Onyx Solar has supplied over 32,000 sq. ft of photovoltaic glass for the roof of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the museum founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson that opens to the public today in Los Angeles. The system has a peak power of 279 kW.
Courtesy Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Photo by Hufton Crow
Designed by MAD Architects under Ma Yansong, with Stantec as executive architect and Alfa-Tech as the MEP engineer, the building covers 300,000 sq. ft across a 13-acre landscaped campus. Its curved volume, with no flat facades and no right angles, rises above the ground and combines a green roof on one slope with the solar roof on the other.
“Projects like the Lucas Museum demonstrate that solar energy does not need to be added to architecture — it can become part of the architecture itself,” said Diego Cuevas, VP of Onyx Solar North America. “For Onyx Solar, participating in a project of this significance is a remarkable opportunity to show what building-integrated photovoltaics can achieve.”
Courtesy Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Photo by Hufton Crow
Spanish BIPV company Onyx Solar designed the solar system for the curved rooftop. The PV Glass panels are made of high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells with a black rear finish to meet the desired aesthetic finish. Multiple tapered panels were also engineered and fabricated to follow the shape of the rooftop arrays.
The PV glass panels were integrated by electrical contractor Baker Electric, using IronRidge XR1000 profiles and clamps.
Onyx Solar is no stranger to the U.S. market. The company’s solar glass is also installed at the former headquarters of Bell Labs in New Jersey, which is featured as the office space in the Apple TV+ series Severance.
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