Lucas Museum of Narrative Art – All photos are by Hufton+Crow, courtesy of LMNA.

Architecture. Los Angeles has a new landmark. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts, which just opened its doors in Exposition Park, invites visitors on a journey exploring illustrated storytelling as a universal language. “Stories are mythology, and when illustrated, they help humans understand the mysteries of life,” said George Lucas, the iconic filmmaker behind Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

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Set within an expansive green space, the new futuristic, 300,000-square-foot building was designed by MAD Architects in collaboration with Stantec, and founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson. Its curving form, designed without a single straight line, creates a fluid transition between indoor and outdoor space. MAD founder Ma Yansong said the structure was “designed with emotional architecture space, so that it is fluid in every part.”

The swooping, biomorphic Lucas Museum lifts at its centre and touches the park ground lightly at only a few points, creating a dynamic, sheltered gathering space in a central plaza. Here, a central arch spans 185 feet, providing access to the Museum’s north and south lobbies.

Hovering four storeys above the public plaza, a central elliptical oculus offers a breathtaking view from the ground to the sky Principal areas on the lower floors, aside from the lobbies, include two state-of-the-art theatres; a horseshoe-shaped library and learning space with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the surrounding park; ten studio and classroom spaces; a shop; a café; and more than 30 galleries.

The Lucas Museum‘s exterior is clad in more than 1,200 curved panels, each one uniquely shaped and made of fibreglass-reinforced polymer, chosen for its ability to create smooth, flowing forms and its low weight compared to other materials.

Nested within a new 13-acre campus, the building is surrounded by a new park and gardens designed by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA, creating much-needed public green space for Los Angeles and serving as a resource for learning, art, and public engagement in the heart of Exposition Park.

Replacing what was previously an asphalt car park, the park includes indigenous, drought-tolerant plantings; more than 300 newly planted trees; a dramatic hanging garden; an amphitheatre; a meadow; and a fountain conceived as a dramatic waterfall. Designed to draw visitors through and around the building, the campus’s contoured topography echoes Los Angeles’s natural terrain.

The Lucas Museum‘s architecture doesn’t just contain the stories it narrates — it becomes one, its curves and light-filled spaces shaping how visitors move through and understand the narrative arts within.

Photography is by Hufton+Crow.