UPDATE: The Los Angeles City Council approved the $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in a unanimous vote Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times. Construction on the project could begin as soon as late 2017.
Dive Brief:
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The Los Angeles Planning Commission approved plans for the $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on May 17, according to NBC Los Angeles.
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The latest renderings of the 300,000-square-foot, 115-foot-tall building from MAD Architects also include an adjacent underground parking structure topped with an 11-acre green roof, Urbanize LA reported.
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Construction on the museum, located in Los Angeles' Exposition Park, is expected to be complete by 2021.
Dive Insight:
Following a saga of legal challenges and competition among potential host cities, filmmaker George Lucas earlier this year settled on Los Angeles as the home for his new museum, which will display his personal art collection and memorabilia from the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" film franchises, as well as serve as a learning center.
Lucas had planned to build the museum in Chicago, but despite the support of local officials, advocacy group Friends of the Park filed legal actions to block the development, claiming it would destroy a public park along Lake Michigan. Lucas decided last year to abandon the Chicago plans in favor of a city that would bring less controversy.
The museum's roof feature has drawn praise, as green roofs continue to gain popularity among building owners due to their ability to generate significant energy cost savings, reduce rainwater runoff, and serve as gathering spaces for building occupants and members of the local community.
Major tech companies have also jumped on the green-roof trend. Facebook’s office building in Menlo Park, CA, which opened in 2015, features a 9-acre green roof with a walking path and more than 400 trees. In addition, Microsoft's facelift of its 515,000-square-foot office in Mountain View, CA, includes plans for a modernization project featuring 3.7 acres of green roof space.
