GEMS World Academy

Promoting Academic Excellence in Chicago's Lakeshore East

Lower School

The 12-story elementary school is the first of its kind in the United States from the international GEMS Education and features state-of-the-art classrooms, specialized laboratories, multi-purpose room with climbing wall, full service kitchen/cafeteria, library, faculty offices, teacher’s lounge and rooftop play area.
 
Unique building features include extra wide stairways, hallway benches, and technology collaboration nooks for student engagement and collaboration. Southern facing classrooms providing park views and natural light. All classrooms feature adjustable furniture to promote group learning and large touchscreen connections to the international GEMS community. The enclosure features a multi-color “barcode” design helping distinguish the building from adjacent multi-family towers.

Upper School 

Located on Wacker Drive and strategically positioned to overlook the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, the 15-story GEMS Middle-Upper School features seven stories of classrooms, two stories of auditorium space, an internal drop off with three levels of parking, a gymnasium, rooftop turf for extracurriculars, and high-tech spaces to encourage innovation. Common areas and event space are located on the ground floors, while classrooms and learning spaces are located on the upper levels, to maximize natural light and views of Lake Michigan for staff and students. To align with GEMS integrative approach to sustainability, our team facilitated the installation of a Wind Turbine on the rooftop of the middle-upper school building.
 
As part of GEMS World Academy's integrative approach to sustainability, cooling is provided from a local existing plant, which reduces the building's mechanical functions, and produces more usable program areas throughout the campus.