Chicago is home to the first GEMS World Academy in the United States, an IB school that serves students in grades preschool through high school. The first of two buildings, designed by bKL Architecture, opened in 2014 and houses lower grades. The Upper School building opened in 2020 and houses Middle School and High School age students. The eye-catching, playful exterior is a modernist composition of interlacing colored panels and glass that expresses the configuration of spaces within and fits nicely into the contemporary architectural aesthetic of Lakeshore East.
The state-of-the-art school features technology tailored to cutting-edge education methods. It is complete with maker spaces and science labs, a rooftop athletic field, a 550-seat performing arts auditorium and multimedia theater, and a two-level library. The GEMS network includes schools in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
