Our client, a Commercial Construction Company, commissioned Miller + Miller Architectural Photography to capture exterior photos of The Gems World Academy building located in Downtown Chicago. The Gems World Academy Chicago is a private, K-12 campus school created for the City of Chicago’s elite students. This new Chicago educational development is described as hotel-esque, collegiate, and upscale for affluent children with tuition noted at incredible $30,000/year per pupil.

This isn’t our first project photographing an education building architectural photography photos shoot.  During this project, our image focus was on the skyscraper school, high-rise building construction and architectural pictures of the finished building. We captured architectural pictures of the state-of-the-art school building in Chicago showcasing the building’s primary entrances and angles on the south & west elevations. Each side of the property’s facade has a playful mix of glass, metal, and unique use of bold colors. As a Chicago Architectural Photographer specializing in new construction and unique architecture building photography, we travel the Nation photographing buildings and shooting photos of many of the United State’s best architecturally designed buildings. We enjoyed the modern & strategic use of material details within this building’s design. The modernist facade elevations of Gems World Academy utilizes eye-catching primary colors.  Our client requested day time exterior building photography showing off the building’s unique curtain wall and color filled exterior facade panels. The distinctive mid-rise building stands out within the Chicago skyline with modern interlacing and stripes in red, yellow and blue.

This is 1 out of our 15 buildings we photographed for our Commercial Construction Company’s architectural client photography project. Photos of Chicago’s GEMS World Academy will go up in our client’s portfolio and as printed images in frames hanging on the Construction Company’s office walls.  During office tours, photos of GEMS World Academy have a story to tell.  The story will have three parts: GEMS’s construction development, the property’s interesting colorful & unique architecture which is highly photographic as a picture printed inside a frame, and the built building’s purpose as an upscale academy.  A building & images with a very interesting story.

The Gems World Academy Chicago building is a 16-story structure, 322,000 square feet school and the property hosts approximately 2,100 students. Commercial construction developers completed phase 1 in 2014.  The modern educational development has won awards building design awards, spotlighted in an issue of Architectural Record, and received the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Citation of Merit for Building Innovation from the Illinois chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

The GEMS World Academy Chicago and development is located in downtown Chicago.  The GEMS building, located on Water Street near Wacker Drive, has an address of 350 East South Water Street Chicago, IL 60601.  The private school, academy is conveniently located in the heart of the City of Chicago. GEMS World Academy Chicago is the first PreK-12 school in the United States from GEMS Education.  How amazing is it that Chicago was picked to host to the academy’s first private school in the United States.  A mid-rise skyscraper within the Chicago skyline located in the Lakeshore East community, just east of the Loop. The GEMS World Academy program operates private schools in Chicago and is connected to the GEMS education global network of international schools with school sites currently in China, Egypt, India, Kenya and beyond, with additional locations opening soon in Egypt, Uganda, Switzerland and United Arab Emirates.  The GEMS World Academy Phase 2 building construction is underway. Click here to see the GEMS World Academy phase 2 building progress and construction photos looking down from the Vista Tower building.  We look forward to watching Phase II building’s construction progress over the next few months.  As well as, going back on-site to professionally take photographs of the new building after construction has finished.

A stellar international team created, designed and constructed the GEMS World Academy Chicago property. As well as a team of architects, designers, procurement and health and safety experts and educators contributed to the GEMS World Academy Chicago overall student experience & lifestyle. The companies were responsible for The Gems World Academy Chicago building construction are Architect bKL Architecture, General Contractor for the project is Power Construction and Construction Consultants include Halvorson and Partners Structural, WMA Consulting Engineers, MEP/FP by Mackie Consultants Civil Engineering, Wolff Landscape Architecture, Lighting by Archiluce International, and materials glazed curtain wall, LoE vision glass, translucent glass, and metal panels of various widths and colors application by Harmon Inc.  Building awards include: AIA IL 2016 Mies van der Rohe Citation of Merit, IIDA RED Award: Exemplary Design in Educational – PK12 Interiors, ENR Midwest Best Projects Award of Merit: K-12 Education, and ASA Chicago Outstanding Project 2015.

Miller + Miller Architectural Photography are Chicago commercial photographers. Our photography company provides commercial photography for properties & architectural photographs to a variety of clients, industries, organizations, and building companies Nationwide, in Chicago and the suburban area in real estate development, architects, skyscraper, construction services, design build construction, and more. Visit our About Us page for a comprehensive look at the variety of building, commercial industries, and view our Portfolio to see additional images of past project photographs. Looking to become a client?  Count on our photography experience, professionally photographing properties since 2006, photographing architectural Chicago projects, building shots with views of the skyline, construction marketing images, finished building project photos, construction sites, and more for companies. Contact us to discuss a photo project!