dedicated to keeping the shoreline clear of buildings.
— Blair Kamin | the Chicago Tribune
"Yet the move could also be a trap. By signing off on a plan to allow the Lucas Museum to be built east of Lake Shore Drive, parks advocates would be trampling on the very principle they have used in federal court to block the museum backed by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas."For more on the... View full entry
Borders are often controversial and rarely flexible, but Ma Yansong of MAD has playfully reinterpreted them with his installation for the 2016 Salone del Mobile in Milan. “Borders are usually seen as something closed and unapproachable but I think it’s interesting to make borders attractive... View full entry
Majestic doesn't cover it—to judge by these photos by Adam Mørk and Hufton+Crow, MAD's new 850,000 square foot Harbin Opera House located on the titular Chinese city's Cultural Island is approaching a masterpiece.With two theaters (The Grand Theater seats 1,600, the Small Theater 400) and a... View full entry
The Chicago City Council voted on Wednesday to approve the zoning proposal for the 300,000-square-foot Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which will be located near Soldier Field. — NBC News
According to a press release issued by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art President Don Bacigalupi said that “[The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art] will also deliver nearly 200,000 square feet of new green space and accessible parkland along the lakefront for all... View full entry
Opinions about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art ranged from excitement to distaste as residents got their first chance to speak about the proposed addition to the lakefront at two public hearings this week. [...]
The Chicago Park District sponsored the hearings Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss museum plans for architecture, landscaping and traffic.
— chicagotribune.com
Previously on Archinect:George Lucas open to moving his museum to Los Angeles if Chicago isn't working outLucas museum faces lawsuit from Friends of the ParksHow the Lucas Museum Design Will Change Chicago's Lakefront - Rendering Reveals View full entry