GEMS World Academy is a private school planned to serve 2,100 students (K-12) across a two building campus. The school's design addresses unique challenges and opportunities, distinguishing the facility in its urban setting. The building marries GEMS' programmatic needs with local requirements, providing a new model for high-rise K-12 construction in an arena of limited precedents.
Juxtaposed against an adjacent park, the Lower School's playful exterior is a modernist composition of interlacing colored panels and glass. The configuration responds to internal program elements while rationalizing the construction, allowing for fast paced fabrication.
At 10 stories and 82,000 square feet, the Lower School houses 650 students in a limited footprint. The building is arranged to maximize daylight and views. Two levels of entry result from the complex site section. Common spaces are centrally located, with classrooms at the base and upper portions of the building. At the lower levels of the building, natural light can only be obtained from the south façade. This constraint set the direction for the layout of the entire facility. Vertical circulation is achieved through two light filled stairwells and three elevators, including one which accommodates a full class of students.
Ensuring inter-connectivity, teaching spaces and corridors are outfitted with touch screen displays that interface with various devices. Small group collaboration is fostered in corridors at bench workstations, in the playfully designed library and in the smaller technology and robotics labs.
With access to an outdoor terrace and expansive views, the striking dining hall is equipped with a combination of fixed and mobile modular serving stations to allow flexibility of use. The dining level occurs at the same datum as the existing pedestrian plaza, enabling direct access to the space from the exterior. An outdoor play space caps off the building and offers views of the lakefront.
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