Rockwell Group designs angle-free Skywalker Grill at Lucas Museum
Biomorphic restaurant echoes museum's architecture with curved cherry wood interiors
1Architectural continuity through curves
Rockwell Group's Los Angeles team designed Skywalker Grill without any 90-degree angles to mirror MAD Architects' biomorphic museum architecture. The restaurant's curved walls feature individually crafted cherry wood panels, with no two panels alike. This design approach extends to finger-raked cherrywood columns that echo the tambour banquettes lining the room's perimeter.
2Skywalker Ranch inspiration
The restaurant's warm cherry wood interiors reference George Lucas's 4,700-acre Skywalker Ranch in Marin County. Materials and design elements pay homage to the filmmaker's retreat and workspace, creating thematic continuity with the Star Wars franchise. The fifth-floor space overlooks the Los Angeles skyline and serves both museum visitors and the public.
3Cinematic design elements
Rockwell Group incorporated principles of cinematic storytelling through framing, light, scale and atmosphere. The design pairs high-tech materials with handcrafted details, including a snaking bar fronted by shimmering fluted tiles covered in crystal silver leaf. Illuminated Corian forms the back bar, creating dramatic lighting effects.
4Organic spatial organization
Swooping partitions form intimate dining booths that organically rise and fall in height. A central island features a green crushed velvet banquette matching the booth upholstery, surrounded by circular tables. Tamboured cherry-wrapped columns branch like tree trunks to meet the ceiling, which opens to reveal cove-lit beige plaster.
5Material and texture play
The design combines various textures including cherry wood, crushed velvet, Corian and fluted tiles. The elevator corridor features folding cherry paneling that continues over the ceiling. Large ovoid windows with operable glass panels provide access to an outdoor terrace offering panoramic views of downtown LA and USC campus.
6Site-specific culinary concept
Skywalker Grill's American-style menu features California-grown ingredients, including Wagyu beef and honey ricotta sourced from Skywalker Ranch. This farm-to-table approach complements the restaurant's architectural narrative, creating a holistic dining experience connected to Lucas's creative universe.
7Museum context
The restaurant occupies the fifth floor of MAD's spaceship-like Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Exposition Park. The 13-acre campus features galleries, theaters and educational spaces dedicated to storytelling. Over 1,200 curved panels create the museum's extraterrestrial form, which informs the restaurant's organic design language.
8Theatrical hospitality signature
This project continues Rockwell Group's specialty in immersive, theatrical hospitality spaces. Their portfolio includes an art deco Manhattan steakhouse, a Times Square revolving restaurant, and a 'cathedral of fried chicken'. The Skywalker Grill represents their ability to translate narrative concepts into spatial experiences.